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Hey there! I'm new to this Tribe and I've been trying to catch up on all the great discussion topics. I haven't seen much talk on any of those great-ish 80's underground horror flicks yet, particularly anything of a decidedly homo-erotic nature.
One that always stands out, in my mind, is 'Basket Case' ... early 80's, directed by Frank Henenlotter. Not a particulary well acted film, as I recall (How many of them really were?), but dark and gritty, with a rather bizarre plot-line about a young man separated from his siamese-twin brother ... that he carries around with him in a wicker basket. The brother is really nothing more than a murderous lump of hideously deformed, [rubber] flesh.
I've always remembered the scene of the young, main character being pursued down a dark street ... showing full frontal nudity! Full male nudity was, sady, never properly exploited in horror films. And, to a gay, teenage, punk kid, starved for homo-erotic eye candy, it was a near boner popping experience!
I remember a FFN shot near the opening of 'Ghost Story', as well, when Alice Krige's ghostly apparition forces a guy through the window of a high-rise, plummeting backwards to his death. That was one creepy chick, even without the ghostly apparition ... supplied by Dick Smith! I might be wrong, but I think this is the same woman that played the Borg Queen in 'Star Trek: First Contact'.
Does anybody have any other fond memories of growing up gay, with horror films?
One that always stands out, in my mind, is 'Basket Case' ... early 80's, directed by Frank Henenlotter. Not a particulary well acted film, as I recall (How many of them really were?), but dark and gritty, with a rather bizarre plot-line about a young man separated from his siamese-twin brother ... that he carries around with him in a wicker basket. The brother is really nothing more than a murderous lump of hideously deformed, [rubber] flesh.
I've always remembered the scene of the young, main character being pursued down a dark street ... showing full frontal nudity! Full male nudity was, sady, never properly exploited in horror films. And, to a gay, teenage, punk kid, starved for homo-erotic eye candy, it was a near boner popping experience!
I remember a FFN shot near the opening of 'Ghost Story', as well, when Alice Krige's ghostly apparition forces a guy through the window of a high-rise, plummeting backwards to his death. That was one creepy chick, even without the ghostly apparition ... supplied by Dick Smith! I might be wrong, but I think this is the same woman that played the Borg Queen in 'Star Trek: First Contact'.
Does anybody have any other fond memories of growing up gay, with horror films?
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 5:41 PMWell in my case the only connection i can made between horror movies and being gay is that i discovered my sexual orientation the same year i got into horror films but that was not related to each other. Anyway Horror films helped me a little bit to go through being a gay kid and school geek-outsider for a while, it was nice to just come from school a friday, go to the videostore and watch something entertaining and forget about classes, homework and all the rest of crap. I never expected for horror films to show any gay content and when that happened it was more like a shock reaction than an excitement, an example popping into my mind is "A nightmare on Elm Street 2" and when i saw that it was like more well let´s see i think that had some gay overtones but hmmm not sure maybe i am starting to see gay stuff where is not just cause i found out i am gay...then when i grew up i was like oh hell yeah that was defenetly gay lol.
As for satisfying my homo-erotic curiosity i have to say that thanx to a very good tv channel here in spain and a cult film show that was on at late late night i got served well just by watching two very good movies by the way "My Beautiful Laundrette" (Daniel Day Lewis is sooooooooo hot in that one as gay punk guy) and "Querelle", -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 6:28 PMOh, well, yes ... 'Nightmare On Elm Street 2' was definately homo-erotic ... probably the most, out of the series!
'My Beautiful Launderette' is not a horror film, but it's definitely on my list of all-time-favorite films! Some very fine performances there ....
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 6:23 PM"PHANTASM" was the first scary movie I ever saw. (Yes I know it's a silly movie, but it's a cult classic none-the-less) Sooo, I was like scared and turned on at the same time! I was a young teenage boy turned on by the teenage boy character running from the Tall Man and those stupid flying things with the blades! It messed me up! (LOL) I was skinny and had long hair at the time, so I really identified with his character. Anyways, thanks for making me think back about that moment in my Life. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 8:10 PMPhantasm was the first R-rated movie I ever saw in the theatre! What a wild opening scene to watch as a twelve-year-old! I don't think it's a silly movie... well, it sure scared the bejeebus outta me back then!
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 7:02 PMAlice Krige did indeed play the Borg Queen in both "First Contact" and in the finale of ST: Voyager.
She also plays the mum in "Sleepwalkers" (boy, did she lub on her son played by Brian Krause *'Leo' to you Charmed Fans*) She is a stunning actress, and I'd watch her clip her toenails.
One of my fave "for and by homos but nobody knows it" horror flick is FRIGHT NIGHT!
Directed by Tom Holland, it's a spectacular array of homological imagery and themes. And I'm not just making it up. Several years ago, nearly an entire issue of Scarlet Street was devoted to Fright Night, and included an interview with Stephen "Your so cool, Brewster!" Geoffries. Holland actually made Amanda Bearse' vampiric mouth look like a monstrous vagina at the movies finale on purpose! Poor Charlie!
And isn't it nice that Dandritch had a live-in decorator (who just happened to be a simulacrum!)
Not too mention the three out-moes who starred in the flick: Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffries, and *God rest is soul* Roddy McDowell.
Gee, it's only been twenty years, and I still go on and on and on about this movie.... -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, March 11, 2005 - 9:05 AMBy the way, if anyone knows William Ragsdale, the star of FRIGHT NIGHT (and Fright Night II!) I wouldn't mind meeting him... you know... for coffee...
ha hah ha
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, June 28, 2008 - 3:31 PMFright Night is in my top 5 of all 80's campy horror films! It's fantastic!
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 8:01 PMSpeaking of full frontal nudity, I remember sneaking "Fear No Evil" into the house and watching it late one night when my parents were asleep. I expected the usual tits and ass nudity that was so prevalent during that era, but lo and behold, the director threw in a full frontal shot during a shower scene where a boy is being taunted by bullies.
I also recall frontal nudity in "Cat People" but unfortuately, it was Malcolm McDowell.
A film largely forgotten these days was a 1982 mystery/slasher entry called "Night Warning." It was directed by William Asher, who also directed a great many episodes of Bewitched. It starred as Jimmy McNichol as a teenager who, along with his crazy aunt, is terrorized by a homophobic cop. A couple a good gory killings and some surprisingly sympathetic gay characters. Sadly, it's long out of print and there's no sign of a DVD yet.
And speaking of "Fright Night," what an awesome movie. It's just one of those that's pure fun that you can watch over and over. It also gave me a brief crush on Chris Sarandon, who made a rather suave vampire. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 8:07 PMWilliam Asher was married to Elizabeth Montgomery, which is one of the reasons Bewitched was developed. (talk about a series with seriously gay under and overtones...) -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 8:41 PMthere's the whole new "cute boys in underpants series" (young warlocks, the brotherhood, vood doo academy etc) that are expliclty gay, but they are not scary in any way (not even any gore really) and their being so obviously gay almost takes the fun out of it....but there is a certain charm to them....
in recent cinema, how about jeepers creepers 2 (only one female character gets killed (the bus driver) and it doesn't really show it....all the other nubile young flesh being ripped is male)...tons of totally gratuitous male nudity as well....and did anyone else notice the almost "throwaway bit peice" in the first one where the creature is digging through the kids luggage, and just for a second you can see that what he/it is sniffing is the brothers briefs? hee hee.
queer horror almost seems a redundant term in some ways (unless you demand expolicit connections be drawn)...there are so many elements of each mied into the other in terms of genre...lucky us.....blessing and a curse..... -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 8:43 PMwelcome to the tribe by the way! : )
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, March 10, 2005 - 9:06 PMBy the way, I'm sure this book has been mentioned somewhere in this tribe, but even if it has....
Monsters in the Closet: homosexuality and the horror film, by Harry M. Benshoff
Basically, Benshoff summizes that horror movies, historically, have sort of acted as a sub-genre of film that is highly gay-themed. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, March 11, 2005 - 5:34 AMI looooooooooooooooove " Fright Night" what an awesome movie, it was very cool cause you could easily identify with the main character and also cause I think Chris Sarandon played one of the best vampires ever. He was really charming and a threat at the same time and sometimes u felt he was so cool that you would have let him turn you into a vampire as well. It´s a good film and it doesn´t get dated at all with reruns what you can´t say with alot of the actual horror movies that come up.
About "Night Warning" never saw it but we talked about in one of the tribe´s threads devoted to gay themes and tones in horror films.
I think one of the pioneers of including gay tones in horror films are the productions of Hammer films although usually it was more about lesbianism than gay matters but hey if any of you have seen "Frankenstein created Woman" and the uncut version of " Taste the blood of Dracula" you can´t those didn´t have some heavy gay tones (in "Taste the blood of Dracula" there is a scene that implies the three gentlemen that resurrect Dracula had gay experiences as a way to get some new excitement in their lives) -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 10:35 AMHow completely gay is FRIGHT NIGHT? Roddy McDowell! Amanda Bearse! And of course Stephen Geoffreys! They were all queer and the movie itself is so super homo.
I showed FRIGHT NIGHT at my Midnight Mass show a couple Halloween's ago and Stephen Geoffreys appeared on-stage with me. We talked about the making of the movie and his subsequent career in gay porn. The best gay gossip he dropped was hinting around that he had had a fling with Robert Englund (Freddy) during the filming of 976-EVIL. Another super gay horror movie. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, October 4, 2006 - 7:16 PMI thought that the the scene where Chris Sarandon seduced Stephen Geoffreys into becoming a vampire was just about the hottest thing ever! He could bite my neck anytime.
LOVE your work, btw! I saw you when you hosted SHOWGIRLS and TRUTH OR DARE in New York and was blown away. Come back! We need you!
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, March 11, 2005 - 7:20 AMOMG!!! I LOVE Basket Case! It was my first horror movie when I was just a wee lad! It was one of the first movies to make me think that I liked boys. I didn't dare admit at the time. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, March 11, 2005 - 3:34 PMI'm glad someone else identified with 'Basket Case'!
'Fright Night' ... I can't believe I forgot about that one! It was one of my favourites. I had a major crush on Geoffreys ... wild, sarcastic, total geek! He was in a Sci-Fi movie, a few years later, called 'Moon 44'. There was a man/boy shower rape scene in that film, as I recall. Now I'm going to have to haul my ass over to HMV and buy the DVD's, just so I can start my Stephen Geoffreys shrine!
I had read somewhere that the director of 'Jeepers Creepers 2', was gay and did some jail time for possession of child pornography. If there's any tuth to the rumour, I'd wager that the entire movie was constructed around his personal masturbation fantasies! -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, March 11, 2005 - 7:11 PMVictor Salva, the director of "Jeepers Creepers 2" (and the first one) did go to jail for child molestation...
Speaking of Geoffreys, I just watched 976-EVIL last night, and unless I'm completely making things up, it's... well, gay as hell. It has nothing to do with Geoffreys later being in gay porn, either.
Geoffreys plays this quiet teenager with a religious nut mom (Sandy Dennis) and a hunky cousin. He's got kind of a weird crush on his cousin, and constantly talks about the two of them going away together. After getting possessed by a demonic 976 number (ah, the '80s), he kills his cousin's girlfriend. As the demon possesses him more (or whatever) and makes him sound like a geriatric drag queen spouting bad Freddy Krueger-esque puns, his evil heterosexual side starts to come out, and he attacks the lone woman at a strip card game with four shirtless guys. Is the awful 976-EVIL really a story of a gay teenager whose desire to be "normal" leads him down a slippery slope of evil itself?
I may be reading too much into this.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 4:00 AMWhat ... Geoffreys did gay porn? (Big IMDB pause here ...) I had no idea, I didn't even know that he was gay! Well, I guess that proverbial, genetically encoded "gaydar" was starting to fine tune itself, all those years ago.
I never did see '976-EVIL', though it sounds like a bit of a horror MOTW. Well, apparently I'll be on an 80's DVD horror quest this weekend! Thanks to alll, for triggering some dormant memories. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 7:06 AMYes, Geoffreys most definitely did gay porn. His screen name is Sam Ritter and he's still at it as far as I know. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 12:20 PMAccording to IMDB, his most recent porn flick was 'Seamen Training Day' (2002). He was using a new screen name here: Stephan Bordeaux.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 8:36 AM976-EVIL makes a great doiuble-feature with EVIL SPEAK. Well, for me, at least, since I'm always getting the elements of those two movies confused...
The Eighties were kind of a Golden Age of Movie Horror, I think. They weren't always scary (but then, what horror movies really are?) but they sure were a lot of fun! -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 10:03 AMI'd say the early 80's more than the whole decade... after the slasher movie boom died down, there's not much there. Sure, there's anomalities likes 976-EVIL and Bad Dreams, but the studios kind of gave up on horror non-franchises for a while.
Good to know I'm not the only fan of EVILSPEAK out there. Clint Howard rules. (Even though HE never did gay porn. Thank god.) -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 10:43 AMRE: the 80s!
The eighties also brought us the Alien franchise, which re-defined the horror concept as well.
And The Hunger really helped kick off the sexy vampire craze! -
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Unsu...
Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 12:03 PMNot just sexy vampires but sexy bisexual Bauhaus-listening vampires. That movie was the proto-goth bible when I was a teen; I can't count how many parties had it playing in the background... -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 5:35 PM...undead, undead.... -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sun, March 13, 2005 - 9:47 AMLet's not forget the impact of 'Lost Boys', a few years later. Now, that one was definately homo-erotic; pure teenage angst and sexual tension, without the traditional gothic airs. How could you not want to be a young vampire, after seeing that one? -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sun, March 13, 2005 - 12:08 PMHow silly of us not to mention "Lost Boys" yet... directed by Joel Schumacher, the man who gave us the bat-nipple.
ha ha ha -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sun, March 13, 2005 - 12:38 PMAnd re-introduced the codpiece - now a rubberized standard to contemporary superhero uniforms! :P
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 10:04 AMOh, if you've got Comcast cable, check out the new "On Demand" feature... it's where I saw 976-EVIL--it's one of the free movies this month.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, October 6, 2006 - 5:52 AMI'd really like to believe it.
Any kid whose mother is Sandy Dennis (especially Sandy Dennis acting like she does in THAT movie) has to be gay.
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Unsu...
Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, March 12, 2005 - 12:00 PMBasket Case rocks, haven't seen that in years, but yeah, I remember a very 'mo vibe and it being a very popular cult film at the time.
Forgot the FFN in Ghost Story but that movie did scare the hell out of me as a kid. I also remember really liking Fred Astaire in such a diffferent, late-career role.
How about Fade to Black? Dennis Christopher, who I was all hot for after Breaking Away, followed that wholesome story with a movie about an obsessed horror fan who assumed the role of different horror characters in his killings. I can't remember if there was any explicit 'mo content or it was just the presence of Christopher. (Who I believe is totally qwar, right?) -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sun, March 13, 2005 - 6:48 PMI rememeber a film called fear no evil having a very homo vibe as well as freddy 2 and drive in when i was growing up. I loved grwoing up0 being into horror becuase it let me escape my terrors and disolve into other worlds and terrors i could handle. I think they saved my life actually. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sun, March 13, 2005 - 8:09 PMWow,...that's pretty deep, ZombieMan. I'm not being sarcastic. I respect brutal honesty.
I on the other hand, am very "affected" - I avoided scary movies for a long time! I'm a "tough guy" that get easily emotionally caught up in a story. For example, I was pretty upset when the werewolf ripped out the throat of that first kid in "An American Werewolf" in London. Yes, I am one of those annoying people in the theater that accidently screams out loud during the scary parts of horror films! (LOL) Oh well,...hee hee -
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Unsu...
Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, March 14, 2005 - 12:01 PMI just watched Fear No Evil.
I haven't seen that flick since the 80's!
I know someone else here mentioned it.
But I just have to add my 2 1/2cents.
The flic was cheezy as hell but G.A.Y. to the hilt! ( dick shots even! ) I remember feeling bad for Andy's character ( gay unity i guess). I wanted him to win in the end. Still enjoyed it anyway.
Stefan Angrim ( brother of allison angrim of "little house on the prarie" ) has to be a "sista" cuz he's pretty flamin in this flic! Especially runnin around in that tacky 'Fredricks of Hollywood " get up at the end! LOL Miss Thang Miss Thang! tsk tsk! The " Vinnie Barbarino" type character must be one of us too
cuz he sure did GRAB Andy for that final kiss!!
* sigh!* Young love. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, March 14, 2005 - 12:59 PMI fukkin' love you, Mamualde. Ya jess 2 fukkin' funnay fo' words.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, October 6, 2006 - 5:55 AM*Yes, I am one of those annoying people in the theater that accidently screams out loud during the scary parts of horror films!*
I think it's a common misconception that those kinds of people are annoying. One of my best friends doesn't like going to horror movies because she gets embarrassed and is afraid that everyone hates her when she ducks or screams or puts her hands over her eyes (which she even does in bad horror movies like FRIDAY THE 13TH 3!) I *love* people like that--I feel so desensitized to horror films sometimes since I've seen so many of them, that seeing somebody really flipping out because of a horror movie refreshes me and sort of allows me to experience the genre anew! Scream away!
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, March 14, 2005 - 2:09 PMI gotta say, I identify with Zombie Man here! I had a pretty shitty childhood, and horror/sci-fi were a big part of my escape and coping mechanisms.
I always find it amusing when contemporary society blames youth violence on the brutality of horror films and video games. For me, it's all about the release of tension, agression and violence, before it reaches the proverbial "boiling point"!
I guess I managed to see some hope, in the art and science of it all, rather than become the next breed of serial killer! It changed my life and gave me a direction to follow ... Aint nothing wrong with being dark, as long as it has an artistic outlet! -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, March 14, 2005 - 4:32 PMI totally relate, too, but for me it was comic books. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, March 15, 2005 - 8:47 AMCan't it be both? I was a total comic book addict and "Fangoria" subscriber for most of my childhood.
Now I've just stopped reading "Fangoria," but the rest hasn't changed.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, March 14, 2005 - 5:12 PMAmen to that. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, March 15, 2005 - 5:27 PMAw, 'Fangoria', I had a complete collection, for a while ... I even did an interview ... Still, it all comes to an end ... I agree, though, it never really ends; your opinions just evolve ... -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, March 15, 2005 - 8:00 PMhey guys, i guess i can say ive been a bit slack lately and havent been in here to chat so i thought id catch up and read whats new, you guys being from all over the world lets me know whats comming way before we ever get it here in australia. i read this topic and it made me relise how much horror helped me when i was growing up. i also had a troulbled child hood. bullied all through school and had drunks for parents. when i would get home i would beg for $3 to go to the video store and get the scarrest horror movie i could find till in the end i had seen them all. i agree with both mario and zombie man when they said they would watch horror to escape, felt weired to read that some of you guys where kinda the same. not meaning to get deep with you guys but just had to write to this post. felt like someone might understand me. so many guys dont get that i can watch a b grade horror movie to death, thats what i like.
as for looking for gay things in them, i had no idea that freddy 2 was gay untill i ordered the box set and watched the interview. i always liked basket case 2 better, dont remember the nude sceen sorry, i loved how they added him in to the movie brain dammage on the train, anyone else remember that, i love it when movies tie together.
some of my faves
chopping mall
april fools day
the deadly spawn
night of the demons
the house on sority row
demon wind
brain dammage
gee i could go on forever
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, March 15, 2005 - 8:03 PMoh and i express myself with art so no serial killer here, i have one of my paintings in the albulm, the clown house one, im working on a freddy one at the moment, ill add that when im finished :) -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, March 23, 2005 - 10:32 AMHorror has always seemed to be part of my life thanks to my older sister. I had an endless supply of "Fangoria" and "Gorezone" at my disposal (when she wasn't home of course lol) and tons of flicks. Even now that I am 25 I still love the genre. (And still buy Fango.)
I can't remember watching anything overly homo-erotic, but one moment that stands out is the end of "Sleepaway Camp" when Angela reveals her/his goodies. When I was like 9 or 10 that freaked me out big time...even sometimes now it bothers me a little Lol.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, October 6, 2006 - 5:59 AMI completely agree with this comment and Zombie Man's. Even now--when I'm substantially happier than I was when I first really got into horror films--whenever I am upset or stressed out about something, if there's a horror movie that I love playing somewhere, I feel happy and at peace while I watch it--like somehow everything will be okay.
And it's definitely a great form of tension-aggression-violence release! Anybody who's gonna kill somebody doesn't need HALLOWEEN or whatever to give them the idea. I don't want to generalize, but conservative right-wingers are so dumb.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sun, April 17, 2005 - 3:50 PMWhat I remember about Fade To Black is that Christopher beat off to a poster of Monroe. I played that scene A Lot! You never got to see anything but you knew what he was doing.
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Unsu...
Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, March 23, 2005 - 10:59 AMThis thread is reminding me how my religious family freaked when I came out at 15 ... but they were always cool about the collection of decaying, severed, acid-burned , etc. heads all over my room, severed hands and other body parts, Fangoria subscription, Super-8 horror movies, not to mention the endless parade of 80s slasher flicks on cable.
I mean they never said a -word- about the gore at all, but having a boyfriend was, of course, a huge deal.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, April 18, 2005 - 5:08 AMWhile comic horror or horror spoofs may not be everyone's cup of tea, we certainly must not forget Roman Polanski's "The Fearless Vampire Killers", 38 years old and still going strong. I have yet to see a campier horror film. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, April 18, 2005 - 5:37 PMGood point! I think the word "camp" was just an overly polite way of saying "homo-erotic undertones", at one point in time. It's very likely some fag even coined the term... -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, April 18, 2005 - 5:48 PMohhhh... those WACKY fags! -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, April 18, 2005 - 8:40 PMYa know, i was thinking about this again and realized that I got into horror because I was usually looked upon as a freak. This was long before I realized that I was gay. I just always liked being scared (ghost stories etc).
Outsider syndrome anyone else? heh -
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Unsu...
Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, April 19, 2005 - 3:08 AMMe too. I saw Psycho as a kid. I must have been about 8 or 9 yo. It was on TV and my babysitter was watching it. I fell asleep but woke up during all the scary parts. I liked that feeling of being scared and watched creature feature every saturday night after that. I also liked going into the old part of the local library and read about ghosts and such. I'd read until it got dark. Then be too scared to walk home. I was a strange child different from the other kids in some way. I always felt some affinity with the characters in the story I read. ( the antagonist not the protagonist. ) I was always very intuitive and sensitive to my suroundings. Because of that I began to take an interest in magic,esp,seances etc. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, April 19, 2005 - 1:52 PMHmm, my own odd obsession with horror and the occult led me down a spiritual path that changed me for the better. I was a practicing Wiccan for many years, but now consider myself to be more of a Techno-pagan. It's not that I haven't made the association before, but sometimes - when someone else vocalizes their own experiences - you get the strange sensation of having had an epiphany. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, April 20, 2005 - 11:49 AMWelcome to the tribe ironrash...
My name's Ted and I'm relatively new here m'self...
I definitely have been interested/curious/obsessed with the occult and horror flix from an early age. I read the Necronomicon when I was in 3rd grade and couldn't get enough of The Book of the Wyrm... especially the prophecy/warning of the dead rising to eat the flesh of the living... Zombie films were and are faves of mine... as well as horror films dealing with possession/haunting...
What's the link between horror and me being queer?
Well, since horror films in general didn't have any gays in them I thought that supernatural evil was primarily straight. Especially in movies with the man/hero being tempted by lucifer via boobalicious lady or the devil trying to find his boy's mama... So, as a kid watching this, I thought my queerness was "good" or at least not preffered by Ol' Scratch himself... hmmmm... epiphany... rejected by club heaven and hotel hell... where does a good queer soul go? Oh, and about boobs, I've gotta give a shout out to Elvira, Mistress of the dark, for helping me realize that one cannot have horror without humor... ;-}
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Mon, May 9, 2005 - 12:06 AManyone grow up in the 60's reading Famous Monsters magazine?
Marc -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, May 11, 2005 - 2:27 PMAh yes, Famous Monsters of Filmland - Forrest J. Ackerman, Editor in Chief! It was the first mag I got into, as a kid. Fangoria later displaced this classic, but it was a wealth of information in its day. As I recall, I even enjoyed reading the Editorials - which is something kids usually just skip right over!
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, May 11, 2005 - 7:13 PMI feel really young. All of you are talking about movies you saw in the 80s and my oldest horror movie memories are from the 90s. For example, I remember seeing "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" and being strangely aroused by the scene where the guy is driving in his car and Freddy touches the guy's crotch with his claws. That was hot, man. Ofcourse, seconds later he tears him apart; which takes away from the eroticism.
I also remember reading "It" by Stephen King and being really surprised when it focused on the two gay guys who had been beat up by some hillbillies and then tortured by Pennywise the Clown. I had never read anything like that in a horror novel. I don't think they included the gay guys in the movie, did they? -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, May 11, 2005 - 7:35 PMAlso, Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope", which isnt horror but more of a subtle thriller, is about two gay killers. They never actually say it, but they definetly insinuate it. I believe that it was based on a true story about two young gay men who killed one of their classmates to simply see how it would feel. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, May 11, 2005 - 11:01 PMRight you are, Ralph! See you ain't so young, you know your Hitch-cock! *snicker*
Rope rawks, I first saw it as a teen. I love it when Jimmy Stewart learns the truth and freaks out on the guys.
For more of the same, check out the new DVD of Hitch's Strangers on a Train. Based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith (dyke misanthrope) about 2 guys that trade murders. They talk in the commentary about how Hitch increased the homo subtext in the film. There's all this intentional body language and eye contact between the male leads that was meant to insinuate cruising.
Plus it also stars Farley Granger from Rope! -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, May 12, 2005 - 1:43 PMClive Barker is another writer/film-maker who knows how to weave homo-erotic subtext - particularly in some of his short-stories from the mid to late 80's. As a gay author (And a hot geek!), he constantly pushes the boundaries between horror and SM! The Hellraiser film series doesn't come off nearly as homo-erotic as the books - which are way effed-up! -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, May 13, 2005 - 4:55 PMI agree with you completely about Clive and his writings! It got my attention too.
Also I just want to say how impressed I am with the nerve you obviously struck with this tribe on this thread topic! I'm glad it's generated so many posts responding to "Growing up gay with,..."
Thank you, Ironrash! -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, May 13, 2005 - 11:33 PMHey, thanks Lucian! Frankly, I'm still a little dazed at the response myself - and just when you think the thread is dead, a little bit of new blood infuses and incites additional comment!
I think that I should be thanking all of the people that have participated, up to this point! Guys (and I mean that in a non-gender specific way) I think many of you have really stepped up to the plate here, with honesty and sincerity, and participated on a level that I haven't enjoyed nearly as much as any other Tribe group!
Whether this thread continues or dies, it's always been about sharing real (and reel) feelings, for me... -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, May 17, 2005 - 1:45 AMTalking about growing up gay and gay subtones in films and books, i remember seeing as a tenn the film "The hitcher" which will be remade soon, that was a film with a lot of gay subtones and not so subdued one, the game played by Rutger Hauer towards C. Thomas Howell was defenetly like a cat and mouse game but also came off sometimes as if he was almost crusing the guy in a sadistic way.
Talking about Barker there is a book that i love that i think u guys will love although it doesn´t has any gay content or references it talks about growing up alone and with the feeling of being out of place and how you look in other places to get that feeling that you can still fit in this world which i think all of us being gay teens at some point felt, it is call "The thief of Always".
To finish i want to say that as a co-creator of the tribe along my best friend in United States i will like to than all of these people that joined the tribe and actually are making it work by posting on it and i think this one has been the best threat we had so far, thanks Ironrash and thnks to the all of you guys that keep this tribe working with your posts. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, May 17, 2005 - 6:11 AMHi,
Just got pointed to this tribe by a very helpful person the other day and what a thread this is. I've spent a large chunk of my earliest years fondly watching horror flicks (my mother is a permissive horror fan that let me start watching at around age 5) and by the time I was a teenager in the early 90s I was working part time in a video store just so I could work my way through the horror section.
I think a lot of my favorites have already been touched on here that had some sort of homoerotic themes either vaguely disguised or otherwise a little more openly out there, but have to agree with the comments about The Hitcher. What would seem a cautionary tale of not picking up hitchhikers came across more as a twisted courting ritual and I almost expected Rutger Hauer and C. Thomas Howell to be making out by the end of the movie. Nightmare on Elm St. 2 also had both gay and S&M tones for me and I think it might be the movie that first made me realize the more pervy side of myself existed. I have a love/hate relationship with Hellraiser since I haven't had a chance to read the books yet, but based on what made it to the screen, I figured there must be some sort of homoeroticism in the original work but it seems only the heavier S&M theme made it into the movie. However, I must admit that part 3, even though looking back now it's one of the weakest of the series, had some elements that gave a randy young teenager some real food for thought.
I do remember one thing though in my youth that I remember thinking was really gay (along with a bit nasty for my tastes) and that's the unforgettable scene in Raw Head Rex when the priest gets "baptised" by urine.
Those are the memories that stand out the most for me. -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, May 18, 2005 - 3:53 PMDude, that scene in Raw Head Rex was way HC! See, this is why this Tribe exists - to dig up forgotten nuggets of the past and expose them for their worth! I think I've already forgotten more of these jewels than I'll ever remember...
I might me double teaming a thread here, but does anyone remember an early George Romero film called "Martin"? Not necessarily homo-erotic, but I remember it being one of the most erotic horror films I'd seen, as a kid! A teenage vampire wannabe goes around stalking victims, for blood, with hypos and razor blades...
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, October 6, 2006 - 6:02 AM*Plus it also stars Farley Granger from ROPE*
Totally have a crush on that one. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, October 6, 2006 - 10:59 AMHe's still around...go for it.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, May 18, 2005 - 6:06 PMI feel like we left out an important (to me) author. Poppy Z Brite. I get the feeling you either love or hate her stuff *but*, the book that made me enjoy reading about vampires again was Lost Souls. There's more than just implied homo overtones here. Matter of fact, I have yet to read one of her books that doesn't somehow deal with some sort of "gay" coupling.
Matter of fact, it was one of the first books I had read in a long time that gave me both romance between guys, and horror where it wasn't all about the sex. God bless Poppy. And I suppose Anne Rice as well because let's face it, Lestat and Louis?? Definately an old married couple :) -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, May 18, 2005 - 7:38 PMGood old Poppy Z. I must admit that I wasn't as big a fan of Lost Souls as I probably could have been if I hadn't read Drawing Blood first. I think I liked the less supernatural more intense drama in the plot line that Drawing Blood presents and I must admit I loved the choice of weapon. Trying not to give away too much for anyone that hasn't read it yet and is interested.
I also liked some of her short stories in the Wormwood collection. Her gay themes are definitely right out there in the open and that's no surprise considering I first learned of her work through an interview in Carpe Noctum where she professed to being a gay man trapped in a woman's body. Had I not worked closely with a woman that was in a similar predicament I would have dismissed the claim but it's obvious she spends a good deal of time thinking about that.
Speaking of gay tones in horror that are out in the open rather than implied or danced around, I was thrilled with a horror comedy called The Convent. It's a great film that doesn't take itself seriously and is a lot of fun. Specifically the character of the minion in evil adds a lot to the humor in the film. Might be worth a watch for those that haven't seen it. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, May 18, 2005 - 9:40 PMGotta give my props to Poppy Z. Although I am reading Drawing Blood right now, I was first exposed to Lost Souls, and it is one of my favorite books. Ghost and Steve are two of the most amazing characters in the literary universe. (in my opinion lol)
As for more flicks, just off the top of my head, Apt Pupil comes to mind. The relationship between Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro's characters was odd to say the least. Also, there was Brad Renfro's film Bully, where there's a little more than undertones lol. Although these aren't typical horror fare, they are both definitely disturbing.
On another note, has anyone seen the anime Yami no Matsuei aka Descendants of Darkness? A very cool show steeped in the supernatural with not only implied homo-erotic content, some of it is quite blatant. Something you might want to check out. ^_^
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Wed, October 4, 2006 - 7:22 PMBASKET CASE is one of my favorite horror movies of all time (check out my user pics!) I love any movie that captures sleazy early '80s Times Square, and few films get it like BASKET CASE. I will never forget seeing it for the first time on USA Saturday Nightmares. I had no idea what hit me!
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, October 5, 2006 - 10:51 AMI'm glad people love Fright Night, it's one of my favorites from the 80s. Another one that's not homoerotic really, but just a fun, satisfying horror flick seems to have been forgotten (can't find it on DVD). It's "Hell Night" with Linda Blair from '81 or '82. I remember seeing it in college and having a blast.
Going way, way back one of the earliest homo-toned horror films is "The Bride of Frankenstein" 1935. The unforgettable Earnest Thesiger plays Dr. Pretorious who is so flaming he just about sets the celluloid on fire! It's one of the all-time classic horror films and is considered better than the original Frankenstein. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, October 5, 2006 - 9:26 PMHELL NIGHT is definitely on DVD--Linda Blair even does an audio commentary! It might be out of print, though. I hope not--because I haven't bought it yet, and I need to have every post-EXORCIST Linda Blair film in my collection.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, October 6, 2006 - 1:30 PMI'm another one who was turned on by FRIGHT NIGHT. That scene when our lead is spying on Chris Sarandon shirtless in the window with that chic was a MAJOR turn on for me.
All the original scarefests like the original DRACULA, WOLFMAN, FRANKENSTEIN, etc. got my attention on TV Halloween nights. Then SALEM'S LOT came along on HBO and that clinched it. That one was kind of a turn on too.
A few movies that actually psychologically scarred me as a kid were BLACK CHRISTMAS, TERROR TRAIN & TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. I was too young to be watching that kind of brutality, but now it's become good therapy to watch them again and, of all things, enjoy them! God help me!!!
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, April 9, 2009 - 9:12 AMIn the Mouth of Madness made me happy to see Sam Neill. (Mmmmm.) I really love David Cronenberg's stuff, so Shivers, the Brood (TELETUBBIES FROM HELL!), Scanners, Videodrome, the Fly, they were all in my favorite classics. And I remembered watching my first horror film, Halloween, and then Alien. Although not considered too horrific, I about laughed myself out of my pants when I saw Dead Alive. Most of my horror films I actually saw around my gay awakening, so I wonder if there's a correlation with those...Plus, zombie films hold a special place in scaring the crap out of me, especially Day of the Dead and Zombi 2. One film that I always will like is the Beyond. Beautiful, Disgusting, and you get to shoot the hell out of a little girl's head. Priceless. i wasn't into much mid-80's later 80's stuff, but Nightmare on Elm Street (No! Johnny! You got all over the ceiling!) and The Blob(Remake actually scarier than the original...yay). The Shining was neato, and John Carpenter's stuff, any of his stuff flips a horror boner for some reason. Yumyum. Before I bore y'all to death, I'll stop with Miike. Audition I remember watching with my parents actually. Heh, they thought I needed a psychiatrist! (Before, they also questioned the nature of videodrome. I know how we like to touch ourselves during the hotter parts of horror, so back in the day when your mother or father would not get out of the living room just to be curious about a horror movie......your sexual tension is muffled.:( But now I don't have that problem. (Except for family reunions....they will not watch Ichi the Killer...)
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, June 2, 2009 - 9:56 AMi don't really have a sexual connection (or any gay connection, for that matter) with horror films and me growing up. however, i did receive a slight fear of werewolves due to horror films at a very young age, which grew into a serious childhood phobia. and THAT started with an old Twilight episode with some type of hairy monster on the wing of a plane that only a single passenger could see, and then got WAY worse when i first saw the old b&w movie of The Shaggy Dog; as he was turning into a dog in the wax museum after hours. since then, i received a sort of sexual fantasy of werewolves as i got older. i think it's maybe my subconscious trying to remedy the fear by creating it as a sexual icon. i'm still totally freaked by werewolves and cannot watch them in movies, but because of this: they fascinate me and so turn me on! weird, huh? -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Fri, June 12, 2009 - 4:05 PMhorror films & my sexuality are mutually exclusive parts of my life, but I rember a charactor from night breed that could be considered gay..i grew up loving horror films. unfortunatly since the late 90's i only have liked a handful of them. including Diary of the dead, ginger snaps and a few films that were bad but entertaining teeth & shrooms.. Socket & hellbent are entertaining ay sci-fi/horror films that you can buy or rent on dvd.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Sat, July 4, 2009 - 11:01 PMHmm, Fright Night for sure.
The Hunger - need I say more?
Pet Cemetary- Dale Midkiff was so hot! & Herman Munster, to boot.
Ghost Story was fantastic. I've loved Alice Krige ever since. Her luminous beauty and dead-cold line delivery were exquisite.
Vamp with Grace Jones. She was fierce & the boys were cute.
The Exorcist.
I'm going to genre- jump and include Beetlegeuse, and Edward Scissorhands. Oh- there was a scary movie on TV called The House of Zargoth that was pretty arcane& campy.
But my all-time favorite was a PBS production of Mourning Becomes Electra. I saw it when I was about 8 years old. They did it set in 1860's England. The final scene had only Electra onstage, though we could hear the sounds of hammers and saws offstage. Her final lines are something like "...and I shall lie here, entombed, with my brethren - the Mannon dead." ( She is having the workman wall her up in her family estate, with the corpses of recently deceased loved-ones in their rooms.)
I draped myself in an old army blanket & silently trailed it behind me for a week b4 my Mom finally said. "Ok, I just have to ask: What are you doing?" I replied "I'm in mourning". She nodded and said "Alright, for who?" I burst into tears, and with my hands on my heart, sobbed "I don't know! But if it becomes Electra, then it must become ME, too!" She sighed and left the room. -
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Thu, August 27, 2009 - 10:37 PMthat's an amazing story about mourning becomes electra!
I'll totally agree with your picks, too.
Dale Midkiff was so hot.
Anybody remember that movie Monkey Shines? Sexy guy in bathtub??? Super hot.
I'll also throw in Clownhouse, which was totally creepy, and pretty homoerotic to me when I was
a teenager--starring a young Sam Rockwell. Made by the same director as Jeepers Creepers II,
and unfortunately, one of the teenage boys in the film was molested by the director. If you can get past
that creepout factor, it's still a pretty scary movie, I think.
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Re: Growing up gay, with horror ...
Tue, September 15, 2009 - 9:37 PMYuk about the director molesting an underage actor. That alone gives ME the creeps... I forgot to mention a fave film that I think I saw in my very early 20's. Dance of the Damned. Some of the supporting cast weren't great actors, but the two main co-stars were terrific.
