### 20 Essential LGBTQ+ Horror Films
Horror movies have long been a staple of the film industry, but they often overlook the experiences and fears of the LGBTQ+ community. However, there are many films that not only acknowledge these fears but also celebrate the diversity and resilience of LGBTQ+ individuals. Here are 20 essential LGBTQ+ horror films that you should watch this Halloween season.
1. **A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge** (1985)
– This sequel to the classic horror film introduces Jesse, a shy teen boy haunted by Freddy Krueger. It’s one of the first films to feature a gay male protagonist in a horror movie.
2. **Hellbent** (2005)
– Often referred to as the first gay slasher film, Hellbent follows several gay men trying to evade a killer during Halloween in West Hollywood.
3. **Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker** (1981)
– This early 80s horror film features two gay characters and critiques homophobia, police violence, and the presumed innocence of white women.
4. **Freaky** (2020)
– While not exclusively LGBTQ+, Freaky features Josh, the main character’s gay best friend, adding a refreshing twist to the body-swapping horror genre.
5. **Los Espookys** (TV Series, 2019)
– This Spanish-language show follows a group of misfit friends who form a horror group that creates real-life scares for clients. The show includes a gay character named Andres.
6. **What We Do in the Shadows** (TV Series, 2019)
– This comedy series is also one of the gayest shows on TV. It features Laszlo Cravensworth, a pansexual vampire, and Nandor the Relentless, who is bisexual and in a will-they-or-won’t-they relationship with his former familiar Guillermo.
7. **Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire** (TV Series, 2022)
– The new TV adaptation of this classic novel turns up the gayness to 100. It stars Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid as two vampires and lovers.
8. **Raw** (2016)
– This French movie follows Justine, a vegetarian veterinary school student who develops a taste for human flesh after a hazing ritual. She has a gay roommate, Adrien, who becomes a major part of the story.
9. **Closet Monster** (2015)
– In this film, body horror is used as an analogy for the fear of coming out. The main character, Oscar, witnesses a violent homophobic attack as a young boy and later experiences similar fears as he starts having feelings for other boys.
10. **Rocky Horror Picture Show** (1975)
– This campy and sexy musical is a classic queer horror movie. It stars Tim Curry as the delightfully deranged transvestite named Dr. Frank N. Furter.
11. **Pitchfork** (2016)
– This horror film follows a young gay man who travels with his friends back to his family farm in Michigan to come out to his conservative family. Unfortunately, they are stalked and killed by a deranged killer with a pitchfork.
12. **Knife + Heart** (2018)
– Set in 1970s Paris, this slasher film features a killer offing gay porn actors. It evokes Peeping Tom in its positioning of horror as inherently voyeuristic and hides a blade in an even more memorable prop.
13. **Tom at the Farm** (2013)
– This film explores the line between fear and desire. It follows Tom, a queer from Montreal, who goes to rural Quebec for his boyfriend’s funeral and begins a complicated psychosexual relationship with his deceased boyfriend’s hypermasculine brother.
14. **Midnight Kiss** (
