LGBTQ Representation in Pre-Woke Horror: The Good, the Bad, and the WTF

Disclaimer: From my earliest childhood memories until the moment I sat down to type this, I have never been romantically interested in another man. So while one never knows what tomorrow will bring, at this moment I can confidently say I am, and have always been, a straight white male.

I do consider myself an ally, though, so before we dive into bizarre examples of LGBTQ representation in pre-woke horror, I want to assure all members of the community that my goal is NOT to offend you. And thus, if I should fail, it is with my deepest apologies. And now, on with the show:

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Positive portrayals of queer characters in horror movies were a lot harder to come by in the pre-woke era, and often had to be hidden, or “coded” in order to go relatively unnoticed by a public that was deemed not ready for them.

Some famous examples include “Bride of Frankenstein” and “Dracula’s Daughter” in the 1930s, and “A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” in the ’80s. (The “subtext” in that one couldn’t have been more obvious, but my clueless teenage ass missed it completely when I saw it in the theater.)

But every once in a while in those Before Times, queer characters weren’t hidden or hinted at. And the results varied widely. Here are some famous and infamous examples:

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Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)

Theo Forsett plays Byron, best friend of Tammy, played by a young Denise Richards. Tammy’s going through some stuff, because her boyfriend Michael (Paul Walker) has been killed, and his brain stolen by a mad scientist and placed in the head of an animatronic dinosaur.

It happens.

Byron is out, loud and proud. And nobody seems to care. Even Michael, a high school jock, doesn’t flinch when they’re introduced at the beginning of the movie. And even after he becomes a rampaging (fake) dinosaur, Michael shows Theo kindness, sparing him while tearing apart several of his classmates.

Byron’s sexuality is only mocked by two dumb comic-relief cops, and their little jabs fall flat and feel out of place, because Theo is treated so respectfully by the film.

1994 may not be ancient history, but remember, this was three years before Ellen DeGeneres came out… and faced some serious career setbacks for doing so.

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Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981)

This one’s weird. Like, really weird. ’70s teen idol Jimmy McNichol plays Billy, a high school senior being raised by his clingy aunt (the legendary Susan Tyrrell), who very much wants to have sex with him. She’s also prone to committing murder.

Enter Bo Svenson, playing a homophobic cop who’s determined to pin the murders on Billy’s gay basketball coach, Tom Landers, played by Steve Eastin. Tom is portrayed as just a regular guy who happens to be gay, which was really progressive for 1981.

He’s also one of the most sympathetic and heroic characters in the film, and the ending leaves no question about whose side you should be on.

Interesting Note: Four years later, Landers would appear in “A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge,” one of the most thinly disguised gay horror movies of all time.

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Killer Condom (1996)

A condom with teeth that bites off male genitalia, presented by the guys who made “The Toxic Avenger”? If this piques your interest, be warned: this is not a typical Troma movie. In fact, they didn’t make it. It’s a German film that they picked up for distribution.

At its heart, it’s a gay love story between a cop and the male prostitute he meets in the seedy underbelly of New York City while investigating the castrating prophylactics. The film is peopled with LGBTQ characters we actually care about and root for… unlike the real villain, who’s unveiled in the final act.

Interesting Fact: H.R. Giger – the Swiss artist who created the xenomorph in “Alien” – served as a creative consultant on this one.

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Sleepaway Camp (1983)

The granddaddy of gender-dysphoric killer flicks. Or is it the grandmommy? All these years later, I’m still confused. By now, anybody interested enough to have read this far should know the plot, and its infamous twist ending.

A series of murders at a summer camp are revealed to be the work of Angela, a girl who was secretly a boy all along! At a very young age, Angela’s aunt decided to raise him as a girl, following the deaths of his sister and their father in a boating accident.

Oh, and just to pile on, Angela’s father was gay, and as a young child she/he witnessed Pops in bed with another guy; the implication being that this screwed her/him up even more.

I seriously doubt the filmmakers were trying to make a social or political statement; it’s all just shock value. But still, it sends the message that if your gender doesn’t match your genitals, people die.

Interesting Fact: Kenan Thompson of “Saturday Night Live” fame is producing a remake with the original writer-director. It’ll be interesting to see if they keep the same ending. My guess is no, but mainly because audiences will be expecting it.

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Fatal Games (1984)

Students training at an elite athletics academy are being picked off by somebody who chucks a mean javelin.

The killer turns out to be a nurse named Diane, played by Sally Kirkland, who you may remember from “The Sting,” “Best of the Best,” “JFK” and a bunch of other stuff.

But the real reveal is that Diane used to be a man. She had gender reassignment surgery to become a woman so she could be a champion at javelining… which, I discovered while writing this, is an actual word! But Diane was disqualified from competition after tests showed she had too many male hormones.

In the film’s most absurd moment, once the final girl discovers Diane’s secret, she starts speaking in a male voice.

She tells her intended victim, “Don’t you understand? I have sacrificed everything. I have risked everything just to win. I even became a woman just to win!”

Yes, it’s transphobic as shit. But as with “Sleepaway Camp,” I really don’t think any statement was being made here other than, “Yo, dig this crazy twist!”

Still, I’m shocked this flick hasn’t been picked up by the anti-trans movement. I could see Riley Gaines screening it before her (hate) speeches and saying, “See? They’ve been doing it for decades!”