Queer Factor: The Best in LGBTQIA+ Horror Movies and TV

Originally published in 2022. This article rounds up the best queer horror films and television.

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A tree branch scratches at your window and the shadows flicker closer … wait, it’s only August? Never fear! Any time of year is a good time to let the shivers run down your spine! Especially in Augtober, shivers like these are our way of getting closer to Halloween before the hallowed month hits.

Many fans know that there’s always been something especially queer about horror (and we don’t just mean “queer” like weird or strange). However, the LGBTQIA+ horror of yesteryear — and even a few contemporary flicks — often fall victim to coded subtext (A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2, Ravenous, and The Lost Boys) to downright sensationalized shock value (Sleepaway Camp and The Silence of the Lambs). But these gays, er days, there’s a real renaissance happening in queer horror.

This month, queer horror took a nostalgic and much-needed retrospective turning point with Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Let’s look at some of the more recent entries in the queer horror canon, including film and television. And if anybody says The Babadook, you’re getting killed first — no matter how funny that infamous Netflix mix-up was.

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Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

• Release Year: 2026
• Where To Watch: Theaters

Stock up on candy. Pop that popcorn. Put on a skimpy little outfit to run from the slasher killer — wait, what!? Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a lustful love letter to being queer; that is, to desiring and loving dangerously. It is an utterly unique and wholly engaging horror-comedy with nods to all the beloved classics … plus their endless remakes and reboots. Tongue-in-cheek and spear-in-[redacted for spoilers], it will get you groaning and sighing for all the right reasons. Wink, wink.

Plus don’t forget to check out this writer/director extraordinaire’s I Saw The TV Glow, a mesmerizing take on transgender horror.

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Leviticus

• Release Year: 2026
• Where To Watch: Letterboxd Video Store

Homophobia is the very literal villain in this Australian horror from the producers of Talk To Me. With all the vibes of an Ethel Cain and Troye Sivan music video crossover, this intimate teenage-led film has often been compared to It Follows “but for gay people.” Still, Leviticus stands on its own as a testament to the dangers of small mindedness and religious fervor. At once both violent and tender, this is a can’t miss for queer horror fans who love to explore themes of monstrousness within themselves and their favorite media.

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Interview With the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat

• Release Year: 2022
• Where To Watch: Netflix, AMC+

Based on Anne Rice’s classic novel and executive produced by her son Christopher Rice, this new incarnation of Interview With the Vampire gives a whole crypt full of queer gothic horror. Among the flickering lights of New Orleans in 1910, the vampire Lestat hunts a man named Louis de Pointe du Lac (played by Game of Thrones‘ Jacob Anderson). Their destinies soon intertwine in a flurry of flesh, lust, and rage that would make the most sinful of sinners blush. The streets of the quarter run red as Louis’ faith is tested and his thirst is quenched.

IWTV has three seasons now, with the third focusing primarily on Lestat’s glitter-adorned rise to rock and roll stardom … ish. The fourth season, Queen of the Damned, will feature Akasha — the mother of all vampires — on her quest to eradicate all men from the face of the earth. Good for her.

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What We Do in the Shadows

• Release Year: 2019
• Where To Watch: Hulu, Disney+

On the other fang, What We Do in the Shadows is a gay old time — like, try centuries old, since this show focuses on a coven of vampires trying to survive the (after)life in Staten Island, New York. This group of vamps has definitely been around the block when it comes to romance — and they’re not shy about sharing, especially Nandor the Relentless! Jemaine Clement’s mockumentary style show, based on his 2014 film with Taika Waititi, is irreverent horror fun. All six seasons are now streaming.

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First Kill

• Release Year: 2022
• Where To Watch: Netflix

Part Romeo & Juliet, part Twilight, with a whole lot of monster-of-the-week type action, First Kill offers something for every queer horror fan. If you were a fan of Teen Wolf (another creepy option with queer rep), this show will be a good fit. There’s romance, blood, a killer soundtrack, ancient family histories, oh and did we mention blood? In case you hadn’t guessed, this is a series about vampires and those who are sworn to hunt them. But sometimes, as Juliette and Calliope learn, even the most sacred vows are meant to be ripped apart.

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Fear Street

• Release Year: 2021
• Where To Watch: Netflix

Throughout history, being queer has always been about survival. Society’s deepest fears have been projected onto queer people — but what happens when those people fight back? A spine-tingling tale told in three parts (plus a special spin-off continuation, Prom Night), the Fear Street films show the innate strength that queer people have in the face of adversity. Whether it’s against a town’s enduring curse, a terrifying slasher, or a summer camp serial killer, you can be sure that these teens will fight like hell to survive.

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Chucky

• Release Year: 2021
• Where To Watch: Hulu

Speaking of all things diabolical, the Chucky TV series brings back the doll everyone loves to fear. When Jake happens upon a Chucky doll at a garage sale, his life slowly fills with horror. Each episode brings a new jaw-dropping twist as Chucky exerts his control over Jake and Devon, their frenemy Lexy, and plenty of other victims. Even Tiffany, the bride of Chucky, makes her return!

Season 2 features nonbinary actor Lachlan Watson (from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, also another great horror show with queer characters) playing Chucky and Tiffany’s child, Glen/Glenda. Nothing like continuing the family business … and queer icon legacy.

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Queens of the Dead

• Release Year: 2025
• Where To Watch: Hulu

What do queens do? They slay! Directed by Tina Romero, this lipgloss-streaked, high-heeled romp into a zombie apocalypse is like ordering a fruity little drink and still feeling that vicious burn. While Queens of the Dead is tonally quite campy (and has every intention of being that way), it’s also fiercely emotional. The character dynamics ground every scene, inspiring laughs, tears, judgement, empathy — everything! If you want gore and glamour, hit play ASAP.

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In addition to all these streaming choices, there are also plenty of other modern classics. The low-budget flick Hellbent advertised itself as the first gay slasher film, though it’s part of a slew of similar early-2000s movies like Dead Guys and High Tension. Later, Jennifer’s Body paved the way for inclusive carnage with all kinds of bodies going both ways.

More recent films like Raw and Fresh (both tied to appetites of a certain flavor) have featured queer characters, though they remain in the gay BFF trope rather than a lead character. The Long Walk leaves footfalls on the path of that inherit subtle romance in “brotherly” camaraderie, but never answers if its leads really fell in love. Cast and creator interview comments don’t count; we have to apply death of the author, or we’ll be reading intentionality into things that don’t necessarily deserve it.

So, what’s on your queer horror watchlist this month? Join the conversation with other horror fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!