Them Magazine's "69 Gayest Horror Movies" List Debunked

Critique of "69 Gayest Horror Movies"

• 🎯 The article "69 Gayest Horror Movies" by Them Magazine is analyzed, with the presenter questioning the premise and the magazine's interpretations.
• 💡 The magazine's opening paragraph is highlighted, which claims queerness, like horror, is defined by tensions between inside/outside and normal/abnormal, and that LGBTQ+ people relate to being on society's perimeter.

Reinterpreting Horror Tropes

• 🔪 The presenter challenges the magazine's classification of classic horror films as inherently "gay," arguing they are often based on real events or psychological disturbances rather than sexual orientation.
• 🧠 Examples like "Psycho" are discussed, with the magazine's interpretation of transphobic crossdressing tropes and queer readings being contrasted with the film's basis in the actions of Ed Gein.
• 🧛‍♂️ The film "Fright Night" is analyzed, with the magazine suggesting homoeroticism in vampire dynamics, which the presenter dismisses as a projection of a "hypersexualized gay porn brain."

AIDS Crisis and Horror

• 🩸 The article's connection of "Fright Night" to the AIDS crisis is critiqued, with the presenter questioning the equation of sex between men with vampirism and decay.
• 🚫 The presenter argues against the idea of an "AIDS epidemic," distinguishing between individual cases and broader epidemics, and notes the shift in public discourse over time.

Questionable Inclusions and Interpretations

• 🔪 Movies like "Nightmare on Elm Street 2" are examined, with the magazine's focus on the protagonist's potential closeted experiences being debated against the film's plot and Freddy Krueger's origins.
• 🎬 The presenter criticizes the magazine's tendency to find "gayness" where it is not explicitly present, citing "Saw" and "Annihilation" as examples of overreaching interpretations.
• 👻 In contrast, "Blackula" is acknowledged as a film where gay characters are explicitly present, though the presenter still finds the magazine's analysis superficial.

Broader Cultural Commentary

• 🎭 The presenter suggests that the magazine's interpretations reinforce negative stereotypes of the gay community and that this approach is divisive.
• 🗣️ The core argument is that the magazine is projecting a "gay lens" onto horror films, finding sexual or queer subtext in elements that are not inherently so, and that this approach is a "you problem."