01
The Skin I Live In (2011)
- Overall
- 8.1
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
A brilliant plastic surgeon creates a synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.
Audience Guide
The Best Queer Horror Movies
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans horror, ranked by how central the queerness is
By Alan WilleyLast updated
Queer horror centers LGBTQ+ characters and the experience of being one. Sometimes that is explicit, a love story between two men or two women, or a trans character at the heart of the film. Sometimes it is coded, written into the subtext for viewers who recognize it even when the script never says the word. This guide counts both.
Below are the films in our catalog tagged queer, ranked with the ones where the queerness is most central at the top. They are not all the same kind of horror. You will find supernatural films, slashers, body horror, and romance here. What connects them is that the queer reading is part of what the film is about, not a detail you could lift out without changing the film.
The threat in a lot of queer horror stands in for something real, like conversion therapy or the fear of being found out. The monster gives that fear a shape. It is why a coded film from the 1980s, made when the subtext had to stay subtext, belongs on the same list as an explicit film from 2026.
New to it? Start near the top. The coded classics sit further down, where the queerness lives in the gaps.
02
Titane (2021)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
A woman with a metal plate in her head from a childhood car accident embarks on a bizarre journey, bringing her into contact with a firefighter who's reunited with his missing son after 10 years.
03
Jennifer's Body (2009)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
Jennifer, a gorgeous, seductive cheerleader takes evil to a whole new level after she's possessed by a sinister demon. Now it's up to her best friend to stop Jennifer's reign of terror before it's too late.
04
Leviticus (2026)
- Overall
- 7.5
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 3.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.9
Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.
05
Haute tension (2003)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
06
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.
07
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
A teenage boy is haunted in his dreams by deceased child murderer Freddy Krueger, who is out to possess him in order to continue his reign of terror in the real world.
08
Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021)
- Overall
- 6.1
- Fear
- 2.5
- Gore
- 7.0
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries.
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09
It's a Wonderful Knife (2023)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
Winnie's life is less than wonderful one year after saving her town from a psychotic killer on Christmas Eve. When she wishes she was never born, she finds herself magically transported to a nightmarish parallel universe. With the murderous maniac now back, she must team up with a misfit to identify the culprit and get back to her own reality.
10
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the Camp Miasma slasher franchise is handed over to an enthusiastic young director for resurrection. But when she visits the original's star, a now-reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium.
11
Fright Night (1985)
- Overall
- 7.6
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 3.8
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
Charley Brewster, a high school student, accidentally discovers the true and creepy nature of Jerry Dandrige, his dashing and enigmatic new neighbor; but no one seems willing to believe him.
12
Let the Right One In (2008)
- Overall
- 6.8
- Fear
- 5.5
- Gore
- 5.5
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
When Oskar, a sensitive, bullied 12-year-old boy, meets his new neighbor, the mysterious and moody Eli, they strike up a friendship. Initially reserved with each other, Oskar and Eli slowly form a close bond, but it soon becomes apparent that she is no ordinary young girl.
13
Saint Maud (2019)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
Having recently found God, self-effacing young nurse Maud arrives at a plush home to care for Amanda, a hedonistic dancer left frail from a chronic illness. When a chance encounter with a former colleague throws up hints of a dark past, it becomes clear there is more to sweet Maud than meets the eye.
14
V/H/S (2012)
- Overall
- 7.1
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire one rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they had bargained for.
15
The Hitcher (1986)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.
16
The Ranger (2018)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
After a run-in with the cops at a punk show goes sideways, Chelsea and her pals flee the city in search of a place to lay low. Running to the security of an old, abandoned family cabin in the woods, they fall under the watchful eye of an overzealous park ranger who holds a secret from Chelsea's past.
17
Halloween Kills (2021)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
Michael manages to free himself from Laurie Strode's trap to resume his ritual bloodbath. As she fights for her life from injuries from their last encounter, she inspires her daughter Karen, her granddaughter Allyson, and all of Haddonfield to rise up against the unstoppable monster.
18
Frontière(s) (2007)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
A gang of young thieves flee Paris during the violent aftermath of a political election, only to hole up at an Inn run by neo-Nazis.
19
Clown in a Cornfield (2025)
- Overall
- 6.1
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 5.0
- Atmosphere
- 3.0
Quinn and her father have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time.
20
The Lighthouse (2019)
- Overall
- —
- Fear
- —
- Gore
- —
- Atmosphere
- —
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
Common questions
- What is queer horror?
- Queer horror is horror that centers LGBTQ+ characters, desire, and experience, whether the film states it outright or keeps it in the subtext. The horror itself can be supernatural, slasher, or psychological. What makes it queer horror is that the queerness is part of the film's subject, not a background detail.
- What is the difference between queer horror and gay horror?
- Gay horror usually points to films about gay men specifically. Queer is the broader term and covers lesbian, bisexual, and trans stories as well as coded films that were never explicit. We use queer as the umbrella so a lesbian film like Fear Street Part 1: 1994 and a trans-themed film like Titane sit alongside the gay-male classics.
- What are the best sapphic or lesbian horror movies?
- From this list, Fear Street Part 1: 1994 and It's a Wonderful Knife both build their story around women who love women, and the "Second Honeymoon" segment of V/H/S turns on a sapphic twist. Jennifer's Body belongs here too, with a bisexual lead. High Tension is a darker and more contested example.
- What does “bury your gays” mean?
- Bury your gays is a long-running pattern where queer characters are more likely to die than straight ones, often right after they find some happiness. Horror leaned on it for decades. Part of what makes recent queer horror notable is how often it now lets its queer characters survive.
- Can a film be queer horror if the queerness is only subtext?
- Yes. Some of the most influential queer horror is entirely coded. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge is the clearest case, with a gay subtext its own writer has since confirmed. If a queer viewer would recognize themselves in the film, it earns a place here even when the script never says the word.
Changelog
- — Hub created. Plain-voice intro + FAQ drafted (curator revision pending).