It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, edited by Joe Vallese (2022) – NONFICTION
Horror films, especially the ones of the 1950s and earlier, can be problematic for the queer community, as they often fall into judgment, criticism, and straight-up attacks of the LGBTQIA+ community by making the queer monstrous, but editor Joe Vallese tackles that pitfall in the introduction, and then leads readers to an all-inclusive look of various genres in the horror film industry through a queer lens. This isn’t a book of queer theory; rather, it’s a collection of personal reflections from queer writers. A few of the essays turn introspective, drawing a connection between the writer and the film itself like Carmen Maria Machado’s essay about Jennifer’s Body, while others revel in the way the all-masculine boating crew – Quint, Hooper, and Brody – of Jaws could be seen as a maiden-mother-crone collection of queers who just also happen to be on the look-out for the scariest shark in the waters. This book is a must-read for fans of horror films. Full stop. It made me reflect about why I love (and hate) some slasher movies, and it ignited in me a desire to watch some films I’ve never seen (Dead Ringers, Eyes Without a Face, and The Wolfman).
This review first appeared in the October 2024 print edition of Out in Wichita. Click here to see the review in print.
shelly. walston. writes. 