Hunks and Horror: Why Gay Men Love the Monsters

There’s something about horror that just gets us. For Episode 4 of Unpacking LIVE, Joe and I dove fang-first into the twisted, tender, and totally queer relationship between horror and gay men. From the vampire fantasies that made our hearts race to the slashers who awakened something we couldn’t yet name, this episode was part nostalgia trip, part confessional, and part celebration of the monsters who raised us.

🎥 Watch the full episode below:

📼 The Movies That Made Us Feel... Things

🧛♂️ Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Shame in the Showers

We talked about how this infamous sequel became a gay cult classic — not just for its subtext (which isn’t that sub), but for its raw metaphor about repression and shame. Coach Schneider’s locker room death? Both terrifying and… strangely formative. For many of us, it was the first time we saw male vulnerability and sexuality tangled on screen — and we felt it.

“That scene was scary, yeah… but it was also one of the first times I saw a male body treated like that in a movie.”

🧛♀️ Interview with the Vampire: Longing, Lace, and Eternal Regret

We unpacked the heat between Louis and Armand — the kiss that never was — and how the film’s Gothic aesthetic reflected a queer yearning for connection and belonging. The vampires in this story didn’t just seduce — they mourned, they brooded, they ached. And we saw ourselves in them.

👹 Fright Night: That Neighbor Was Definitely Not Straight

Let’s be honest — Jerry Dandridge wasn’t just a vampire. He was a moment. The silk robes, the seductive stares, the homoerotic tension between him and Charley? It wasn’t subtle, and that’s why we loved it. And Evil Ed? Closeted, bullied, and ultimately transformed — he was one of us, even if the movie never said it out loud.

🔥 Demon Knight: Demon Daddy in a Suit

Joe brought this one in and I’m so glad he did. Billy Zane as the Collector is all seduction, sass, and unholy charisma. He doesn’t attack — he tempts. And his offer of power in exchange for surrender? That’s queer-coded temptation if I’ve ever seen it.

🎵 Sinners: Hoodoo, Vampires, and Cultural Seduction

We also touched on the recent queer-adjacent film Sinners, where an Irish vampire tries to “buy in” to Black identity and culture through supernatural means. It’s a powerful metaphor about assimilation, legacy, and the seductive danger of giving up who you are for safety.

Why Horror Speaks to Queer Men

We didn’t just love horror because it was scary — we loved it because it saw us.
It gave us metaphors for our shame. It gave us villains we understood. It gave us final girls who fought back.
And sometimes… it gave us ripped vampires in lace-front wigs.

“For so many gay men, horror was the first genre that let us be scared of what we felt — and powerful for surviving it.”

💬 Let us know in the comments:
What horror movie shaped your queer awakening?

And if you haven’t seen the episode yet — what are you waiting for? Scroll up, hit play, and join us as we scream, swoon, and survive Unpacking LIVE.