8 LGBTQ+ Horror Movies to Watch During Pride Month

For decades, the horror genre has captured a queer audience like no other, making us not feel so alone in such a big, strange world. This list of LGBTQ+ horror films discusses films with queer themes and characters that are perfect to binge during Pride month.

As Pride parades take place across the country, check out these eight strange horror films featuring parasitic drugs, a strange, fearful zombie, and a serial killer who targets the stars of a gay adult film.

What keeps you alive

What keeps you alive is a brutal survival horror film from 2018 that may make viewers question the true intentions of their partner. The stylish indie follows newlywed lesbian couple Jackie and Jules (Hannah Emily Anderson and Brittany Allan), who decide to spend their honeymoon in Jackie’s cabin deep in the wilderness. As the pleasures of nature fade, shocking secrets between the couple soon surface, with deadly consequences.

What Keeps You Alive is highly unpredictable, with twists and turns hiding around every corner. The film is unapologetic in its violence, but also has a sentimental side, which is sometimes necessary in survival horror. It’s a great start to our list of the best LGBTQ+ horror films.

What Keeps You Alive is available to stream on AMC+.

Hypochondriac

Plays like a strange version of Donnie Darko, Hypochondriac is a contemporary meditation on mental illness that features a fairly non-traditional narrative style, à la David Lynch. The film stars American Horror Story breakout Zach Villa as Will, a potter who begins having terrifying hallucinations of a wolf-like creature. Will isn’t sure if these visions are real or just in his head, and it begins to have a major impact on his relationship with his friend Luke (Devon Graye).

Hypochondriac is a film that is frightening because it feels so relatable. The design of the creatures is fantastic, and the film also features the compelling theme of befriending your demons, an idea that isn’t always explored in other similar films.

Hypochondriac is available to stream on Tubi.

Swallowed

Helmed by The Ruins director Carter Smith, Swallowed is a bizarre body horror film that plays out like a backwoods horror romp with a strange twist. Swallowed follows Benjamin and Dom (Cooper Koch and Jose Colon), two best friends, as they celebrate Benjamin’s move to LA to pursue a career as a gay adult film actor. However, the celebration goes wrong when a dangerous drug dealer named Alice (Jena Malone) kidnaps them and forces them to carry mysterious drugs for her.

Swallowed is another film that develops in surprising ways throughout its runtime. The body horror sequences are among the most grotesque and memorable ever depicted on screen within the subgenre. The film is also a crime thriller, which once again shows how dynamic storytelling is. Also, LGBTQ icon Mark Patton appears in the film’s second act as the real big bad, and it’s a career-making performance.

Swallowed is available to rent on Prime Video, YouTube and Apple TV.

The retreat

The retreat is a terrifyingly real descent into the world of bigotry that exists in North America. Released in 2021, The Retreat tells the story of a lesbian couple who experience difficulties in their relationship and decide to go on a retreat to a remote cabin. It turns out that the cabin was actually rented to the couple by homophobic killers who film and livestream themselves killing gay couples.

The Retreat works so well because the two main characters fight back and prove themselves as great heroines who should be remembered for a long time and deserve a spot on our list of the best LGBTQ+ horror films.

The Retreat is available to stream on Tubi.

Determined

One of the first horror films to be described as a ‘gay slasher’ Determined is a groundbreaking horror film from 2004. Hellbent features a group of gay friends on Halloween who are stalked by a killer dressed as the devil.

Hellbent is a campy and gory good time, but is also a very important piece of low-budget filmmaking as it was a major catalyst for the creation of the subgenre known as queer horror.

Hellbent is available to stream on Prime Video with a premium subscription.

Otto; or, Up with dead people

Otto; or, Up with dead people is an absurdist, strange version of a zombie film from 2008. This German film, directed by prolific filmmaker Bruce LaBruce, is controversial for many reasons, including the inclusion of explicit sex scenes involving zombies.

Otto concerns the title character, a gothic zombie auditioning for a zombie film. Otto meets many colorful characters along the way in this grotesque but hilarious part of queer cinema.

Otto; or, Up with dead people is available to stream on Tubi or Prime Video with a premium subscription.

Knife + Heart

Equipped with a ’70s Giallo aesthetic and a unique take on the slasher formula, Knife + Heart is a flashy, underrated French nightmare that will encapsulate viewers. Knife + Heart stars Vanessa Paradis as a gay adult film director who searches for the identity of a killer who is exterminating the actors on the set of her new film.

Knife + Heart features brutal death scenes and an uncompromising story, but the film feels ethereal and artistic in a way that makes it stand out among other modern slashers.

Knife + Heart can be streamed on Prime Video, Shudder, AMC+ and Tubi.

Sleepaway camp

Sleepaway camp is a classic ’80s slasher that may seem insensitive to some, but was nevertheless influential in the inclusion of blatant queerness in horror. Sleepaway Camp centers on Angela (Felissa Rose), who grew up with her Aunt Martha after losing her family in a boating accident. When Angela and her cousin Ricky go to a sleepaway camp at Camp Arawak, the bodies start piling up.

Sleepaway Camp plays out like a standard ’80s slasher despite the heightened tension, but the film’s controversial twist ending makes the film a classic that will remain influential for decades to come and a fitting end to our list of the best LGBTQ+ horror films.

Sleepaway Camp is available to stream on Peacock, Tubi, Cackle and Plex.