It’s immediately understood that Queer Screams: A History of LGBTQ+ Survival Through the Lens of American Cinema was a labor of love for queer historian and horror film scholar Abigail Waldron. Waldron expertly chronicles American horror films from Frankenstein (1931) to Fear Street (2021) and the historical events that shaped the queer representation in them. This well-researched text is accessible and engaging to all queer film lovers, and it handles the most brutal aspects of our history with care and nuance.
The book references seminal texts and scholars such as The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, and Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Waldron also conducted a study with queer horror fans, highlighting how we find comfort in seeing ourselves as the queer-coded villain or as the Final Girl.
Waldron deftly draws parallels between American LGBTQ+ history and queer representation in films, adding more nuance to Queer American history. Queer Screams includes history you may know – such as Stonewall, McCarthyism, and the AIDS crisis- and covers subjects glossed over in history classes, such as LGBTQ+ involvement and persecution during the Cold War. The book contains so much underreported queer film history, but this history is meticulously laid out for the reader to engage with in a way that does not feel overwhelming. Waldron even includes a list of movies referenced and for our viewing pleasure, which is always a nice touch. I love discovering new-to-me films with more knowledge and a new perspective.
One of the participants in Waldron’s study wrote, “I think horror is the one genre that has ALWAYS belonged to us.” If anything, Waldron’s Queer Screams proves this to be true. Queer Screams is a welcome addition to LGBTQ+ and genre historical texts. I expect Waldron to be referenced in future texts along with the great scholars she masterfully wove in her book.
Queer Screams is available now on McFarland Books and Amazon.