We, queer people, are fascinated by horror and slasher films. Monsters, ghosts, psychopaths, lunatics, freaks, victims, and villains populate these films. They thrive on the fear of the ‘other, the ‘weird,’ and the ‘unknown.’ Perhaps that’s why we enjoy these genres.
Having turned the tables on this logic, we’ve not only embraced these feared stereotypes but also reclaimed them, making them our own. There is also the subtle matter of queer people being more open and accepting of the fine art of camp.
Anyway, Halloween is here – our annual excuse to be our campy, over-the-top selves! To celebrate the spooky and gory. For many, like me, it is an excuse to indulge in horror films.
Gay Christmas a.k.a. Halloween
Halloween celebrations are traced back to the ancient Celtic Samhain festival. Among the pagan folks, it was more of a ‘ward-off-the-evil’ carnival than the modern fancy-dress parade. The costumes, jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treat, and other rituals of today are an exercise in fantasy. Some call it ‘drag for straight people!’
Queer fascination with Halloween springs from the opportunity it gives to escape into a world of fiction. It helps that many of us use this occasion to play out our most fantastical selves. This play-acting goes beyond the mere pretext to drag up; it is a way to explore the erotic, fetishistic, freaky, creepy, and illicit within us. It is a healthy and entertaining expression of our weirdness and darker selves.
Much like Christmas, many of us have ‘hallowed’ rituals for Halloween. Some of us dress up. Some have drag nights, partying, book readings, tarot and séance sessions, and movie nights. We all have something different: traditions we have built to celebrate our uniqueness.
My earliest memory of Halloween was watching the movie Halloween on Star Movies. So, in the same vein, here is a weird Halloween movie recommendation.
Knife+Heart (2018)
A dildo with a hidden switchblade. Anal stabbings. Gag reflex leading to a bloody death. Hallucinations of death and gore. A large, gruesome body count.
Sounds like a nightmare?
Director Yann Gonzalez’s terrifying Knife+Heart (French: Un couteau dans le cœur) is an old-school, serial killer, slasher film. The film is tailor-made for gay men (or all queer people) with kink-infused gore and softcore erotica.
Looking for something to watch with your gang? Something provocative, gory, swoony, with a killer soundtrack to boot?
‘Knife+Heart’ is a great Halloween watch. An homage to vintage French gay porn. An experiential manifestation of queer fear!
What’s the plot?
In 1979 Paris, Anne, a gay porn producer, is struggling after breaking up with her girlfriend of 10 years. It has exacerbated her alcoholism and self-destruction, sprouting a violent, sadistic streak. Meanwhile, a masked serial killer is targeting and gruesomely murdering the actors in her production.
Drawing on her intuition, dreams, and fascination with the evolving situation, Anne starts working on a meta-film called ‘Homocidal’ that mimics the horror of the unfolding tragedy for fetishistic pleasures. With the police indifferent, Anne takes it upon herself to get to the roots of this murderous spree. In the end, she does find the killer, which takes her and the film through a fever dream that ends on a satisfying note.
Why it works?
1.Sex and violence are deeply embedded in the queer psyche. The boundaries between gratuitous violence and kinks & fetishes can become blurred, raising questions about consent and ethical considerations. ‘Knife+Heart’ plays on this idea in interesting ways – a fantasia of gay horrors that doesn’t feel exploitative.
2. The film’s queerness allows for an unapologetic and relaxed campy vibe. Think ‘I know what you did last summer,’ ‘Scream,’ and ‘Friday the 13th.’ ‘Knife+Heart’ follows their rainbow-soaked trail. The switchblade dildo (no spoilers here) is camp gold!
3. It’s an old-school thriller with a modern neon-soaked vibe. Lovers of original slasher movies will appreciate its aesthetics and design that hark back to the 70s. Hazy freeze frames, blurry dream sequences, and an unabashed pastiche of Giallo aesthetics marry well with the sleazy story.
4. Knife+Heart’ teases our scopophilic tendencies without making us feel guilty. Its atmosphere of dread takes us to the seedy bylanes of Paris. It is a messy orgy with a playful glint that tempts our imagination. Oh, and it has a character called “Golden Mouth,” a human BJ-machine.
Why watch it?
‘Knife+Heart’ shows the beauty and perils of an all-consuming romantic obsession. Our familiarity with the violence that they tend to generate makes for uncomfortable viewing. But, the movie does not over-intellectualize it. Instead, it is a campy, smutty, and extremely self-conscious chromatic story, supported by a pulsating, electrifying score by M83 that paces up the quieter moments.
And for those who love a diva – here’s one: the sublime and sexy Vanessa Paradis plays Anne with a ferocious hunger and frustrating elusiveness. She lends the character an inner richness, vivacity, and carnal smartness. While Anne’s spookiness and tendency for exploitative behavior often blur moral lines, Paradis’ raw performance evokes our sympathy. We like her even though we don’t condone her actions.
If you want to watch something different with your queer bunch this Halloween, ‘Knife+Heart’ is a bold choice. It is unabashedly queer, sleazy, and driven by cruising erotic energy. Its gory elements may not be a crowd-pleaser, but for consummate slasher fans, I promise it won’t disappoint.
