However, I can’t shake the feeling that horror films are dreadfully tainted. Through no fault of its own, the horror genre has a dark history of persistent bigotry.
If you have an interest in horror movies of the past and present, then you may be aware of what I’m talking about.
The Black Guy Dies First; Sex Equals Death; Killing Off the Queer; Creepy Crossdressing & Ethnic Monsters.
In the past, when people created monsters in their movies, or killed people off, they chose women or gays or ethnic minorities, because . . . well, things were worse back then.
There is a deep and detailed history of Homophobic, Racist & Misogynistic themes in Horror.
Now, don’t get me wrong. In modern times, Horror Films tend to be some of the most tolerant movies. After all, Horror is one of the easiest genres to get right for new, Indie filmmakers. In Action movies, stunts are expensive; in Drama, you need great actors; in Comedy, you need a good writer; Science-Fiction needs expensive props and make-up . . . but Horror? All you need is some vegetable oil and red food die, or some fascinating shadows, and you can make a bloody brilliant horror film.
And in this age, not only are more and m ore people open to equality and freedom, but some people go out of their way to defy the ignorant, bigoted tropes of Horror’s past. So, more and more horror is well-thought out, open-minded and inclusive.
But, I am not here to talk about those movies. Today, I plan on talking about Horror Films and their Dark Past. Today, I want to expose the most Bigoted Horror Movies I can lay my hands on. In fact, I have chosen five horror films, each with their own brand of intolerance which I believe to be the most bigoted horror films I’ve ever seen.
If you can think of any worse, well . . . I wouldn’t be “happy” to find more of this garbage, but I would appreciate the insight nonetheless. So, allow me to present . . .
THE A.W.N.’S TOP FIVE MOST BIGOTED HORROR MOVIES
Before we begin I’ll give you a heads-up, although I don’t consider a lot of the movies on this list to be worth watching, I think it’s worth mentioning that THIS LIST CONTAINS SPOILERS for some of these movies. For the most part, you can avoid these spoilers by not reading the Explanation portion of the entry. So, if you plan on seeing any of these movies in the future, do not read that section.
However, as this list will occasionally reference a reveal in regards to the killer’s ethnicity, sexuality or minority status, then you should consider there to be a risk of MINOR SPOILERS by reading the Bigotry section as well.
So, if after reading the title of a movie, you have a desire to watch that in the future, have not done so yet, and do not want any plot points, even minor ones, to be spoiled - skip that entry entirely.
Also, some of this list may seem unusual, but please keep in mind that I am counting only Horror movies, not Psychological Thrillers, and some of the most infamously homophobic movies are not Horror, but rather 'Comedy' or 'Thriller'. Also, some of this is determined not only by my own opinion, but also my interpretation of the film in question.
Just as importantly, in the interests of fairness, I have not included films that I have not seen. I researched and watched as many films as I felt would be relevant for this post, but if a film is too obscure or unpopular, that may explain why some films have been left off this list.
With all that aside, let's get into some HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
When it comes to RACISM, Creature from the Black Lagoon has some unfortunate implications. The big-lipped, degenerate monster from the jungle who seems hellbent on raping white women - and it is called the "black" lagoon after all. Later films even show how it fails to fit into modern society, even when there is a half-gillman half-human hybrid, it succumbs to its animal nature and returns to the water. But, this isn't on this list because a lot of this is sub-text moreso than context, and since this was made in the 1950s, if the film wanted to be racist, it would have been explicitly racist.
In regards to TRANSPHOBIA, I was interested to find that in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it is implied that Leatherface is transgender, at one point wearing female skin with lipstick, female clothing and an apron, acting demure and passive. But, I don't feel like this is transphobic, since this is clearly just a nod to notorious serial killer Ed Gein (this link includes explicit details of his crimes), but he was not transgender, he was just a religious nut with creepy mommy issues. At worst, this is just a transvestite in a gory version of drag. For that same reason, I've left off The Silence of the Lambs whose antagonist also drew inspiration from Gein. Similarly, I was also keen to include The Rocky Horror Picture Show for its exaggerated and villainous portrayal of a gender non-conforming character. But, despite the disgusting transphobic views of one of this film's most iconic writers and actors, Richard O'brien, this bigotry was not evident in the film itself, and the main character was a transvestite, not transgender.
In regards to MISOGYNY, the only honourable mention is perhaps Teeth. But I could not include it for three reasons. One, I haven't seen it, so that would be very unfair. Two, from synopses I've read online, it appears that this is more misandrist than misogynist, portraying all men as rapists and abusive - and although I hate sexism either way, again, I haven't seen this so I can't judge. Three, from people I've spoken to, it seems like this movie is pretty campy and self-aware, so being mildly sexist might jusst be "part of the joke".
But, when it comes to HOMOPHOBIA, I have to mention A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. This does appear to have themes of predatory gay men, with Freddy wanting to "get inside" of the main character, and some key scenes filmed within a leather bar. However, from what I can tell (as I haven't seen this film either), it sounds like this film is fabulous. Although Freddy is analogous to a predatory gay, the main character is shown to be gay as well, and seeks refuge in his "close male friend" by "going to his room at night" to "sleep with him", so it sounds like this film has some intriguing, homoerotic themes. Similarly, I left out Hellraiser, as although the Cenobites were inspired by the gay leather/BDSM community, Clive Barker himself is a gay man, and this represented some of his own fears exploring the subcultures of gay clubs and nightlife as an inexperienced, young man.
In regards to XENOPHOBIA . . . I considered The Island of Lost Souls, a movie inspired by The Island of Doctor Moreau, as it had refrences to human-animals succumbing to their bestial, aggresive nature; and Dr Moreau forcing them into line with a bullship. But, when I discovered the item I chose for the following list, well, it made a potential Doctor Moreau slavedriver seem tame by comparison . . .
Anyway, without further ado, allow me to present, from least to most bigoted, some of the worst horror films I've ever seen.
The Serpent and the Rainbow
Bigotry: RACISM
Plot: American ethnobotanist Dennis Allan is hired by an American pharmaceutical company to go to Haiti to recover a supposed “zombie powder” so it can be replicated to hopefully create a powerful anaesthetic. But, when he goes to Haiti, his efforts are hindered by Dargent Peytraud, the leader of the Tonton Macoute, and a practitioner of voodoo. Peytraud wants to keep this magic a secret, as he uses it and a variety of other black magic to control the Haitian population. Things get worse and worse as Dennis gets closer to the truth, until he gets poisoned by the powder himself . . .
Explanation: This movie is based on a non-fiction book, but the first problem with it is that this story isn’t true. In the original book, there was no such conflict with the Tonton Macoute, no black magic, no pharmaceutical company and definitely no evil bokor. In the film, Dargent Peytraud is the leader of the Tonton Macoute, and keeps the locals in-line using black magic to invade their dreams and create zombies, all through the loa Baron Samedi. This is insulting and racist for three reasons.
Firstly, the mythology is condescendingly wrong - Baron Samedi was not an evil monster, in fact in Voodoo he was opposed to zombies and human sacrifice. Secondly, the real Tonton Macoute only ever used references to Voodoo to scare locals, their real horror was through state terrorism, rape, violence, murder and extortion. Thirdly, the real leader of the Tonton Macoute was named Luckner Cambronne. He was scary, not for using black magic, but because he lead this team of knife-wielding Macoute, and would sell the bodies and blood of victims overseas for medical uses through Hemo-Caribbean, a blood bank he co-owned. He was called 'The Vampire of the Caribbean' for that reason.
He was a corrupt politician in a dictatorship, yes, but he was not a monster because he was black, Haitian or a used 'Voodoo'. Then, despite exploiting Voodoo for the whole movie, they literally drag him to Hell - although sone Americanized Voodoo believes in the Catholic Hell, Haitian Vodou traditionally believes that the souls of the dead return to nature after a year and a day spent under water. So, ending a Voodoo Horror movie with a reminder that, "Oh yeah, but our religion is the real one" is what made me put this on the list.
Scary Movie
Bigotry: HOMOPHOBIA
Plot: As this movie parodies horror and movie cliches, a masked killer like the one from Scream hunts down a group of teenagers that have a dark secret, akin to I Know What You Did Last Summer, and the masked man kills them and many others in ways reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense & The Matrix. But, as the police and adults seem useless, what remains of the teenagers attempts to uncover the mystery behind this killer, before he kills the last of them.
Explanation: This is a horror-comedy. The horror comes from a lot of the blood and murder, but some of the “comedy” comes from negative homosexual stereotypes as portrayed by Shawn Wayans playing a character named ‘Ray’. Ray is effeminate, re-enacting many gay stereotypes of dress, dancing and hobbies; he is predatory and sexually aggressive, molesting men without their consent, touching naked men, and speaking lecherously about them. There's no twist to this, no wordplay and no irony. The 'joke' is, entirely, that he's gay.
This alone would be pretty condescending and a poor representation. However, the movie takes it a step further. And, heads-up, this is where things get into SPOILER territory. You see, Ray is not only 'gay', but near the end of the movie he is revealed to be a villain. Another character, Bobby, declares that he is going to kill his girlfriend because she has not ever had sex with him, and as a result he is "deviant", so he turned gay, he became Ray's gay lover, and they are going to kill his girlfriend so that they can run away and start a new, gay life together.
Yes, you heard that right, lack of sex turned him gay and psychotic.
I know this is meant to be a comedy and a parody, but this joke is trying to be funny by making fun of homosexuals. The humour is meant to make heterosexual people laugh at homosexuals.
Hostel
Bigotry: XENOPHOBIA
Plot: Paxton and Josh are two Americans tripping around Europe with a friend they met on their trip, Óli. Josh is getting over a breakup, so Paxton is seeking young, hot European girls for sex, when they meet a Man in Amsterdam that promises, if they visit a specific hostel in Slovakia, they can find dozens of young, hot and horny women.
But, when they head there, things take a strange turn when they meet some other unusual tourists and violent, street urchins & then Óli goes missing. The hostel says he went home, but the next day, Josh disappears too. Paxton goes looking for his friend, but in the process gets trapped in a gory maze of murder.
Explanation: Okay, as a horror concept this kind of works. The basic conceit is, this is "Murder Tourism" - People are lured to a location, drugged and trapped, then rich people travel there for the opportunity to experience murder, firsthand. That is creepy, and as a writer, I would love to write a story like that. But, why is this set in Slovakia? I mean, it would make sense if this was based on truth or Slovakian history, or if Slovakia had different laws or a weaker police force or corruption. Or, although a bit unkind, if it had a struggling economy this might explain why they aet it there. So, let's see . . .
Is this referencing a true story, or based on some dark, Slovakian History? No.
Is Slovakia isolated, geographically, or known for high crime rates? No.
Is Slovakian law limited or corrupt, or is the country struggling economically? No.
So, why on Earth is this story set in Slovakia? The only explanation left, that I can see, is that Slovakia is a strange-sounding place that Westerners would be nervous to visit, because it sounds scary and foreign.
The film presents Slovakia as a "hotspot" for murder tourism, with a running plot-point of murderous child gangs that threaten tourists and locals for candy or money with improvised weapons; and the murder facility itself is within the abandoned ruins of a factory, making the whole country seem like a bleak, grey, filthy, dangerous, poor, crime-ridden, third-world country. Slovakia is not a perfect country, but it is a first-world country with a rich history, beautiful landscapes, universal healthcare and free education. There's even a minor plot-point that the price for murder depends upon Nationality, with Americans the most expensive - so, American life is literally worth more, according to this movie.
Considering that Eli Roth, who wrote and directed this film, also co-wrote and directed The Green Inferno, a film about a fictional cannibalistic tribe in the Amazon that captures, tortures and eats several Americans, I can't help but feel like these xenophobic themes weren't accidental . . .
Antichrist
Bigotry: MISOGYNY
Plot: A couple is left grieving after the death of their infant son, who climbed out a window whilst they were having sex. The wife is hospitalized due to her depression and self-hatred, blaming herself for her son's death; but her husband, a therapist, takes her home to treat her himself. When that fails, they head to a remote cabin in the woods called "Eden" for some exposure therapy.
But far from their old life, in the middle of nature, things take a dark turn as the husband comes across disturbing creatures, sinister plant and insect-life, darkness and evil. The woman continues writing her thesis on misogyny and gynocide, but succumbs to the dark mythology and becomes entangled in cruelty and lust.
Explanation: The ultimate evil in this movie, the monster, the "antichrist", is Women. Not just 'this woman' not 'the female character in this movie'; the only named character is Nic, the dead son, the woman is called 'She' in the credits, the man 'He'.
She uses sex to distract herself from her grief to the point of raping her husband; she is revealed to have abused her son when he was alive; she eventually attacks and tortures her husband, mutilates herself and prepares to murder him.
And this isn't presented like she summoned the devil herself, it's not as though she spoke some dark spell, insulted a demon or was born on an Indian Burial Ground - no, she is evil because she's a woman. She is cursed by womanhood, akin to a witch, because she is female. Did I mention that this was by Lars Von Trier?
This film, and this filmmaker, hates women and acts like sex, especially female sexuality, is inherently disgusting and destructive.
But worst of all, according to the director, this film is supposed to be about how "Nature is Satan's Church". But, I can't accept that. Sure, there are some clear themes along those lines, and some characters even state this thesis by name, but if Nature is Hell then Women are the Devil - at least, according to this movie.
And that's what truly pisses me off. I disagree with the conceit of this movie - that Nature is Hell - as I think Nature is amazing (cosmically indifferent, it is as ugly as it is beautiful), but as an artistic, experimental film concept, that could have made a fantastic horror movie. But, this director's sexual hang-ups got in the way of a great idea. Almost every one of his movies throws in pointless sexual deviancy, rape and cruelty, and this film is no exception. Considering how much he seems to be terrified of sex, I think this filmmaker should go fuck himself.
Sleepaway Camp
Bigotry: TRANSPHOBIA
Plot: After her father is killed in a boating accident, young Angela goes to live with her aunt and cousin Ricky. However, due to this trauma, she is incredibly shy, quiet and scared of the water. So, when Angela and Ricky go to Camp Arawak together, Angela's introversion and fear of swimming makes her the target of several bullies, a lecherous camp cook and some pranksters. Ricky tries to intervene, to take care of his cousin, but things take a dark turn when several of Angela's attackers are killed in horrific ways. Angela starts to enjoy camp, and even opens up to a cute boy named Paul who starts a budding romance with her, but this also causes more people to pick on her and so more people to die. As the bodies pile up, and everyone starts to get more frightened, the camp leader starts to suspect that Ricky is behind the murders . . .
Explanation: This one is MAJOR SPOILER territory, but I guess that's par for the course with a story like this. The reason why people are dying at Camp Arawak . . . is that Angela has a penis. Seriously.
A cook tries to molest her - and as such, would learn about her penis - so she kills him. A boy mocks Angela for not swimming - since swimming requires her to remove her clothes - so she kills him. A bully pegs a water balloons at her - forcing her to change her clothes and potentially expose her penis - so she kills him. A girl throws her into the water at the beach - wetting her clothes, and potentially exposing her penis - so she kills her. She even kills her potential boyfriend after they get naked together.
The worst part is, although Angela is "forced" to be a girl by her aunt, she is transgender. Angela is shown enjoying the attention of boys, she only ever kills to hide her secret, she gets upset when people taunt her for not having noticeably reached puberty and she never acts upset when called a girl. This movie equates transgenderedness and homosexuality by showing that Angela's father had a gay lover which she saw lying with him in bed as a child - and seems to imply that this is why Angela is transgender. But worse, the final shot of the movie, showing the true "monster", is a girl with a flat chest, covered in blood with her dick hanging out. The way the movie ends on a freeze-frame of her face, open-mouthed, as she makes a croaking noise. It would be funny if not for the implication that this human being is supposed to seem like a beast now because, well . . . she's trans. If that's not transphobic, I don't know what is.
- - -
Thankfully, it is pretty had to find a truly bigoted modern horror film. Unfortunately, I found dozens and dozens of bigoted films which I could not include, as they were the wrong genre for this list. Even the small number of films on this list are all in colour, which means it was made after the mid-1930s, when Technicolour became mainstream. At time of writing, that just about a lifetime, but I know for a fact that most were made during the 80s and 90s.
Ignorance and bigotry, yet still, pervade the Hollywood scene and the silver screen.
I'm the Absurd Word Nerd, and I hope you found this list enlightening. Personally, I fond the fact that these films were written, produced, directed and distributed, much more disturbing than any horror film I've ever seen.
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