[rating=5]
Cert: 18 • US: 87 min • Fine Line Features • July 20, 2001

Hedwig and the Angry Inch was the first queer rock ‘n’ roll musical film of the 21st century, and a story that has a crazed and schizophrenic spirit.

“Starring many of the same people from the original stage production, including John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor and Stephen Trask (who wrote the music), it’s the strange journey of a transgender punk rock queen and her search for fulfilment.”

[rating=5]
Cert: 18 • US: 84 min • United Film Distribution • November 18, 1983

Halloween is THE slasher film. It is suspenseful, and full of horror rather than gore.

“Using odd angle shots and dark lighting, Carpenter created a truly haunting atmosphere not seen since the days of Alfred Hitchcock. The truly frightening parts of the film aren’t those that necessarily involve the killings, but those parts which focus on the cold way in which Michael stalks his victims.”

[rating=5]
Cert: 18 • US: 84 min • United Film Distribution • November 18, 1983

Sleepaway Camp is a grainy, realistic slasher movie with strong dialogue and understated, believable gore.

“Sleepaway Camp remains a legendary film amongst slasher buffs for its gory effects, grainy film style, haunting soundtrack, and one of the most surprising endings in the genre. “

[rating=5]
Cert: 18 • US: 120 min • Bryanston Pictures • 1974

Tobe Hooper’s stark, gritty vision remains a landmark amongst slasher films, establishing many trademarks of the genre.

“Sitting through the film, you think you’ve just witnessed a blood bath, but in reality, there is very little on-screen gore. Hooper used atmosphere to create the illusion of blood.”

[rating=5]
Cert: 18 • US: 111 min • Dimension Films • 1996

Scream remains a landmark in the history of American gore. It revitalized a horror genre that the public thought was dead and buried.

“Working in a post-1980’s atmosphere, Craven knew that the traditional-style slasher film had been done to death. After strings of sequels and direct-to-video releases, the American public was bored and the slasher genre looked to be a thing of the past.”

[rating=4]
Cert: 18 • US: 79 min • TriStar Pictures • 1984

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a slasher flick in which the killer has a real backstory.

“Knowing the trauma that has soaked most of his life, we empathise with him. Do we justify his violent rampage? Not at all, but we do understand why he has become what he is.”

[rating=5]
US: 13.50 min • Independent • 1947

The first film from Kenneth Anger, Fireworks remains essential viewing, and a key document in queer cinema.

“A group of sailors gang up on him, wielding chains. In glee, they strip him, brutalize him, and then begin ripping out his organs, finally dousing him with a white, milky substance.”

[rating=4]
Cert: 18 • US: 94 min • TLA Releasing • April 28, 2006

Another Gay Movie, because sometimes queer audiences need a break to have a good laugh.

“What’s the moral of the story? Andy puts it bluntly, “Real men take it up the ass” as they toast to the coming sequel, breaking the fourth wall.”

[rating=4]
Cert: U • US: 55 min • Frameline • July 14, 1989

The 1989 documentary Tongues Untied: Black Men Loving Black Men looks at the African-American experience from the inside out..

“The insults are sped up and repeated, creating a cruel rhythmic song which seems to encircle both Riggs and ourselves. Thus the viewer become aware on an experiential level of the marginalizing effect of such taunts.”

[rating=5]
Cert: 15 • US: 101 min • Columbia Pictures • May 3, 1996

’90s teen horrorThe Craft, with the struggle of the outsider at its heart, is a queer classic.

“During the ’90s, The Craft felt like an antidote to the films dealing with the woes of being a young adult. It comes off like a shot in the dark and feels like the twisted sister of the bubblegum highschool satire of Clueless released the year previously.”