Queer Slashers

From Norman Bates dressed as "Mother" in Psycho to the rouged cheeks of Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, many slasher icons have borne traces of queer and gender nonconforming behavior since the subgenre's very beginning.
Queer Slashers presents the first book-length study of how and why the slasher subgenre of horror films appeals to queer audiences. In it, Peter Marra constructs a reparative history of the slasher that affirms its queer lineage extending back as early as the 1920s. It also articulates the queer aspects of the slasher formula that forge an unlikely kinship between queer audiences and these retrograde depictions of queer killers. Marra establishes a queer history and function for the slasher, analyzing several key contemporary "queer slashers"–that is, slashers that are made by queer filmmakers–to better understand how queer artists take up the slasher iconography and put it toward modern queer aims.
Featuring analysis of films such as John Waters's Serial Mom, Peaches Christ's All About Evil, and Alain Guiraudie's Stranger by the Lake, Queer Slashers illuminates the queer meanings of slashers, their foundations, and their future possibilities.

"This is the first book-long study of how and why the slasher subgenre appeals to queer spectators. From Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972) to Serial Mom (1994) and Stanger by the Lake (2013), Marra weaves history and theory together in elegant ways, deftly arguing that despite the slasher film's predisposition towards homophobia and transphobia, it appeals to queer spectators for the ways in which its killers target characters and institutions that represent heteronormativity. An important contribution to the growing field of queer horror studies, this volume will be of interest to scholars and fans alike."—Harry M. Benshoff, author of Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film
"In Queer Slashers, Marra thoughtfully blends personal history with critical analysis, drawing on foundational queer theory and LGBTQIA+ history to consider how queer filmmakers are reshaping the slasher film. While previous research has established the slasher subgenre as a longstanding favorite among queer horror fans, this work affirms the queer and radical potential of the slasher as it shifts the focus from slashers made by "straight people" to the works of queer filmmakers who are actively redefining the genre for the queer community. This introspective work also highlights the evolution of horror tropes from queer characters that are relegated to the roles of monstrous killers and disposable victims to a new canon of queer slashers that fosters empathy and community. Queer Slashers deepens the understanding of horror as a vital medium for queer expression, serving as a valuable resource for scholars and horror fans alike."—Heather O. Petrocelli, author of Queer for Fear: Horror Film and the Queer Spectator

Peter Marra is Assistant Professor of Teaching in English and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at Wayne State University.

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