Film Screenings / Programs / Series
THE FEMINIST PRESS PRESENTS: IT CAME FROM THE CLOSET
November 1 – November 2
Horror movies hold a complicated space in the hearts of the queer community: historically misogynist, and often homo- and transphobic, the genre has also been inadvertently feminist and open to subversive readings. Common tropes – such as the circumspect and resilient “final girl”, body possession, costumed villains, secret identities, and things that lurk in the closet – spark moments of eerie familiarity and affective connection. Still, viewers often remain tasked with reading themselves into beloved films, seeking out characters and set pieces that speak to, mirror, and parallel the unique ways queerness encounters the world. In early October 2022, New York City-based independent publisher the Feminist Press published the anthology It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, edited by Joe Vallese. Through the lens of horror, twenty-five queer and trans writers consider the films that deepened, amplified, and illuminated their own experiences of queerness. From Carmen Maria Machado on JENNIFER’S BODY, Prince Shakur on GOOD MANNERS, Jude Ellison S. Doyle on IN MY SKIN, Richard Scott Larson on HALLOWEEN, Addie Tsai on DEAD RINGERS, and many more, these conversations convey the rich reciprocity between queerness and horror. In a special two-night series, local writers Zefyr Lisowski and Joe Vallese introduce THE RING (2002) and GRACE (2009), respectively, elaborating on their personal and artistic connections to the works. Special thanks to Jisu Kim, Nadine Santoro, and Nick Whitney (Feminist Press), and to Jack Durwood (Paramount). For more info on It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, visit: https://www.feministpress.org/books-a-m/it-came-from-the-closet
