Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film (Inside Popular Film)
They are half-human horrors, strange and scary aliens, the  seemingly-normal-but-deadly danger that lurks around the corner: Hollywood monsters, or homosexuals? Horror fiction  has always portrayed society's greatest fears as monstrous incarnations of "the other," so it should be no surprise that there has always been a clear homoerotic subtext in horror films--fromFrankensteintoInterview with the Vampire. Harry M.  Benshoff'sMonsters in the Closetdetails how Hollywood monsters have not only been a reflection of homosexuals, but that changes in the horror film have actually mirrored changes in attitudes toward homosexuality in our society. Discussing hundreds of classic (and not so classic) movies, Benshoff provides new insight into horror and science fiction films  and into how popular culture presents ideas about homosexuality to a broad audience.