MUSIC MOVES

THE 10 BEST SONGS FOR YOUR PRIDE LAUNCH PARTY

1. “This Hell” - Rina Sawayama

This song has been the official Pride anthem of 2022. Rina Sawayama’s “This Hell” has been playing everywhere this year! It’s catchy, has a cool country/rodeo edge in an otherwise sassy pop song, and makes fun of homophobic world views in a tasteful way. Not to mention it’s sooooo dancy. This tongue-in-cheek tune has been a great addition to the pansexual Sawayama’s catalogue, and we can’t wait to hear the rest of the tracks on her upcoming sophomore album, Hold the Girl.

A club-ready banger all about the bliss of love – in all its forms. While this doesn’t address LGBTQ+ issues or themes specifically, you can hear within this song’s musical undertones that it was totally made for a kiki. With sky-high vocals and a sound that’s somewhere between 90’s NYC underground dance hall vibes and retro 70’s disco, “You Make Me Feel” will definitely have you feeling something.

2. “You Make Me Feel” - Solardo & Comanavago

3. “Silk Chiffon (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)” - MUNA

We feel their sapphic tune “Silk Chiffon” is best to blast out loud for Pride. It’s so sugary, sunny, and well...pretty. In the track, lead vocalist Katie Gavin and Phoebe Bridgers speak on the pure beauty and bliss of queer love, comparing the softness of their lover’s aura to the texture of silk chiffon. Also, the music video for this song is wonderfully amusing. If you’ve seen the film But I’m a Cheerleader, you’ll get a kick out of it.

4. “Don’t Give Up” - Maggie Szabo

“Don’t Give Up” is an inspirational pop ballad about not giving up on your own identity. If you like tunes similar to Kelly Clarkson’s, Jordin Sparks’, Leona Lewis’, or Katy Perry’s, you’ll probably feel compelled to add this to your Pride playlist. Despite the music video being made in 2017, we feel it’s worth mentioning due to the fact that video proceeds are still being donated to supporting homelessness and LGBTQ+ youth. Additionally, the song features members of the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles.

5. “Wish You Were Gay” - Claud

Just like MUNA, Claud is a part of Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records. We love their 2019 song “Wish You Were Gay.” While Billie Eilish’s “wish you were gay” is meant for the straights, this “Wish You Were Gay” actually hits hard if you’re a part of the LGBTQ+ community. This ballad is melancholy and may even make you cry. A good song to play at the end of a party, if you just need to wallow in your emotions. We even love the live version of “Wish You Were Gay,” in which Claud takes the key down a notch.

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6. “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” - Lil Nas X

Even though it last year’s song ... it’s new enough to include on this year’s list. The Andre Aciman reference in the song title, the sultry music production and lyrics, the iconic queer music video... “MONTERO” proved to be a defining moment in LGBTQ+ music history. It’s a timeless tune worthy of any Pride playlist.

7. “for the girls” - Hayley Kiyoko

A song that gives a whole new meaning to the term “hot girl summer.” Hayley Kiyoko’s new pop anthem “for the girls” is perfect for any Pride line up. It’ll break any tension in the room “like a Kit Kat” and features a bouncy, fun beat that will bring pride to any bisexual woman. We particularly love the music video, which hilariously parodies The Bachelorette. It’s all because Hayley Kiyoko is actually in a relationship with former Bachelorette contestant Becca Tilley, who appears at the end of the video!

8. “girls girls girls” - Fletcher

Fletcher is an artist you should know, and seriously – we can’t get enough of this tune. Similar to “for the girls,” “girls girls girls” is made for girls who like girls. It geniusly samples Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” in the chorus, but makes the lyrics more lesbian-friendly. (“I kissed a girl and I liked it / Sipped hеr like an Old Fashioned / I kissed a girl and she liked it / It’s better than I imagined”). Besides the rewrite, we love how bubbly, dreamy, and soft this song feels. The beat drop in the chorus hits hard!

9. “Gay 4 Me (feat. Lauren Sanderson)” - G Flip

Unapologetically raunchy, “Gay 4 Me” is equal parts slow and sexy, as well as loud and rockin’. G Flip and Lauren Sanderson’s voices mesh so well together as they tell the stories of their lovers who are “only gay” for them. The vocal and drum work on this thing is pretty incredible, and if you’re looking for a sound like Imagine Dragons but less overdone, “Gay 4 Me” is the way to go. Oh, and that TikTok robot voice at the end gives us a good chuckle.

10. “Love Me More” - Sam Smith

Sam Smith always brings out heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics for their songs, but we can’t help but feel like “Love Me More” features their most vulnerable words. It’s Smith’s first release of 2022 and their comeback to music following their third studio album, Love Goes, in 2020. Ultimately, “Love Me More” is all about the power of self-love despite the curveballs life throws at us. It’s pretty relatable, especially with the hints of humour and selfmockery. “Love Me More” could lean into a more melancholic territory, but we appreciate how upbeat this track comes off. If you need a self-esteem boost, replay this Sam Smith jam!

OUT ON FILM

The LGBTQ+ community has long been an important part of horror films. Despite the genre’s incessant need to queer-code villains. Horror masters like Clive Barker, Don Mancini, and Stewart Thorndike, have facilitated LGBTQ+ voices for years in an environment where most queerness emerges as subtextual instead of normal.

So if you’re in the market to be thoroughly spooked, and got yourself thoroughly terrified on hHalloween, and are looking for more .. why not check out our selection of homoerotic, gay-friendly horror movies that will have your blood pumping, ice cold, through your veins ...

3. B&B (2017)

This horror flick is every gay’s worst nightmare: a terrible bed and breakfast. And let’s just say, this one is especially terrible. Come for the cute gay couple, stay for the blood.

Remember that time a gay couple sued the owners of a B&B for not allowing them to have a double room? Well rather than making a film about that, director Ahearne has created a “what if” scenario around it, in which the affronted couple return to the B&B, where all hell breaks loose in a horror/thriller retribution piece, picking up from where the newspaper stories left off.

What the film does manage with aplomb is making a horror film about sexuality that doesn’t fall into the trap of turning homosexuality into the “monster”. Marc (Tom Bateman) and Fred’s (Sean Teal) marriage might be tested psychologically, but in a film in which promiscuity abounds, they don’t ever stray from their marriage vows. Josh’s son Paul (Woodhouse), who tells them he’s gay and intends to come out to his father that weekend. Similarly, though Josh (Paul McGann) is a homophobe, it neither tries to justify or exaggerate the way that he feels and behaves. The threat felt throughout the film does stem from his homophobia, but it is not the threat itself. As a result, it’s a LGBT horror film that actually depicts gay people and their issues well, which is pretty rare.

B&B is definitely an enjoyable film and sits well within the horror genre. If you want a pulse-racer at Halloween, this certainly does the job.

4. RAW (2016)

1. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE

That’s right, not the original one, but nightmare on Elm Street 2! Why is this sequel the ultimate gay horror flick? Nonstop homoerotic slasher content, that’s why. The gay screenwriter amazingly crafted a perfect gay horror movie without its straight producers even realising. Upon release, one critic dubbed it “the gayest horror film ever”. Sounds like a dream come true!

2. STRANGER BY THE LAKE

This French film from 2013 is a top-notch thriller, by and for the gay community. Although Stranger by the Lake is more in Hitchcockian thriller territory than traditional horror fare, it still possesses a chilling atmosphere. This is particularly due to its desolate setting on a gay cruising beach and the use of shadow by cinematography maestra Claire Mathon. When Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) becomes sensually fixated on Michel (Christophe Paou) even after witnessing him drown another man in the ocean, Franck is always enraptured in shadow, whether it’s in a nighttime scene or he’s encased by his own silhouette during the day. Franck always being engulfed in darkness encompasses his temptation leading him to danger. Franck’s mixture of compulsion and apprehension are well illustrated in Deladonchamps’ expressive eyes. Meanwhile, Patrick d’Assumçao impresses in equal measure as Franck’s congenial beach companion Henri.

Not a horror movie per-se, but this twisting tale of cruising will surely get your blood pumping.

Raw is an extremely bloody French art-horror film of a young girl who goes from innocent vegetarian to flesh-eating cannibal. The film is so grotesquely intense, that audiences have been known to vomit and faint. The extreme horror film mixes cannibalism and queerness and follows Justine, as she experiences horrendous consequences after satiating her desire for raw meat during her first week at veterinary school.

Julia Ducournau’s debut feature is hypnotic and unforgettable, bursting with female empowerment and a gay character who plays a major role in the film. Haunting, gross, and fascinating, Raw is one of the most critically acclaimed and outwardly queer horror movies in recent years. The movie totally rocks on its own, but gets bonus points for the hunky gay roommate character (spoiler: you see him get his dick sucked).

5. INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE (1994)

Many horror movies are based on classic works of Gothic fiction, but none do it as well as Interview With The Vampire and its covert queerness. While the 90’s were still stuck in subtext and blurring the lines of sexuality, Interview With The Vampire did a good job of portraying men who clearly loved each other.

Throughout the film, Tom Cruise’s Lestat and Brad Pitt’s Louis, become an intriguing sort of couple and even raise a young vampire as their own daughter. Many scenes include homoerotic subtext, with a lot of bloodsucking and vampiric lust. In fact, it’s almost more difficult to think of this movie as anything other than queer.

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt dressed up as dreamy swashbuckling vampires? Count me in. This methodical period piece is the ultimate steamy vampire movie, and it still holds up by today’s standards.

6. THE HUNGER (1983) The Hunger stars Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie, one of the most well-known gender-fluid men of the 70’s and 80’s, as vampire lovers, John and Miriam. When John suddenly dies, Miriam seeks out a new companion in the way of a woman named Sarah, who falls under Miriam’s vampiric spell quite easily.

The Hunger is home to all the 80’s-era excess with gothic clubs, over-the-top makeup, shoulder pads, and some of the best erotically charged lesbian scenes in cinema. Susan Sarandon and Deneuve make for incredible lustful chemistry as they deal with the conflicts of vampirism.

7. JENNIFER’S BODY (2009)

After decades of queer subtext in horror, Jennifer’s Body was louder and prouder than anything mainstream audiences had seen in years. It was panned by most critics upon its release, but the movie has become one of horror’s cult classics. Younger generations have embraced the brilliant and sadistic nature of Jennifer and Needy’s parasitic relationship.

The film opens with the line, “Hell is a teenage girl,” and goes on to represent the addictive quality of teen relationships and blurs the lines between friendship and romantic love. The film’s writer, Diablo Cody, has said that she always thought that Needy was in love with Jennifer, and this shows in how the two characters interact with each other both salaciously and tenderly. Jennifer’s Body certainly paved the way for many young, queer people’s awakenings.

8. HELLBENT (2004)

Hellbent is best known as the “first gay slasher film,” and for good reason. The film said “to hell” with subtext and put the lives (and deaths) of gay men at the forefront. It takes place in West Hollywood where a group of gay friends is celebrating Halloween. They soon become followed by a masked killer who starts killing them one at a time at a club.

The movie takes every horror stereotype and turns it into a gay 80’s slasher-inspired dreamscape. With a killer soundtrack and candy-coloured visuals, the movie makes sure not to include any of the boring stereotypes that so often plague gay men in horror. While it may not be the best horror movie ever made, it deserves a place in queer horror history.

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9. SCREAM (2022)

One highlight of the new sequel to the original Scream is its depiction of Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown). Thanks to her whip-smart horror knowledge and deadpan wit, Mindy serves as a strong entry in the slasher heroine pantheon. Mindy being openly queer is a less defining character trait, which is admirable and makes Scream an antidote to the use of homosexuality as a punch line in its predecessor, where the character Robbie Mercer blurts that he’s gay just to avoid Ghostface’s wrath.

The Scream franchise holds a special place in the hearts of LGBTQ+ fans for various reasons. Whether it be the campy elements, the characters of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), the gay overtones of Billy’s and Stu’s relationship, and Kevin Williamson’s unique voice, the movies exist as a magnet for queer horror fans.

Scream (2022) is the fifth instalment in the Scream film series and is a direct sequel to Scream 4. 2022’s Scream, continues the queer legacy of the past movies and helps push it forward while tying it into contemporary issues around fandom and representation.

10. HUSH…HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (1964)

After What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? became a smash hit, director Robert Aldrich and star Bette Davis reunited two years later on Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Because in Hollywood, you always stick with what works, they again collaborated on a horror film that continued the “psycho-biddy” subgenre that Baby Jane originated. It also amped up its gay-friendly camp factor with not just more theatrical actressing, but some queer undertones. In Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Bette Davis delightfully dials it up to 11 as berserk spinster Charlotte, who lives alone with her maid, Velma (Agnes Moorehead). Velma is devoted to serving Charlotte and especially becomes vigilant when Charlotte’s dubious cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland) suddenly arrives. Yet, Velma’s fondness feels deeper than it lets on.

As the loyal and subtly sapphic Velma, Agnes Moorehead gives a performance of unhinged brilliance that earned her a fourth and final Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. At the time of its release, the film attained the record of having the most Oscar nominations of any horror picture, with seven. So, for those who are Oscar completists as well as horror fans, this one is a must-see. 11. NO NIGHT IS TOO LONG

Based on Ruth Rendell’s novel of the same name, and directed by Tom Shankland, No Night Is Too Long follows a British love triangle getting complicated when jealousy and desperation take a wrong turn.

Young Tim Cornish’s life is blessed with great promises-- extraordinary good looks, popular attention, and academic excellence as a favoured student in a prestigious creative writing course at university. A random encounter, a stolen kiss and passionate desire with a palaeontologist sets Tim on a journey of betrayal, heartbreak and murder. Suspense develops when handsome Tim falls for Dr. Ivo Steadman, and during their trip to Alaska, Time initiates an affair with a woman turning out to be his male lover’s sister.

Haunted by his unethical behaviours and aggression, Tim starts to see Ivo everywhere he goes after his accident. The lead actors’ performances are incredibly convincing and seductive, the storytelling is splendid, and the cinematography is stunning with beautiful natural backdrops. No night is too long is such a brilliant British gay thriller -- full of suspense, drama, and plot twists.