
| Repression |
Thus far, the vast majority of the queer characters featured have been antagonists (with a notable exception being Peter from Sleepaway Camp). That notion is flipped within the films discussed in this section. While the villains themselves are still treated as separate entities from the protagonists within the stories, they can be read as a grand metaphor for repressed homosexuality. By representing homosexuality in such an animalistic and brutish way, these films intentionally or accidentally promote previously touched upon stereotypes of mental illness, perversion, and violence within the queer community. Most of the villains are non-corporeal entities that are able to terrorize and influence the protagonists into doing cruel and homosexual actions, while some are quite literally an animalistic version of the protagonist [1].
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Of the non-corporeal examples of this trope, the one that's gained the most queer notoriety [2] in recent years is Freddy Krueger in 1985's Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. Throughout the film protagonist Jesse is haunted by Freddy, who often attempts to take over Jesse's body during intimate moments with his girlfriend. In the direct aftermath of one of these scenes, Jesse runs to the house of his male best friend and instructs him to watch Jesse sleep. In another scene, Jesse-turned-Freddy drags his gym teacher into the showers and kills him after seeing him at a gay bar the previous night. The movie even culminates with Jesse defeating Freddy through the explicitly heterosexual act of kissing his girlfriend.
Another non-corporeal villain of a similar caliber is seen within the 1981 film Fear No Evil. The movie follows anti-social highschooler Andrew as he realizes that he is imbued with the spirit of Lucifer and is therefore the antichrist. Strange deaths and punishments begin falling upon students who bullied Andrew as the film progresses, but the most interesting scene is when Andrew (as a manifestation of Lucifer) punishes one of his bullies by kissing him in the school showers. At the end of the movie, Andrew is killed by women who represent archangels.
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The most recognizable horror trope of a character turning into an animalistic version of themselves a werewolf. While a considerable community surrounding werewolves and queerness has risen over the past 20 years [3], it was much less common in mainstream media before the 21st century. One of the few 1900's-era movies that explored this trope in the same homophobic way that the rest of the movies I've discussed have is 1942's Cat People. Protagonist Irena grapples with the ailment of turning into a panther whenever she's sexually aroused, whereupon she becomes violent and bestial. Queer themes become imminent when Irena turns into a panther multiple times after being in contact with her ex-fiancé's new partner, Alice. This continues throughout the film until the end, where Irena is struck down by a panther at the New York Zoo.
Both Fear No Evil and Freddy's Revenge are unique for having explicit references to same-sex actions within their respective protagonists as they're being haunted/possessed. Cat People is notable as using the common trope of turning animalistic and violent to imply a same-sex attraction between two women. As such, it becomes easy to see how these films stem from historical homophobia. They imply that same-sex attraction is uncomfortable and violent for both the perpetrator and recipient, and the best ways to deal with such thoughts is to repress them or to suffer a painful death.

Poster for Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

Poster for Cat People (1942)
References
[1] Note: While I could have included more animalistic villains that were created by queer authors or have been embraced by queer communities for representing a general "otherness", I wanted to focus on problematic portrayals instead.
[2] Thorn, Michael. “Nightmare on Gay Street: Conflating Sexuality and Gender in the Discourse Surrounding the “Gayest Horror Film Ever Made.”” The Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 55, no. 4, 2022, pp. 886-906. Wiley Online Library, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpcu.13163.
[3] Elliott, Jaquelin. “Becoming The Monster: Queer Monstrosity and the Reclamation of the Werewolf in Slash Fandom : Revenant.” Revenant Journal, https://www.revenantjournal.com/contents/becoming-the-monster-queer-monstrosity-and-the-reclamation-of-the-werewolf-in-slash-fandom/.