EJ Moreno sits down with Queer For Fear’s Bryan Fuller…
Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) understands the importance of horror, especially the impact queer film fans have had on it. In our interview, Fuller sits down with EJ Moreno for an interview about his new documentary series Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror, coming this Halloween season to Shudder.
When asked about his history with horror, Fuller dove into his background, from spooky cereals to The Shining. Check out the excerpts from the interview below, as well as the full video. Also, be sure to give us a follow on YouTube for more exclusive video content…
Diving into his earliest memories, he says the iconic Halloween cereals shaped his love of the characters. “There are a lot of things, honestly; probably the first thing that got me into horror was monster cereals; those were gateway drugs. You have Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Boo Berry, Yummy Mummy, and all of these sort of monster icons that are supposed to be fruity friendly for children, which kind of queers them in a way.”
He continues, diving into a story that spoke to him more than breakfast treats. “I’d say my first horror stories were cultivated for children. Of course, you know, Wizard of Oz is a horror movie that’s deeply queer. I think the first personal relation with a horror story, where I saw myself, as opposed to enjoying the characters and the sort of fruity personifications – whether it’s Herman Munster or Frankenberry – was when I saw The Shining.”
Fuller adds, “I saw it when I was ten years old, and I grew up in a violent home with an abusive father, and I saw this kid who was extra sensitive and whose father wanted to destroy them because of their extra sensitivity. I profoundly related to that in a way that it became medicinal because I knew if Danny Torrance could survive his situation, I could survive my situation. So, that’s what horror I think can provide for audiences, particularly some queer audiences who may not see themselves in any other way in a narrative but can see themselves in a character who’s trying to.”
From its literary origins with queer authors Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, and Oscar Wilde to the pansy craze of the 1920s that influenced Universal Monsters and Hitchcock; from the “lavender scare” alien invasion films of the mid-20th century to the AIDS obsessed bloodletting of 80s vampire films; through genre-bending horrors from a new generation of queer creators; Queer for Fear re-examines genre stories through a queer lens, seeing them not as violent, murderous narratives, but as tales of survival that resonate thematically with queer audiences everywhere.
This 5-episode series features interviews with series consultant Renée “Nay” Bever (“Attack of the Queerwolf” Podcast co-host), Mark Gatiss (Co-Creator, Writer & Actor, Sherlock, and Dracula on BBC), Kimberly Peirce (Writer and Director, Boys Don’t Cry, Carrie (2013), Lea DeLaria (Actor, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (2000), Orange is the New Black), Jennifer Tilly (Actor, Child’s Play franchise), Karyn Kusama (Director, Jennifer’s Body, Yellowjackets), Leslye Headland (Creator, Russian Doll), Oz Perkins (Writer & Director, Gretel & Hansel), and more.
Episodes of Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror premiere weekly on Shudder.
