What to Watch for Halloween
While these three slashers don’t seem like they have much in common, they were all inspired by the gay scene of a pre-gentrified 1970s NYC.
Halloween is just days away, so there’s still time to catch some horror films before the end of the month. Hellraiser (1987), Cruising (1980), and the X-rated Sex Demon (1975) don’t seem like they have many similarities, but they were inspired by the same world: the gay scene of grimy 1970s NYC. Clive Barker, the English mind behind Hellraiser, visited the city in the ’70s and came away inspired to write The Hellbound Heart, the novella on which the film is based. In a 2017 interview with The Guardian, Barker recalled that “there was an underground club called Cellblock 28 in New York that had a very hard S&M night. No drink, no drugs, they played it very straight. It was the first time I ever saw people pierced for fun. It was the first time I saw blood spilt.” If this sounds like some of the scenes in Cruising, that’s because the William Friedkin cult classic is set in this culture that inspired Barker. While Sex Demon is less concerned with this dark underbelly of the gay scene, that doesn’t mean it’s not as equally sinister. Viewed together, this chilling trio will get you in the spirit for spooky season.
Hellraiser (1987) | Runtime: 1hr 34min / Rated: R
Upon its release in 1987, Hellraiser launched a major horror franchise that consists of 11 films total, each one more ridiculous than the last, but nothing beats the original movie that started it all. Based on Barker’s novella, Hellraiser follows sexual deviant Frank (Sean Chapman) on the hunt for the greatest erotic experience. During his search, he finds a mysterious puzzle box that, when solved, causes sex demons from hell (the Cenobites) to descend upon him and abscond with his soul. Afterward, Frank’s brother, Larry (Andrew Robinson), moves into their childhood home with his wife, Julia (Claire Higgins), and daughter, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), the same place where Frank had called the Cenobites to him. The pleasures of hell prove too much for brother Frank, so he does the impossible: He escapes from the Cenobites! But what does this mean for Larry, Julia, and Kirsty, the new occupants?
Hellraiser has always had a place in the horror canon, especially the queer one, because as Barker knows, he was validating a lifestyle that isn’t seen onscreen much—probably for good reason. The Cenobites aren’t the real villains. They’re just doing what they’re called to do, and as one of the Cenobites claims, they can’t return to hell alone once the puzzle box is solved. Baroque and serious as the film is, there is a campiness to Hellraiser, albeit a dark one, that most viewers might be unfamiliar with, but that makes seeing it even more worthwhile.
Cruising (1980) / Runtime: 1hr 42min / Rated: R
Friedkin’s Cruising doesn’t seem like it should exist. It stars Al Pacino as a sexually ambiguous undercover cop tasked with solving the murders of gay men in the Village. As he becomes more embroiled in the rough trade scene of the leather and Levi bars, he loses sight of who he is—or maybe he’s discovering himself. As he discovers the joys of poppers and learns the meaning behind the various hanky colors and their placements, he begins to embrace this strange world—the one that inspired Hellraiser. Our hero’s journey into the grim underbelly of gay S&M has changed him, and his heterosexual existence in the “real world” becomes a bore in comparison.
That Cruising was even produced is fascinating because it couldn’t have come any earlier or later. It’s hard to imagine a studio giving this film the greenlight five years before, at the height of the post-Stonewall gay liberation movement, or five years later, after the AIDS crisis had begun. The pandemic caused the shut down of many of the venues that inspired the ones we see in Cruising. Still, it wasn’t without controversy—ironically from gay men who felt that the film portrayed them in a negative light. Nevertheless, Cruising captures a brief moment: one in which there was enough interest in such a film for a studio to make it, and the leather scene that would be upended by AIDS only a year later.
Sex Demon (1975) | Runtime: 1hr | Rated: X
Considered lost for almost 40 years, Sex Demon was found by chance a few years ago. A holy grail of lost gay pornographic films, the film finally got a home video release by Melusine (Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company specializing in sexploitation) last year, so now you can watch it in the comfort of your own home. Inspired by Friedkin’s The Exorcist and the Blaxploitation film Abby (1974), Sex Demon follows John and Jim, a gay couple in the Village, after John gives Jim a medallion he found in a thrift store, not knowing that it’s cursed. After John puts it around Jim’s neck, Jim begins acting strangely, almost as if he’s been possessed by a sex demon! As GAY SCENE editor-in-chief Bruce King declared, “The squeamish may not want to watch…but if you do, you won’t forget!”
Running at only an hour, the film gets slow in places, but it still keeps you on your toes. As Jim turns into more and more of a psychopath, Sex Demon becomes a test of how much its viewers can stand. It’s not exactly an erotic film despite its X-rating, but it succeeds as a horror film. It has many tropes that you’d expect from that genre: exorcisms, skulls, candle rituals, cursed objects, and warnings not heeded.
Now, we can’t help but wonder: Did William Friedkin ever see Sex Demon? Considering that he directed The Exorcist and seemed well acquainted with his subject matter for Cruising, it appears likely. While this world inspired Friedkin to direct a film set in the leather scene, Clive Barker took a different route with a fantasy horror take on this gritty underbelly with Hellraiser. These films inspired by a pre-gentrified ’70s NYC might help you get into the Halloween spirit.