10 Queer Male Characters That Survived Horror Films

The horror genre is built on scares and death. Historically, queer characters have rarely led scary movies which usually means they are left as cannon fodder for the killer. However, there have been times in horror where queer male characters managed to avoid the slaughter. Sometimes it's due to their importance to the overall narrative, and in others, they are actually main characters. October is the perfect time to dig further into the horror genre. Move over, Final Girls! This week's listicle spotlights 10 queer male characters who managed to survive in horror films. Leave a comment below if we missed any of your favorite gay horror movie survivors. Warning: Spooky Spoilers Ahead!

Tim Bauer
Film: Happy Death Day (2017)
College student Tree (Jessica Rothe) finds herself reliving the day of her death after a masked killer murders on her birthday. She must find out who is out to kill her, leading her to question anyone that she's wronged, including her classmate Tim (Caleb Spillyards), that she insulted after their failed date. Tree goes looking for evidence on Tim, only to spy him watching gay porn before she's killed again. When she later urges him to come out and find the guy of his dreams in a repeated day, Tim smiles. He's removed from the suspect list, embraces his homosexuality, and also avoids becoming a victim of the masked killer. In the 2019 sequel, Tree spots Tim with a guy, in a fun but brief cameo.

 

Troy Cartwright
Film: Candyman (2021)
As leading lady Brianna's brother, Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) appears in several scenes of the film, counseling his sister (Teyonah Parris) as she faces the mounting dread from her artist boyfriend Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) after he jokingly summons the Candyman, beginning his transformation into the killer. Troy manages to stay out of the path of destruction, despite being the catalyst for it after telling Anthony & Brianna the legend of Candyman. Unfortunately, that's because he doesn't play a major role in the film's plot beyond providing the history depicted in the original 1992 movie. Troy's boyfriend Grady (Kyle Kaminsky) also managed to survive the Candyman's rampage.

 

Jimmy Carruthers
Film: It's a Wonderful Knife (2023)
The Christmas-themed horror film centers on teen Winnie Carruthers (Jane Widdop) who faces down a killer, saving her gay brother Jimmy (Aiden Howard) in the process. Unable to escape the grief of losing her best friend that night, Winnie wishes she was never born, leading her to wake up in a world where that is true. Because she never saved him in this new reality, Jimmy failed to escape the killer. Winnie sets out to put her reality back the way it was, while also tangling with the town serial killer. Given the plot, Jimmy is indeed deceased for much of the movie, but in the end he does survive when Winnie is returned to her original reality, where Jimmy is alive and well.

 

Brax Weaver
Film: Fantasy Island (2020)
A loose adaptation of the 70's television series, the film found visitors to the island hunted down by their fantasies gone wrong. This included the gay Brax (Jimmy O. Yang) and his brother JD (Ryan Hansen). The brothers enjoyed having JD's fantasy fulfilled and Brax took advantage of the male eye candy that it led to, but when the blood started pouring, the brothers' lives were in major danger. While JD fell victim to the island's terror, he managed to ensure Brax's survival. Not only did Brax survive, but he managed to give his brother a new life by making that his chosen fantasy. While this works, it does sentence Brax to remain on the island in order to allow JD to continue living.

 

Bo
Film: Cursed (2005)
The supernatural horror flick followed siblings Ellie (Christina Ricci) and Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg), who both get mauled by a werewolf. They realize they must kill the beast in order to avoid the same fate. Along the way they attempt to discover the identity of the creature as more attacks occur. Suspects include Jimmy's jock bully Bo (Milo Ventimiglia), but Bo later reveals to Jimmy that his antagonizing behavior is actually due to his crush on Jimmy. While Jimmy does not reciprocate Bo's feelings, the two become friends. While Bo is injured during a later werewolf attack, he survives and ends the film happily watching Jimmy begin a romance with their classmate Brooke (Kristina Anapau).

 

Malik
Film: Spiral (2019)
Malik (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman) and his husband Aaron (Ari Cohen) move to a new small town with their daughter Kayla (June Laporte), where Malik begins to wonder if their mysterious neighbors may have sinister intentions. Malik's rising paranoia, mixed with the strange happenings in and around their home, set the family onto a dark path and when the truth is revealed Malik springs into action to defend his family. While this leads to Malik being arrested, that ensures his survival, unlike his family. Aaron realizes his husband's suspicions are true, but it proves to be too late for him and Kayla. Malik survives the cult carnage, but his family is destroyed, with him left to take the blame.

 

Ricky
Film: Porno (2019)
An alluring, and deadly, succubus is unleashed by a group of teen employees at a local movie theater when they view a mysterious old film reel found hidden on the premises. This quickly makes them victims of a blood-soaked rampage. Closeted jock Ricky (Glenn Stott) finds his previously-secret queerness is a great weapon against the evil Lilith (Katelyn Pearce) and he uses it to his advantage, performing a distracting striptease that allows the surviving teens time to get the upperhand. Despite putting his life on the line in the climax, Ricky manages to survive the carnage, helping to defeat the succubus. It's not often that a gay character's coming out in a horror film is a key to survival.

 

Josh Detmer
Film: Freaky (2020)
When teen Millie (Kathryn Newton) finds her soul swapped with crazed serial killer The Butcher (Vince Vaughn), her best friends Nyla (Celeste O'Connor) and the gay Josh (Misha Osherovich) become the only believers and are forced to team up with Millie, in The Butcher's body, to track down her body as it goes on a murderous rampage. Josh puts his life on the line in a key sequence after The Butcher is captured in his house where he's left behind to watch over him. This leads to a classic killer chase scene, which Josh manages to survive along with his mother (Brooke Jaye Taylor). Despite several near-misses, Josh and his pals live to tell their twisted tale, unlike the closeted jock Phil (Magnus Diehl) that assaults Josh and gets his comeuppance.

 

Dewayne
Film: The Blackening (2022)
A group of friends travels to a secluded cabin, where they are forced to play a murderous game. The horror comedy doesn't have a huge body count, as the friends look to avoid horror tropes to escape masked killers, but Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins) takes a lead role in the narrative, not just as the gay best friend of leading lady Lisa, but also as the ultimate savior of the group, putting an end to their night of terror when he springs into action in the climax, killing the mastermind who has tormented him and his friends. Despite Dewayne being gay, his homosexuality is never the butt of any jokes, and he's shown to make some of the film's smartest decisions, while avoiding being murdered. Perkins co-wrote the film with Tracy Oliver.

 

Benjamin
Film: Swallowed (2022)
The body horror Swallowed placed Benjamin (Cooper Koch) into the lead role, as a final night of partying with his straight best friend Dom (Jose Colon) puts the pair into a horrific situation. After becoming reluctant drug mules, they soon realize that what they're carrying inside their bodies have a much more disturbing, and living, origin. The creatures inside lead to Dom's death and leave Benjamin at the mercy of a crazed gunman (Mark Patton) who vows to do whatever it takes to get his hands on what's growing inside Benjamin. As the main protagonist, Benjamin is placed in a fight for his life, while mourning his best friend. He uses every tool at his disposal, including his sexuality, to succeed in his survival.