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Horror has always been an especially important genre to the queer community. Whether they relate to the misunderstood monsters or the last standing protagonist, queer audiences often make safe spaces from frightening ones. Queer themes have been woven into horror films since the Hays Code first rolled out. Public attitudes and open discrimination prevented queer characters from being openly presented on screen until 1968, leading filmmakers to plant Easter eggs for queer audiences to both decipher and cherish.
It’s no wonder Queer Screams, the LGBTQ+ horror film festival, keeps getting stronger. Now in its third year, the celebration of spine-chilling feature films, blood-curdling shorts, and campy documentaries takes center stage at Clinton Street Theater on Aug. 1–3. Brainchild of indie filmmaker JT Seaton, this year’s Queer Screams III features 26 films and work by 40 filmmakers. There will also be a Q&A with Don Mancini (creator of the Chucky franchise), the festival’s VIP guest, along with an autograph signing opening night.
Queer Screams offers more than one might expect from your standard film festival. In addition to presenting films, the three-day fest will feature drag performers like Quesa D’Mondays, The Countess Sinophelia and Nine Drag Thing, along with a live band (Body Academics), burlesque acts and DJ Maxx Bass spinning vinyl. Dots Cafe will host the official Queer Screams afterparty with a summer VHS swap on Saturday night, with local queer vendors setting up shop on both sides of Southeast Clinton Street.
Queer Screams summoned niche masses, even in its first year. Guest of honor Sam Irvin (Elvira’s Haunted Hills) invited Elvira herself, Cassandra Peterson, to the festival. When she announced the event on her social media in 2023, horror fans ate it up.
“Tickets for that screening sold out, and we got a big bump of recognition,” Seaton says. “The first year turned out really well for a first-year film festival.”
In its second year, Queer Screams featured Jeffrey Reddick (Final Destination franchise) and guest of honor Joshua Grannell, better known by their stage name, Peaches Christ (the San Francisco filmmaker and drag queen whose career influenced Jinkx Monsoon). The number of filmmakers the event pulls has doubled each year—10 the first, 20 the second, and 40 this go-around. “Each year, we’ve been growing exponentially,” Seaton says.
The festival’s success is fueled by more than connections with Hollywood. Seaton earned a master’s degree in film and gained notoriety through his filmmaking. He co-founded and organized the NOLA Horror Film Festival in New Orleans from 2010 to 2021. After the pandemic, Seaton moved to Portland and decided the town of Weird would be the perfect playground for his artistic ventures.
“Being a queer filmmaker myself who focuses primarily on horror films, I was like, this is the perfect niche for me to focus on,” Seaton says. “It turns out that Portland is the perfect town to support this kind of film festival; I’m not quite sure if we would have survived other places.”
Seaton has received an outpouring of community support. Organizers behind some of the most established horror events in the city: Queer Horror, the Portland Horror Film Festival and the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival & CthuluCon worked with Seaton to find a date for his festival that would allow time and space for all the festivals to coexist and excel. Davis Graveyard in Milwaukie donated props for the photo background and red carpet area and will also provide the festival’s trophies this year.
Awards for Best in Show, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Lead Performance, among others, will be presented to winners after screenings. Acting awards are genderless and all submissions are eligible for every category. “There is a wealth of creativity, excitement and energy—a lot of times pent-up energy that gets released with queer art,” Seaton says.
This year’s screenings include the short documentary Minister Chucky. In the short, a queer couple elopes to Vegas where they are wed by a killer doll impersonator before seeking refuge in Canada. In feature film How Far Does the Dark Go?, Bears Rebecca Fonté presents a lesbian romance in which a kidnapped nurse falls for her dark captor.
“It is important to have these events and be able to champion LGBTQ and especially to support the T in our acronym because they’re being targeted,” Seaton says.
With hopes Queer Screams becomes a nonprofit, Seaton aims to promote live gatherings as well as queer, cinematic history. Proceeds raised by Mancini’s autograph signing will be donated to Oregon Queer History Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to documenting, sharing and preserving the state’s queer history.
“I want the festival to be fun and whimsical even though it’s a horror festival,” Seaton says, “raising spirits—literally and figuratively.”
SEE IT: Queer Screams III at Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., queerscreams.com. See website for showtimes Friday–Sunday, Aug. 1–3. $15–$25 each screening block, 3-day festival passes $75, VIP passes $100.
