Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film (Inside Popular Film)

From Library Journal Arguing from a postmodern perspective, Benshoff, who teaches film and TV in the Los Angeles area, examines how Hollywood has historically "monsterized" homosexuality even as gay and lesbian viewers were learning to read queer elements into classic horror films. The author traces the concept of monster queer as it evolved from one era to the next. Although Benshoff's erudition creates some weighty prose, his refreshing readings of works by gay and gay-associated directors (e.g., James Whale, Clive Barker) and performers (e.g., Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi) is worth the trouble. An interesting theoretical companion to earlier monographs that touch on gays and horror films, including Vito Russo's seminal Celluloid Closet (1987. rev. ed.), Andrea Weiss's Vampires and Violets (Penguin, 1993), and Rhona Berenstein's Attack of the Leading Ladies (Columbia Univ., 1996); recommended for both queer and film studies collections.?Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., HoustonCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.