A review by spacestationtrustfund
Monsters in the Closet by Harry Benshoff

3.0

This book absolutely deserves its position as one of the loci classici of both queer studies and film studies. While certainly outdated in many areas, having been published in 1997, the book is short—only around 300 pages in length—and packed full of information. I really couldn't recommend it enough, especially for studies of films prior to 1997—the sections about the Hays Code were particularly fascinating, personally. It must needs be said that Benshoff does on occasion fall into the trap of reading bodily abnormalities, whether actual disabilities or alien handicaps, as representative of queerness (i.e., the physical deformity as metaphorical shorthand for unorthodox sexual desires); although the overlap between representation of disability and sexuality in horror media is prevalent and pervasive, I would've liked to see more acknowledgement of the very real trend of demonising those with physical or mental "abnormalities." Of course, it wasn't all that long ago that queer sexualities were themselves viewed as mental illnesses, whether "curable" or congenital, on the same level as other conditions, so a certain level of nuance is required.