Beyond the Lesbian Vampire: Reclaiming Violent in Contemporary Queer Horror

Winner of The Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction. Beyond the Lesbian Vampire is a groundbreaking dive into the pervasive archetype of the violent lesbian, examining this historically problematic figure within cultural and cinematic imagination – from witch to vampire to murderer – and identifying her resurgence in seven critically acclaimed queer horror films of the late 2010s. Each case study depicts multidimensional lesbian characters trending toward more justifiable narrative reasons for violence. Additionally, this new iteration of the violent lesbian self-consciously references earlier portrayals, including her popular vampiric form, despite shedding her literal fangs. The combination of excessive citation alongside narrative shift gestures towards a reclamation of the violent lesbian within queer horror. The author weaves textual analysis and scholarly debates around assimilation and the legibility of lesbianism’s queerness to reveal the cultural salience of the violent lesbian, and of the queer and lesbian fears and pleasures she evokes. Beyond the Lesbian Vampire is a vital contribution to lesbian studies, horror studies, queer studies and feminist studies.