While the current instalment in the renowned Halloween film franchise, Halloween Kills, has been a box office hit it has attracted criticism and accusations of homophobia.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Halloween Kills.
During the movie, the fictitious serial killer Michael Myers has been accused of being homophobic because he murders a gay couple.
If you’ve seen any of the Halloween films, you know that insane murderous figure Michael Myers is capable of killing anyone at any time and for no explicable reason. But now, some critics are slamming the latest film for the specific murder of a few people.
According to TMZ, the death of a gay couple in the film has sparked outrage, with many arguing Michael Myers is homophobic for killing them.
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While others on social media mocked the homophobic allegations, most people believe that the murder of two gay characters gives the wrong impression and adds to the stigma against the LGBT+ community.
Sounds crazy but if Michael Myers were to choose to not kill the gay couple it would have sent a strong message to society that we do not accept homophobia and probably saved lives in real life https://t.co/JWAAX0CaOi
— Loki Laufeyson Stan Acct (@TheQualeCall) October 23, 2021
In older movies, yes, you could say there was homophobia behind it. But the way the filmmakers handled it was done very well. Michael Myers is a metaphor for evil, and evil don't care about anything.
— The Vaccinated Muggle (he/him/his) (@HarrysElderWand) October 29, 2021
Members of the LGBT+ community, on the other hand, point to Chucky, a new television adaption of the Child’s Play film franchise in which the homicidal doll befriends a gay adolescent and openly supports gay and transgender characters on the program.
Halloween Kills isn’t the first horror movie or series to portray murders of people in the LGBT+ community.
In 2004, the film Hellbent, the first horror movie to showcase queer characters (and made for a queer audience), focused on a group of gay friends stalked and murdered on Halloween night by a killer wearing a devil mask and workout tights.
And in 2011, “Murder House,” the first season in the FX anthology series American Horror Story, the murder of a gay couple occurred. It showed Tate Langdon (played by Evan Peters) dressed in a black rubber suit murdering Chad Warwick (played by Zachary Quinto) and his boyfriend Patrick in their home.
Moreover, no one affiliated with Halloween Kills has addressed the controversy, including the film’s leading star, the iconic Jamie Lee Curtis.
Halloween Kills is playing in theaters and is available for streaming on Peacock in the US.
