Queer Film Club

Every year I tell myself I’m going to be That Gay Who’s Fully Committed to the Holidays™, indulging in the magic of hot bevys, cozy fits, and gatherings with my gaggle. But every year the season sneaks up on me and sprints right past me. One way I try to slow things down is by kicking back with holiday movies. And of course I want them to feature a gay storyline. So, if you’re looking for some flicks to get you in the spirit, here are 12 gay holiday movies to make your season merry and bright.

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Make the Yuletide Gay

Synopsis: Holiday chaos erupts when a closeted college kid’s boyfriend visits him at home with his unsuspecting parents.

Why you should watch it: This movie leans all the way into campy humor with a parade of double entendres, mostly delivered by Olaf’s clueless but progressively modern parents. While the acting can be a little rough, the film makes up for it with earnest heart. There are many LGBTQ+ films that center on coming out, but few are wrapped in holiday cheer. Plus there’s a merry cast keeping the whole thing warm and goofy including Olaf’s Christmas-obsessed mom, his forgetful pothead dad, and his fiercely supportive high school girlfriend.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, YouTube, AppleTV

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Shared Rooms

Synopsis: Three gay holiday stories intertwine with love, family, and new connections.

Why you should watch it: 

Where you can see it: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Tubi

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Dashing in December

Synopsis: Wyatt comes home for the holidays with plans to sell his family ranch, but finds holiday magic and unexpected love.

Why you should watch it: Like most Hallmark Christmas movies, Dashing in December gives us a big-city workaholic returning to a snow-dusted small town, but this time, it comes with a handsome ranch hand and a playful cowboy backdrop, plus it puts a gay romance at the center. It checks every classic holiday movie box (family tension, career crossroads, an opposites-attract romance) but makes it gay. My favorite scene has to be a romantic dance between the two leads set to Kacey Musgraves’ “Oh, What a World,” which alone makes this one worth saddling up for.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, AppleTV

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The Christmas Setup

Synopsis: A lawyer’s holiday trip home reignites an old flame and forces him to rethink his career.

Why you should watch it: Yes, this movie leans into the familiar holiday setup of a big-city yuppie returning home and reconnecting with his high school crush, but it works really well. The real magic comes from the undeniable chemistry between the two leads, who happen to be real-life husbands, which gives the romance some authenticity you don’t often see in made-for-TV holiday films. But TBH, the true star is Fran Drescher, who is absolute perfection as Hugo’s meddling mom. It’s a genuinely satisfying love story with surprisingly little cheese.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, Philo, Fandango at Home, The Roku Channel

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The Holiday Exchange

Synopsis: Two men swap homes for the holidays from LA to the small-town of Brilfax and spark romance.

Why you should watch it: The premise of swapping a home for the holidays is a common trope in rom-coms by now but turns out to be surprisingly fun in this movie. It’s light-hearted and exactly the kind of comfort viewing a holiday rom-com should be. Plus, Real Housewife Kyle Richards delivers an unexpectedly standout performance that gives the whole movie an extra spark.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, YouTube, The Roku Channel

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The Christmas House

Synopsis: A TV star and his brother return home for the holidays, reviving old traditions and facing big life changes.

Why you should watch it: The Christmas House is saccharinely sweet Hallmark fare where every character is at a personal crossroads, which sounds like it should add up to emotional heft but instead plays like pleasant background noise for when you’re half-watching, half-scrolling. Jonathan Bennett’s character and his husband make a second attempt at adoption. It’s cozy but never quite reaches the depth its premise promises.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Philo

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The Holiday Sitter

Synopsis: A holiday babysitting gig turns romantic when a workaholic uncle teams up with the handsome neighbor next door.

Why you should watch it: Jonathan Bennett as Sam, a New York City uncle with an extreme fear of children, is…a stretch. He’s not just out of place in the holiday festivities, he feels out of place on planet Earth. But George Krissa as Jason, the gay handyman neighbor, is full Disney Prince handsome, and my bags are packed to move to this fictional suburban town immediately. The premise does feel refreshingly modern for Hallmark: Sam’s sister and her husband have to leave town immediately because the baby they’re’s adopting is about to be born. Meanwhile, Jason is also navigating the adoption process himself. It’s rare to see queer parenthood in a holiday rom-com. While the romance feels a bit rushed and forced, the payoff is so satisfying.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Philo

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Christmas on Cherry Lane

Synopsis: Three couples at different life stages face big holiday turning points, all connected by one home on Cherry Lane.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Philo

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A Keller Christmas Vacation

Synopsis: A holiday river cruise through Europe pushes three drifting siblings to face life changes and find their way back together.

Why you should watch it: A Christmas European excursion is a fresh backdrop for the reconnecting adult siblings. The acting may be a bit wooden but luckily there isn’t a ton of forced comedy, the movie instead leans on situational humor and emotion. The siblings set sail with secrets and then stumble into romantic entanglements. It’s not the strongest Christmas movie, but it’s an enjoyable and heartfelt watch.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Philo

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The Christmas Baby

Synopsis: Erin and Kelly take in a baby before Christmas, only to realize they may want him to become part of their family forever.

Where you can see it: Hallmark+

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Last Exmas

Synopsis: After a decade apart, exes Maggie and Julianne reunite for Christmas and discover their spark might not be so over after all.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Philo

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You Are Not Me

Synopsis: When Aitana comes home for the holidays with her girlfriend and son, she discovers her parents treating a stranger as their daughter, hiding a dark secret.

Where you can see it: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Philo

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And that’s a full sleigh’s worth of queer holiday cheer to get you through the season. If you’ve watched any of these or think I missed a future classic, come yell about it with me on Bluesky or Threads, where the discourse is always festive. And if Christmas isn’t your favorite holiday, you can always check out my list of horror films for Halloween that’ll scare you straight.

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Film stills and promotional images are the property of their respective copyright holders. Used here under fair use for commentary and review. All opinions and takes are my own.

Look, I set out into this world armed with a film degree and I’m not afraid to watch a low budget indie flick and muse on it for the next few days. So naturally I’m hyped for NewFest, New York City’s LGBTQ+ film festival, every year. I was really looking forward to attending the festival in person this year, but had the opportunity to travel for work this week and had to settle for a virtual pass. But babe, I really put that pass to test and watched so so so many films this week. From campy sci-fi adventures to devastating documentaries, every film reminded me how expansive queer storytelling can be. Here’s a rundown of some of my favorites.

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Laugh Riots Shorts Program

I kicked things off strong with Laugh Riots, a lineup of queer comedies that ranged from absurd to unexpectedly touching. The standout for me was She Raised Me, a delightfully bizarre short about a man whose famous actress mother is, quite literally, a puppet. It pulled off high-concept weirdness with both humor and heart.

Then there was Bugged, a chaotic comedy set in a Bushwick apartment crawling with bedbugs and queer tension. It made me an anxious wreck the whole time and I mean that in the purely enjoyable way. They’re Packing took a darker turn, exploring queer fear and self-defense in a gun training class that felt all too timely. Together, the shorts balanced satire and sincerity, a reminder that queer humor often doubles as survival instinct.

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In Your Face! Shorts Program

The In Your Face! showcase lived up to its name with a collection of shorts that are unapologetically loud, messy, and completely unbothered with playing nice. These shorts were bursting with bold visuals and genre experimentation. Here are a few that stood out to me.

The first film, Are You Fucking Kidding Me?! is a mix of class critique and dark comedy, featuring a broke clown performing at a terrible birthday party that leads to a very awkward moral dilemma. Nest brought the gore with a bizarre trans body horror story that was as grotesque as it was symbolic. And Attagirl! is a campy blaxploitation-inspired chase through New York City’s streets, complete with silent-film-style dialogue cards and an Amanda Lepore cameo for good measure.

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If You Wanna Be My Loverboy Shorts Program

If You Wanna Be My Loverboy was probably my favorite of the short showcases I saw. Each one of these films connected with me and balanced tender love stories with dark introspection. Orion’s Quest opened the program with a sexy sci-fi shimmer starring Dyllon Burnside as an alien studying love between Black gay men that felt both otherworldly and deeply human. Fan Letter was gorgeously shot, telling the story of a 1950s crooner confronting the love (and compromises) he left behind. Pining was so exciting to me because I’ve actually stayed in the Fire Island house it was filmed in, the Twink Garage.

The Upper Room and Lisbon brought the showcase into heavier territory. Telling the stories of two Pentecostal pastors meeting for a secret annual tryst and a haunting encounter with mortality featuring John Cameron Mitchell. The final films, Within a Quiet Body and Brief Somebodies, gave us an unfiltered view at repression, desire, and the blurred lines between performance and pain. Taken together, the collection paints a vivid portrait of queer love across time, space, and genre.

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Lesbian Space Princess

Directed by: Emma Hobbs & Leela Varghese

While I enjoyed so many of the films I watched this week, Lesbian Space Princess was definitely one of my favorites. The film follows Princess Saira, who lives on the planet Clitopolis with her two neglectful lesbian moms. After a breakup with her bounty hunter girlfriend Kiki (of two weeks, so lesbian), Saira sets out to rescue her ex from the “Straight White Maliens” who plan to drop her into a vat of toxic home brew. Appropriate.

It’s a wild, intergalactic quest that features a “Problematic Ship” with bro energy, a singing sidekick who escaped a K-pop band, and a drag queen villain named Blade. The movie is packed with clever in-jokes, queer symbolism (our princess has to learn to pull a labrys axe out of her vagina), and a surprising amount of emotional resonance.

Under all the absurdity, Lesbian Space Princess is really a story about self-worth, learning to love yourself even when you don’t feel cool or confident. The vibe is like But I’m a Cheerleader meets Adult Swim, with a little lesbian mythology and a lot of heart.

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A Night Like This

Directed by: Liam Calvert

A moody and tender “Christmas” movie, A Night Like This follows Lukas, a struggling actor, and Oliver, a privileged but self-destructive aspiring musician, as they cross paths on a winter night in London. What starts as a chance encounter turns into an intimate exploration of connection and loneliness. 

It’s the least Christmas-y Christmas movie imaginable with no cozy clichés or holiday cheer, but delivers something much deeper: two queer men trying to find themselves amid the chaos of their own lives. Alexander Lincoln, from In From The Side, gives a beautiful and charming performance that adds some emotional heft to the indie romance vibe. No spoilers but the ending is bittersweet and might leave you wishing for more.

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Only Good Things

Directed by: Daniel Nolasco

Set in 1980s rural Brazil, Only Good Things begins as a tender, sensual romance between Antonio, a lonely farmer, and Marcelo, a mysterious motorcyclist who crashes near his property. What starts as a quiet erotic love story with sun-drenched scenery and water-soaked intimacy gradually transforms into a haunting meditation on memories and the passage of time. The film is both grounded in physical desire and elevated by its surreal second half. We eventually find ourselves in a modern-day mystery, where the story isn’t just about love but about the ways we’re shaped and haunted by it.

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Night in West Texas

Directed by: Deborah S. Esquenazi

In 1981, James Reyos, a young gay Apache man from Odessa, Texas, was coerced into confessing to the murder of a Catholic priest and sentenced to nearly four decades of confinement for a crime he didn’t commit. Night in West Texas unravels this harrowing case with both empathy and fury, exposing how racism and homophobia shaped the justice system that failed him. The film avoids the usual true crime sensationalism, instead focusing on the devastating human toll of a wrongful conviction. It’s heartbreaking to watch Reyos confront new evidence that could’ve exonerated him years ago, and equally powerful to see modern investigators acknowledge the prejudice that once sealed his fate. A sobering, deeply moving story about injustice and the lifelong cost of being misunderstood.

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She’s the He

Director: Siobhan McCarthy

Another one of my favorite films in the festival. A hilarious and subversive twist on your favorite high school comedies, She’s the He tells the story of two best friends who pretend to be trans to pick up girls. Except one of them realizes she isn’t pretending. Its candy-colored chaos feels like a John Waters homage to Mean Girls or She’s the Man, leaning into absurdity but never losing its emotional grounding. Nico Carney delivers a standout comedic performance as Ethan, capturing both the film’s farcical energy and its sincere exploration of identity. It can be absurd, gross, and full of big laughs but it’s also about allyship, identity, and finding yourself in a world that still doesn’t quite get it.

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It was a wild week watching so many queer films packed into just one week. I was definitely riding high and inspired by so many queer stories. Did you attend NewFest in person or virtually? Which film are you most excited about?

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Film stills and promotional images are the property of their respective copyright holders. Used here under fair use for commentary and review. All opinions and takes are my own.

Spooky season is one of my favorite times of the year and to celebrate I’m diving into some gay horror films. The campier, bloodier, and queerer the better. I’m kicking things off with They/Them, a 2022 LGBTQ+ horror movie from Blumhouse set in a conversion therapy camp.

On paper, it’s a killer concept: queer teens fighting for survival and identity in a place designed to erase them. It’s But I’m a Cheerleader meets Friday the 13th, only with fewer thrills and way more trauma.

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They/Them (2022)

Directed by: John Logan

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Theo Germaine, Anna Chlumsky, and Cooper Koch

Summary: A group of LGBTQ+ teens arrive at a remote conversion therapy camp that promises to make them straight, but things take a dark turn when a masked killer begins picking people off one by one.

The tea: TL:DR They/Them struggles to deliver real scares but shines in moments of community and queer resilience. It leans heavier on trauma more than terror, but it’s one of the few horror films centered on queer characters and that makes it worth watching (at least once).

Where to stream: Peacock, Apple TV, Prime Video

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🩸 The Setup: Horror in the Woods

The film opens with a couple of solid jump scares and a masked killer lurking in the woods. Then we meet Kevin Bacon as Owen Whistler, the camp’s director, delivering a chillingly calm “reasonable conservative dad” monologue that instantly gives villain energy. And of course Cooper Koch brings some much-needed charisma and let’s be honest, eye candy to the screen. 

⚡️ The Real Horror: Conversion Therapy

While the movie is styled as a queer slasher, most of the actual terror comes from the camp’s “therapy” methods: shock treatment, gender policing, and emotional manipulation. These scenes are far more terrifying than the masked killer.

The scariest scene actually happens when the campers break into a group sing-along of Pink’s “F**kin’ Perfect.” Sure, it’s meant to be empowering, but feels out of place and cringe AF.

🔪 The Slasher Element Falls Flat

By the time the masked killer returns, we’re more than 45 minutes into the movie. And the mystery around the killer’s identity, eventually revealed as Molly Erickson played by Anna Chlumsky, lands without much buildup. The pacing drags, and while the revenge twist makes thematic sense, it never really delivers the tension or payoff you’d expect.

The scares are light, the characters feel paper-thin, and the film never quite decides what type of horror it’s going for.

🌈 The Message Still Matters

Even with its uneven execution, They/Them delivers a poignant message in today’s climate. With queer rights under attack and harmful practices like conversion therapy potentially being made legal, the film’s premise feels uncomfortably real.

It might not be the strongest LGBTQ+ horror film out there, but it’s a reminder that horror doesn’t always have to come from monsters. Sometimes, it’s the systems that create them.

🎬 Final Thoughts

Despite its shortcomings, Theo Germaine (as Jordan) and Cooper Koch (as Stu) deliver some stand out performances. They/Them as a concept could have been a stellar gay horror movie, redefining the genre for queer audiences, but never quite leans into that potential.

💬 What Did You Think?

Have you seen They/Them? Let me know your thoughts and your favorite queer horror movies on Threads or Bluesky. 

Film stills and promotional images are the property of their respective copyright holders. Used here under fair use for commentary and review. All opinions and takes are my own.