Skeletons in the Closet

Halloween is sometimes called the "gay Christmas" for its popularity among gay men, particularly in big cities where Halloween parades mark the highlight of the ghoulish goings-on in the gay neighborhoods. But some folks would rather spend the spookiest night of the year cuddled up on the couch or at home with friends, and we're here to help them find some horror viewing that's got its gay creds.

Last year we looked at gay characters in horror films in our Gay Character's Guide to Surviving a Straight Horror Movie. This year we turn our attention to gay actors (and a few gay-faves) who have some unexpected and occasionally hilarious genre skeletons in their professional closets just begging to be "outed."

Please remember these are horror movies and some of the clips below may not be entirely safe for viewing at work!

Gay Actors

John Barrowman in Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002)

What can be said that can truly capture that bat guano crazy brilliance that is Shark Attack 3? For starters, its centerpiece is a series of monster shark attacks where images of people in boats are superimposed onto Shark Week footage of a great white breaching, giving the impression that they're being eaten by a predator the size of a football field ... and on a missing episode of Land of the Lost.

I'd like to say that gay actor Barrowman (currently heating up small screens in Torchwood) classes up the joint, but he does quite the opposite; in fact, one of his randy ad-libs is what has made the direct-to-video cult fave legendary (um ... you'll know it when you hear it!). For a ton of laughs with friends and a look at John before he went legit, definitely give this one a look.

Chad Allen in Do You Wanna Know a Secret? (2001)

Out actor Chad Allen (Save Me (2007); Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) appeared in this I Know What You Did Last Summer knockoff that aims low and still misses the mark. Let's throw a bunch of "college students" into a Malibu Barbie Beach House and set a killer after them while they have sex with their clothes on and bitch like they're on The Real World! Ugh.

Sadly, this isn't Allen's finest moment. I mean, really — when you're actually out-acted by Joey Lawrence, it's time to reevaluate career strategies. ("Whoa!") And lucky for us, Allen did. Not really worth watching except for the trivia factor.

Rupert Everett in Cemetery Man (1994) (aka Dellamorte Dellamore)

We've written about Michele Soavi's odd, dark and unexpectedly sexy gore comedy before on the blog, but the strapping and oft-naked appearance of gay actor Rupert Everett makes it a must for this list.