RAT!, part of Reel Q’s Thrills and Chills horror shorts program Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Frameline

Halloween season reigns supreme in a town as haunted and horror-friendly as Pittsburgh. This extends to its film culture, as George A. Romero and others have put the city on the map as a destination for fans of the macabre.

Each year, Reel Q brings local, national, and international films to Pittsburgh as part of a festival meant to “celebrate and showcase LGBTQ+ culture by fostering
appreciation and visibility through film and other forms of media.” As the event falls in October, organizers would be remiss not to add a bit of fright to its lineup in the form of a Thrills & Chills program.

Taking place Fri., Oct. 11 at the Harris Theater, Thrills & Chills is described in a press release as showcasing “queer horror shorts” from the United States, France, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

“We’re spotlighting a very broad and unique lineup of queer stories this year,” said T.J. Murphy, Reel Q’s executive director, in a press release. In an email to Pittsburgh City Paper, Murphy adds that Thrills & Chills is also “a great way to kick off spooky season.”

The late-night program includes Thank You, Répercuté, In Your Hands, Die Bully Die, and RAT!, each one clocking in at under 20 minutes long.

Thank You, part of Reel Q’s Thrills and Chills horror shorts program Credit: Photo: Courtesy of the New York Latino Film Festival

The program unfolds at a point in the festival, which kicked off on Oct. 4, focused on shorts, and offbeat cult films. A 50th-anniversary screening of director John Waters’ outrageous film Female Trouble precedes Thrills & Chills on Fri., Oct. 11, also at the Harris Theater. Murphy says festival organizers are “especially proud” of Reel Q’s short film offerings this year, including the Real & Raw: Queer Documentary Shorts program that takes place on Sat., Oct. 12 at the Harris Theater and features three films from Pennsylvania.

Even with the horror elements, Thrills & Chills touches on relevant issues affecting LGBTQ+ communities around the globe.

RAT!, for example, recalls the “gaylor” drama around Taylor Swift by following a music journalist under attack by fans of a global pop star he accused of “queerbaiting,” a term defined by one Rolling Stone article as “a celebrity or a public figure” who “capitalizes on the suspicion that they may be romantically involved with another same-sex person for the sake of publicity, promotion or a capitalistic gain.” The horror comedy Die Bully Die finds a gay man taking revenge on his homophobic high school bully, all against the backdrop of a fancy restaurant.

The Reel Q stipulates that Thrills and Chills “features violence, themes of revenge, bullying, and obsession,” so viewer discretion is advised.

“This collection showcases a mix of fun and campy films, alongside truly terrifying stories, it’s both nostalgic and fresh,” says Murphy. “It’s the perfect opportunity to experience a genre range of queer storytelling.”