MovieChat Forums > Non ho sonno (2001) Discussion > Queer subtext: The killer is gay?

Queer subtext: The killer is gay?

posted 18 years ago by raven_raven1
16 replies | jump to latest

I have a feeling for these things and I strongly believe that it might be argued that the the killer in this movie is gay. His homosexuality is portrayed as the key for understanding his pathology. Has anybody noticed this?
This of course wasnt showed directly in the film, but I think that anybody who knows just little about gay/queer subtext in horror movies noticed this.In most horror movies exists HOMOPHOBIC gay subtext (i.e. the killers latent homosexuality emphasises/explains his pathology and will for violence)

This movie is no different.The killer (Vicenzo) is portrayed as a sissy,impotent looser, rich mamas boy in conflict with his father (oedipal conflict) etc. On the other hand, we have a Giancomo who is "a real man" who holds up to heterosexual/healthy ideal.

Also,Vincenzos latent homosexuality is revealed in the scene when he is undessing in front of Giancomo. This scene is full of homoeroticism and it might be argued that Vincenzo is trying to seduce Giancomo.

[–] argentobuff 18 years ago

Very good points made.I think he was a closet case or supressing it.

Spoilers!!!!!

The Killer:Don't you mean Lorenzo???

Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] raven_raven1 18 years ago

no,he is not bi-sexual. his mother was the only woman he could love

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] whiggles 18 years ago

Well, although gay characters appeared in the three films you mention, the killers themselves weren't gay.

[–] dtsolomo 18 years ago

I thought he was gay at first only by the way he talked, but it turned out he was just childish. and if he was gay, why did he want kinky, sadistic sex with women (as in the prostitute at the beginning who told him she wasn't into that)? I don't think Argento would use the "he's crazy because he's gay" excuse. that's a very outdated idea, and if he was following the old (before 1973 when it was still a "mental disorder") stereotype about being gay, he would have an absent or distant father (who didn't care about him) and an overbearing mother (where as Lorenzo had an overbearing father). In edition, if he was suffering from the oedipus conflict, it would be characteristic of NORMAL development as Freud saw it, since he believed everyone felt this conflict before eventually trying to be like their father. If Argento was trying to use these facts to support why the killer was crazy (which I don't believe he was), he did a bad job of understanding outdated psychological theories.

[–] mackhardy5 17 years ago

Considering that Argento's movies have always had a fairly progressive outlook on homosexuality (He was at one point considering writing a giallo with a gay hero, but his producers balked), I strongly doubt that he would use the "HE'S CRAZY CUZ HE'S GAY!!" line.

And I'm not even totally convinced Lorenzo was gay at all, he seemed more like the typically mentally unstable "traumatized as a child" individual that is present in so many of Argento's films.

[–] Lu_tz 17 years ago

"why did he want kinky, sadistic sex with women (as in the prostitute at the beginning who told him she wasn't into that)?"
Not that I agree with the opinions above but maybe she didn't want to do anal sex?

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] ashman-12 15 years ago

I agree that the character of Lorenzo doesn't seem to be gay. Not enough real evidence, and he seems enthralled enough with his girlfriend.

In saying that, I do enjoy a good is-he-isn't-he speculation game. When I first saw him and heard him speak, and especially when I saw him and Jackamo greet each other for the first time, it did strongly strike my gaydar. Maybe wishful thinking. Lorenzo continued to come across as gay for the entirety of the movie. This was just my impression based purely on his appearance and mannerisms rather than any overt references. Maybe a gay actor or something?

[–] jockledoodledoo 15 years ago

SPOILERS>

I certainly got a strong impression of an implied relationship / past with the two males, though this appeared to quickly be dispensed with by Argento. The scene, also, at dinner when the guy quickly cuts in that his friend is "staying in a hotel" (when he is actually at his house). As this film pans out, the reasoning for this is obviously that the father wants his son to stay away from the hero as, well, he killed his mother and is a psycho, but then we're not meant to know that at the time. So yes, the implied gay element is merely to waft the audience off the scent.

[–] smoovasbutter 15 years ago

I thought I saw some homoerotic overtones when the Killer and Giacomo greet each other give each other a hug that seems a bit affectionate for heteros. Plus when they are talking to each other and the killer had his shirt off.

But no, we later find out that the killer is not gay at all, he is simply just acts in a sissy, effeminate manner.

I think argento deliberately plants these things in the viewers heads to lead them off the wrong track. Argento plays with the audience's mind in all of his movies. This is just another example.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Frosted-Flame 13 years ago

Sometimes i think people who try to find gay subtext in films often find it cause they want to find it. You can make anything sound homoerotic if you try hard enough, even if you have to apply stereotypes and innuendo to it

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[–] XtroTerrestial 11 years ago

I never thought about it that way. I always thought that the whole piint was that he was messed up in the head in general.

Also, slightly of topic, I always thought it was interesting that the last scene and the closing credits played at the same time. I wish more films did that!

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