Bowie, boys, and a gay-themed episode of The Hunger

It wasn’t until I was putting together a tribute to David Bowie for Boys, Bears & Scares after his death that I learned he hosted a horror anthology TV show named after his 1983 vampire film. The Hunger aired for two seasons on various cable channels (including Showtime here in the U.S) beginning in 1997. While Terence Stamp hosted the first season, Bowie took over for the second season and even starred in one episode, but not as his character from the movie.

While some episodes involve vampires, there are a variety of creatures and monsters, as well as supernatural and paranormal themes, with some episodes being more horror cool than others. Guest stars include Balthazar Getty, Karen Black, Daniel Craig, Colin Ferguson, Sally Kirkland, Nick Mancuso, Michael Gross, Margot Kidder, Chad Lowe, Eric Roberts, Jennifer Beals, Jessie Borrego (of Fame!), Brad Dourif, William Katt, Giovanni Ribisi, and Lori Petty. That’s an amazing list of horror and 80s icons, but the real stars here are the sex and nudity.

Indeed, The Hunger is heavily focused on erotic horror, particularly the first season. While most of the sexual stories are either hetero or lesbo, there’s one episode in season two that’s gay-o! I cover that below, but first, how about screen grabs of some of the hottest man moments in the series?

“WRATH OF GOD” – Season 2, Episode 14

This is the gay episode, which I’ve added to my homo hell-evision page of scary TV with gay characters. If you want to check out the episode and be surprised, do not read on, because I am going to spoil it.

When a gay-themed episode is titled “Wrath of God,” naturally you’re going to roll your eyes, assuming this will be a piece of anti-gay propaganda. Trust me, the episode hopes you think that all the way until the end. We meet a gay landlord (gaylord?) who is dealing with a series of murders in his apartment building—at the same time as a mysterious man in a hooded coat comes into his life. This mysterious man is played by former Brat Packer Anthony Michael Hall! The first thing Geek—I mean—the mysterious man does is kiss the gaylord. So of course, the gaylord asks him to move in.

Meanwhile, we get to see clips of male victims being dragged to a gritty, Saw-like setting then slaughtered, while we hear the thoughts of “the Wrath of God” (as he calls himself), who believes it is his job to rid the earth of sinners. Meanwhile, the police are investigating the murders. They determine the killer is targeting gay men, and label the murders sex crimes. They are homophobic in dealing with the gaylord, so of course the F bomb is dropped. They believe the gaylord’s new mysterious man is the killer.

We soon find out the truth. The gaylord becomes the next victim. He is abducted, straddled by the killer, and threatened with some very sharp objects.

Suddenly, his mysterious man comes swooping in—seriously, he sprouts angel wings and flies in—and takes care of the killer, while saying to the gaylord, “God loves you.”

We learn that the evil humans the mysterious man (actually a guardian angel) is ridding the world of are not gays—they’re the likes of homophobic killers, the KKK, and Nazis! Now that’s my kind of liberal propaganda horror.