Belle, the silent Queer in ‘Fright Night 2’ (The Lone Queer)

One of the peaks of ’80s queer horror was 1985’s Night of fear. Okay, that’s not really weird. This gives more queer code than anything else. But some will slam their hand on the table to declare the bizarre nature of this vampire film. But what about the lesser-known and underrated sequel that arrived three years later, in 1988, Scary Night, Part 2?

The oddity of Scary Night, Part 2

In Scary Night, Part 2, another powerful vampire enters the lives of Charley (William Ragsdale) and Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall). This vampire is Régine (Julie Carmen), the sister of Night of fear‘s defeated antagonist, Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon). Régine wants revenge on those who put an end to Jerry. Scary Night, Part 2 has the same strange touch as the original. What else did it do? This gave us a more obvious, although never openly stated, queer character. Régine comes with her own entourage, and among that entourage is Belle, played by the extraordinary choreographer Russell Clark.

Belle is Régine’s right arm, her best friend, her confidante. Looks familiar? It’s this singular trait that many queer characters seem to possess if the film doesn’t focus on them. It’s the 80s. It’s a mainstream film. The former Lone Queers didn’t show us anything else. I’ll probably keep repeating this because that’s usually the case. But it’s slightly okay because we were – in turn – gifted a character like Belle.

But is Belle really queer?

One might ask, how do we know that Belle is queer? This could be based on their look which consists of a shimmering wardrobe, a teased hairstyle and a perfectly beaten face. But it’s a stereotype. There’s the glam rock moment of the ’70s and ’80s that didn’t peak in 1988 but still lingers in the air. Then there’s Belle’s first murder. He attacks on roller skates. Roller skates! Yes, we realize that this doesn’t contribute to being queer, but how wonderfully camp and badass is this scene? Belle’s signature move is their roller-skating attack on an unsuspecting art student, hair blowing in the wind. He strikes a fucking pose moments before the attack. This pose is ingrained in my brain and those of others as an iconic moment from the film.

If solid proof is needed that Belle is gay, she appears in a scene in which he and Regine seduce an unsuspecting victim, Richie (Merrit Butrick). Charley sees Richie in the middle of foreplay with Regine and Belle. Richie is dressed in a revealing silk robe while the two vampires blindfold him, pet him, tease him, then get down to the business of sucking blood. Belle takes the neck while Régine takes the wrist. This makes Belle appear to be the priority in this seductive sucking. He was given a central location to consume human blood. Régine is the true best friend to give him pride of place and even to share his prey.

Body language

These are the few pieces of information we take away from the film when it comes to Belle’s sexuality. It may not be completely obvious, but it’s pretty obvious. We don’t need Belle to openly reveal her sexuality to us. And Belle never does. He never says anything about himself. He doesn’t say a single word during the entire film. Everything we learn about Belle is shown through expression. Instead of words, it’s Belle’s body that speaks. His body language shows that he enjoys seducing Richie. He likes to bring comfort and protection to Régine. Plus, he loves rollerblading. I mean, there’s a montage of Regine’s entourage bowling, and Belle bowling on roller skates. Roller skates!

Belle’s lack of words speaks to the placement of a queer person in the 80s. While I only lived through the second half of the 80s as a child, the queer experience was constantly silenced during that period. period. This was also feared due to the AIDS pandemic, religious fanatics, and lack of desire to understand anything outside of a heteronormative life. However, Belle is an example of homosexuality. They may not have expressed themselves verbally, but visually they offer true queer perfection.

The Silent Queer of Scary Night, Part 2

In the film, we don’t learn why they are silent. They simply are. This is a stark difference from previous Lone Queers portrayed in the 80s and 90s. Usually the queer person of this era is a subject of humor. Jokes spring up. The shadow is cast. One-liners are abundant. Belle was having none of that. Well, just kidding, Belle definitely threw a ton of shade using just their face, and they threw it expertly. The looks he gave when someone in their circle did something that deserved shade didn’t need words. And just like the queer characters of the 80s, they meet their end. This was inevitable, as they are one of the antagonists.

Belle’s quiet but extremely loud quirk is all due to Russell Clark. He created a loud character without using his literal voice. This different type of voice is so strong that there are multiple homages to Belle, as well as Clark. Midnight Social Distortion (Mark O. Estes) has a wonderful article explaining how Belle and Clark shaped their queer perspective. Not just a queer perspective, but a black queer perspective. As Estes points out, Belle and Russell Clark should be championed for their place in black queer horror.

Choreographed horror

Even if you think you don’t know Russell Clark, you’ve definitely seen his work. He choreographed moments inside Vamp (1986), Teenage Witch (1989), Doppleganger (1993), Fallen (1998), and Horror movie 2 (2001) among many other non-horror films and TV shows. He has choreographed music videos for Grace Jones, Gloria Estefan, David Bowie, Queen Latifah, Pat Benatar and many others. Clark died in 2002 from cancer, but he has a lasting legacy, which includes the incredible Belle.

If you’re a Drag Race watcher, you may have seen one of the queens, Saphira Cristál, perform in a vampiric, blue outfit during the finale. Maybe it’s my own delusion, but I swear her look during that lip sync was an homage to Belle. The shimmering blue dress/bodysuit, the vampire teeth, the simple but perfect face, it all screamed Belle. Sliding on her knees across the stage was even reminiscent of Belle’s roller skating. I might have screamed a lot louder if Saphira had done the act on roller skates. So in my world, Saphira Cristál was definitely paying homage to Belle.

Belle may not be at the top of most lists of queer horror characters, but he should be. Belle and Russell Clark are absolute queer excellence in the horror zeitgeist for what they give up Scary Night, Part 2. This is why the character and the performer must be constantly and highly celebrated. There is no other character in the world of horror that matches Belle’s energy and roller skating ability.