Some of us have done it and others are waiting. Most of us want to do it, but damn this quarantine. Yes, I am indeed talking about… Sex. What does this have to do with horror, you ask? Well…everything! Sex has been a long-used device in horror and arguably a pretty damning one when it comes to women. In the '80s, franchises like Halloween and Friday the 13^th used teen sex as a theme for purity. The hornier the teen, the worse the kill. At the height of slasher films in the early '90s, characters were clued in on the trope, sometimes using it to their advantage, such as in the third act in both Scream and Cherry Falls. Hell, Eli Roth’s devotion to sex on screen helped create the term “torture porn”. Either way you slice it (see what I did there?) sex is to horror as meat is to potatoes.

But how do you know when you’ve gone too far in your story when it comes to sex? Let’s explore, shall we? Here are three tips to writing tasteful sex scenes in your horror script:

#1: MAKE IT HONEST, YOU PERV.

The absolute worst sex scenes are the unrealistic ones. Like a woman reaching climax two minutes in or a man…knowing what he’s doing. Sex is awkward fun with the right person and it’s different for everyone, but if we’re being honest, how many us have had a Wild Things experience in our back yard? Oh, what? You have? Wow—eh hm. Anyway, my favorite sex scene in horror is from Diablo Cody’s cult classic, Jennifer’s Body, in a pivotal scene between partners Needy and Chip. Needy, on the bottom, is seeing flashes of a classmate’s murder through Jennifer’s eyes and is utterly horrified, while her boyfriend, Chip, thinks he’s the man and subsequently pleasing her. He has no clue. It’s funny. It’s honest. It works. It works in most part because of tip number two…

#2: ONLY WRITE IT IF IT PROPELS THE STORY FORWARD.

The reason why that scene in Jennifer’s Body works so well is because we need that scene to move the story forward. Needy finally gets a first-hand look at the horrible things Jennifer is doing and commits to stopping her. The sex is just setting — a unique, memorable one that heightens the effect of the scene. Imagine the scene without Needy’s vision. What purpose would it serve? Two teens going at it. Great. So, what? If you’re going to write a sex scene in your script, hell if you’re going to write any scene, make sure it’s moving your story forward. Another favorite horror sex scene of mine is in It Follows, which takes the sex motif and flips it on its head. In that film, the final girl can only survive if she “passes” her sickness on to another partner through sex. Thus, every time we see her engage in intercourse on screen it’s frightening, because we know what she’s doing is deadly and harmful. Brilliant. Another thing that movie does well in regards to sex is —

#3: KNOW WHEN YOU’RE GOING TOO DAMN FAR.

Going too far in horror? No such thing, you say. Except, yes, there is, and this is that thing. Movies such as Hostel and The Human Centipede are fun sleepover films to cringe at with your friends, but are also both great examples of going too damn far with your sex scenes… In my opinion. The era of torture porn is thankfully over, but let’s take a lesson from the ones that came before us. There is a very thin line between “this scene is important to show the true monstrosity of my villain” and “this scene is pleasing for me to write and I get off seeing others react to it.” Don’t be that person! If you’re writing a sex scene just for shock value, then you’re going too far. Make it mean something to the story, and to your character. For example, as much as I ADORE Lovecraft Country, I just could not get down with the brutal sexual assault scene that took place at the end of episode twelve titled, “Bloody Shoes.” If you’ve seen the show, you know what I’m talking about. Was this a vindicating moment for the hero? You betcha! Did the writers go too far? You betcha.

Some of you will argue that art should have no limits and we can agree to disagree on that. At the end of the day, remember that you are not just making art, you’re not just writing a horror story, but you are a part of a big machine we call The Industry. You need audiences. They both fund your projects. You can still have your creative freedom and not alienate your viewers, especially your female horror fans who are the largest demographic within the community. Yeah. I said it.