I can kind of read him as a gay villain, which would be more sad if it was more overt. I can also read him as bi and note that all the interactions we see or hear of him that have any sexual nature are completely dominance-based. I am less likely to buy into the gay interpretation, though, since Sévérine was (we are told) taken out of a brothel. There aren't a lot of gay men who frequent heterosexual brothels.

It's also clear that this behavior comes after his captivity and I think we're supposed to get the idea that his captivity, torture, and failed suicide pretty completely broke his mind. So I'm not sure how you can read actions by a character that the film presents as completely insane.