A foreboding and atmospheric score can do wonders in creating a dark tone for plenty of scary movies. Yet the following films changed things up. Leaving orchestras aside, rock songs took over, some playing throughout the film. More times than not though, they played during the opening and end credits, setting up the mood or finishing off the narrative with a bang.
Several of horror cinema's icons such as Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees have well-known rock songs attached to them. Then there are others, like Leatherface and Pinhead, that might be far more surprising to certain fans. Even if they were in a poorly received sequel, these rock anthems deserve so much more appreciation. Why not have a listen to each?
J. Geils Band — "Fright Night"
In Fright Night, actor Chris Sarandon (Child’s Play) played a vampire who planned to make his teen neighbor’s life hell. And J. Geils Band gave the perfect tone with their single, both dark and energetic. How "Fright Night" doesn't get the pleasure of being heard on Halloween playlists is a baffling question. A big "thank you" for the use of J. Geils Band and the other original songs heard throughout, should go to its director and producers. In an effort to create the best album to be played on the radio, music supervisor/soundtrack producer David Chackler, film producer Gary Goetzman, and director Tom Holland used the script as a tool to figure out the ideal placement of songs. They wanted a dance-friendly soundtrack. It might be safe to say they achieved that goal.
Alice Cooper — "He’s Back (The Man Behind The Mask)"
What could a franchise like Friday the 13th do to stay fresh for yet another sequel? A sixth film was made and in 1986, was released as Part VI: Jason Lives, and none other than Alice Cooper, who many consider to be “The Godfather of Shock Rock,” was brought into the franchise to deliver a theme song.
It’s catchy and very campy, a perfect combo for one of the better sequels in the Friday the 13th series. It wouldn’t be the last time Jason received a rock anthem; it happened again in Jason Takes Manhattan with “The Darkest Side of the Night” by Metropolis. But while a rock theme worked well with Jason Voorhees, Friday the 13th: Part III included a disco theme for the slasher icon. It was the early 80s, anything was possible!
Dokken — "Dream Warriors"
In 1987, A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors captured the potential of razor-clawed Freddy Krueger. If he could tamper with the dreams of his potential victims, wouldn't it make sense they could do the same? Bringing back final girl Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) and including even more inventive kills, Dream Warriors got a lot right.
Coming out towards the end of the 1980s, the prime decade for slasher films, the surreal horror Freddy caused was a breath of fresh air among the other mortal, masked killers. But to help settle Freddy into horror icon status was the band Dokken who did their part to make Dream Warriors, both the film and their song, an unforgettable experience for slasher fans. The Goo Goo Dolls even got in on Freddy’s fame for Freddy’s Dead with “I’m Awake Now.”
Louis Chalif — "Twist and Scream"
Slumber Party Massacre 3 (1990) didn’t get any rave reviews and it bookended the Slumber Party trilogy before a 2021 remake got made for the Syfy channel. The original, directed by Amy Holden Jones and written by Rita Mae Brown, should be remembered for how much of an odd product it was. Made during the early years of the slasher film craze, it had a satirical edge that in many ways put a feminist lens to the horror subgenre many critics labelled as anti-women. Of course, as what happens with sequels, by the third Slumber Party Massacre, the message became a little muddled. But it continued to be created by women.
Sally Mattison was in the director's chair for the third, with the story written by Catherine Cyran. And while this one might not get a lot of love from fans, one can’t deny the allure of Louis Chalif’s song. With the tone and vocals sounding close to Billy Idol, it's a fun one that, if analyzed a little further, could be considered in keeping up with how the first film poked fun at fellow slasher flicks. While the drill weapon is utilized in this one, the guitar riffs heard in “Twist and Scream” work as a callback to the over-the-top guitar-drill weapon used in the second Slumber Party. All in all, it was an undeniably 80s-esque song heard at the very start of the 90s.
Lääz Rockit — "Leatherface"
Did you know that even the Texan cannibal with a fondness for wearing skin from his victims got his own anthem? It happened in Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. If someone only saw the first one, perhaps there would be some confusion as to how a rock song and Leatherface could go hand in hand. But with the outrageous chainsaw fights and neon-lit tunnels seen in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, the series wasn’t going back to the nihilism of the original anytime soon.
In 1990, audiences got Leatherface, the film and the track by Lääz Rockit. The song is more metal than rock, but that's an agrument for another day. In this third outing, Leatherface was once again a brutal force of destruction, that could even be considered an effect of teen angst. He had his chainsaw roaring like a guitar, eager to make contact with unlucky flesh.
The Nymphs — "Revolt"
Pet Sematary used The Ramones in its ending credits. Pet Sematary 2 continued that rock tradition with the inclusion of The Nymphs and the rock aesthetic works even better thanks to the film’s younger protagonists this time around. The Ramones get all the love but The Nymphs should too. Director Mary Lambert was brought back to helm the sequel and there might have been a good reason each of the Pet Sematary films included excitings songs rather than atmospheric scores.
Lambert started her filmmaking career in the music industry. She didn't work with just any artists either. The Eurthymics and Madonna were some of the prominent ones she directed videos for. In fact, it was during the editing of one of Madonna's videos that Lambert's role in the Pet Sematary films started. A call from her agent with the prospect of coming on to the Stephen King adaptation came through. The rest was history. Without Lambert, it's more than possible that the The Ramones and The Nymphs wouldn't have added their touch to horror cinema.
Motörhead — "Hellraiser"
It really was only time before Pinhead and his fellow Cenobites got a rock hit. All that tight leather they wear was a perfect punk aesthetic. It took three movies, but Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth brought in Motörhead and lead singer Lemmy’s raspy vocals. Ozzy Osbourne originated the song on his No More Tears album but Motörhead were the ones who officially gave it over to Pinhead.
It was the last entry in the long-running Hellraiser franchise to have a theatrical release but what a way to go out. Even better would be the music video made for Motörhead's single. Clive Barker, the original creator of Hellraiser, directed the video, where a poker game is played between Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and Lemmy. As to who wins, you should check out the video for the surprise.
Rob Zombie — "Living Dead Girl"
Right off the bat in Bride of Chucky, audiences knew they were getting something entirely different than anything seen in the previous Child’s Play films. Everybody’s favorite killer doll with a hyena laugh could very well have met his swan song with the third film, back in 1991. Creator Don Mancini had other plans and Chucky fans were in for a wild ride. Rob Zombie’s second single off his debut solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe, plays over the opening credits. This is right after a compliant cop has given over Chucky’s remains and left his throat easily exposed for a nail file’s blade. Flesh is sliced and plenty of the red stuff gushes out.
But the rock song isn’t so much for Chucky. In fact, it's not for him at all. It’s to introduce Jennifer Tilly’s Tiffany. “Well, hello dolly,” she coos and, soon after, lovingly stitches her old lover’s plastic body back together, giving a new and creepier look to Chucky. Chucky was back but this time with some help. What a way to introduce Tilly as a new franchise character that has since become a fan-favorite.
Stabbing Westward — "Haunting Me"
Like a twisted high school fantasy, The Faculty leaned into the idea of, "what if your teacher really was out to get you?" Aliya Whiteley of Den of Geek wrote the best example of how to best identify all the influences at play here. "Mix Invasion Of The Body Snatchers with The Thing. Throw in some Terminator, a spoonful of The Breakfast Club, and a pinch of The Stepford Wives, and you’ve got a big mess of a movie set in a school that’s being taken over by a conformist alien, one teacher at a time."
What makes “Haunting Me” fit so well with The Faculty is how much it works as a teen anthem plus a rock anthem. The beeping heard in the opening is so similar to an alarm clock, it could produce a nostalgic callback to when you had to wake up for school on time or risk missing the bus. What's scarier than that memory?
Ida Maria — "Bad Karma"
Heard in the end credits for Scream 4, it was the last film of the franchise directed by Wes Craven and he continued a tradition. At the end of each of the Scream films directed by Craven, a rock song was played. Only time will tell if the directing team Radio Silence will follow with that musical tradition for the upcoming installment. Ida Maria's "Bad Karma" works incredibly well thematically, with the lyrics encapsulating the downfall to failed survivor Jill (Emma Roberts).
Jill was made to be the new final girl, that is until it was revealed she was behind all the Ghostface killings. By the end, literally within moments before the screen went black, Jill got her own dose of karma when her cousin, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), the franchise’s heroine, fired a fatal gun shot. With that, Sidney settled the argument between remakes and reboots with a single line. “Don’t f*ck with the original.”
Ghost — "Hunter’s Moon"
Halloween Kills went for more in every sense for this sequel. There was more violence and more original music from John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies. There was something even more special for fans this time around: for the first time in the history of the Halloween franchise, Michael Myers finally got his own rock song. Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees had their own, now the Haddonfield Boogeyman got his moment. Heard during the ending credits, there was perhaps no better band than Ghost to come onboard.
With their iconic skeletal sunken eye makeup, plus a music video where the stillness of Michael Myers is incorporated into the choreography, it was a terror-ific treat for Halloween and Ghost fans. Blumhouse producer Ryan Turek reached out to the band with the hopes of getting them involved. It appeared to be a destined opportunity for both parties, as Papa Emeritus IV, the persona of lead singer Tobias Forge, had the title already in his head. It referred to the full moon in October, a perfect fit for the slasher franchise. In the end, two versions were made, an original and a rerecorded track by Forge, the latter being heard in Halloween Kills with a distinctively faster tempo and added synth.