Songs Inspired by Horror Movies

Today's episode of Sounds of Cinema kicked off the show's month long Halloween theme with a look at songs inspired by horror films. Here are a few of the songs discussed on the show and a few more that didn't make it.

"Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus
Bauhaus was a British gothic rock band active primarily the 1970s and 80s. The song “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” was one of the band’s first recordings and it would be their biggest and most enduring hit. The song refers to the actor best known for playing Dracula in Universal’s 1931 film. “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” would appear in many motion pictures and television programs, in particular Tony Scott’s 1983 vampire picture The Hunger, and it has been frequently covered by other bands including CHVRCHES, Godhead, and The Electric Hellfire Club.


"Doll-Dagga Buz-Buzz Ziggety-Zag" by Marilyn Manson 
Marilyn Manson’s 2003 album The Golden Age of Grotesque channeled the outrageous and scandalous art movements of the 1930s, in particular the decadent art of Weimar-era Germany, and adapted it to early 2000s metal music. Among the album’s unusual tracks was “Doll-Dagga Buzz-Buzz Ziggety-Zag” which made reference to Todd Browning’s 1932 horror film Freaks. The refrain “You’re one of us now! You’re one of us!” is directly from Freaks’ infamous dinner scene.


"Eyes Without a Face" by Billy Idol
Georges Franju’s 1960 horror drama Eyes Without a Face tells the story of a mad surgeon who has accidentally disfigured his daughter’s face and kidnaps other young women with the intention of transplanting their faces onto hers. Eyes Without a Face inspired Billy Idol to write a song with the same title and it was Idol’s first top ten hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100.


"I Was a Teenage Werewolf" by The Cramps
The Cramps were active from the late 1970s through 2009 although the bulk of the band’s work was generated in its first decade. Some of The Cramp’s songs made reference to horror films, especially the drive-in pictures of the 1950s, such as “I Was a Teenage Werewolf.”


Midian by Cradle of Filth
The black metal band Cradle of Filth has been influenced by history, religion, and literature as well as motion pictures and each of their albums works through a different concept. Cradle of Filth’s 2000 album Midian was inspired by Clive Barker’s novella Cabal and its movie adaptation Nightbreed. The album features guest narration by actor Doug Bradley, best known for playing Pinhead in the Hellraiser films and who also has a supporting role in Nightbreed.


"Monster Mash" by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers
In the late 1950s and early 60s there was a resurgence of interest in the Universal monster films that had been popular fifteen to twenty years earlier. This was partly due to the advent of television and the syndicated broadcast of classic movies like Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man. At the same time the “novelty song” became popular, especially with the young listeners who were buying up seven-inch vinyl singles. In an effort to capitalize on those trends a lot of monster-themed novelty songs were produced such as “The Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley, “Jekyll and Hyde” by Jim Burgett, and “The Mummy’s Bracelet” by Lee Ross. The most famous of these was “Monster Mash” by Bobby (Boris) Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers.


"Nature Trail to Hell" by Weird Al Yankovic
Slasher movies became very popular in the 1980s. Many of these movies took place at summer camps and in titles such as Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, and The Burning, campers and camp counselors were terrorized by mysterious killers. At the same time there was a brief resurgence in the 3-D format and these two fads coalesced in 1982’s Friday the 13th Part 3. “Weird Al” Yankovic seized upon those trends on his 1984 album In 3-D which featured the track “Nature Trail to Hell.”


"A New Beginning" by Wolfie's Just Fine
The song “A New Beginning” by the folk band Wolfie’s Just Fine features a narrator recollecting the first time he saw the movie Friday the 13th Part V and in particular a gruesome double murder of two young lovers frolicking in the woods. The music video makes the song’s inspiration explicit with an impressively accurate recreation of the scene from the film.


"A Nightmare on My Street" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
The Nightmare on Elm Street series had several songs commissioned as cross promotions for their films such as Dokken’s “Dream Warriors” and The Goo Goo Dolls “I’m Awake Now.” In the lead up to 1988’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince recorded the song “A Nightmare on My Street” but New Line Cinema rejected it in favor of The Fat Boys’ “Are You Ready for Freddy?” Nevertheless, “A Nightmare on My Street” was released anyway and a music video was produced. New Line intervened with a lawsuit and the music video was never publicly shown. However, after an out of court settlement, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s “A Nightmare on My Street” was released and reached the number 15 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.


"Ouch" by Be Your Own Pet
George A. Romero’s second zombie film was 1978’s Dawn of the Dead. That picture was marketed with the tagline “When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth.” The band Be Your Own Pet paid tribute to Dawn of the Dead in the song “Ouch” from their self-titled 2006 album. The song describes a zombie apocalypse and the refrain utilizes the movie’s tagline.


"Thriller" by Michael Jackson 
The title track of Michael Jackson's 1982 album remains a staple of Halloween parties. The song pays tribute to horror cinema and the fun of being scared, incorporating narration from esteemed horror actor Vincent Price. The music video is one of the great accomplishments in the genre and was directed by John Landis with special effects makeup by Rick Baker who had collaborated on 1981's An American Werewolf in London.


"Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon
The title of Warren Zevon’s hit song “Werewolves of London” was adapted from the 1935 movie Werewolf of London directed by Stuart Walker. The lyrics make reference to father and son actors Lon Chaney and Lon Chaney Jr.; the elder had starred in seminal horror films of the silent era including 1925’s The Phantom of the Opera while the younger Chaney played the title role in 1941’s The Wolf-Man.