Music has proven itself to be an integral part of our favorite horror films, to the point that iconic scores like Halloween and Psycho are as important to the enduring popularity of those classics as the stories and characters themselves. But it’s not exactly scores we’re here to talk about today.
It’s not something that often happens nowadays, but back in the 80s and 90s, it wasn’t all that uncommon for studios to task musicians with writing and performing original songs for their horror movies – which would typically play over the opening or ending credits of the film.
To show you what we mean, here are 10 of our favorite horror movie songs, all of which would’ve been given awards at the Oscars if we were in charge!
This first one actually WAS nominated for Best Original Song at the 1973 Academy Awards. Believe it or not, it was 1972’s Ben, a sequel to Willard, that this song was written for, and Michael Jackson’s beautiful rendition of the loving ode made it a bona fide chart-topping hit. The song, which was originally written for Donny Osmond, was performed by Jackson over the ending credits of the film. Yep. A young Michael Jackson singing a love song about a rat. Gotta love it!
Something you might not know about the late David Hess, who played Krug in the original Last House on the Left, is that he was a singer/songwriter before he ever became an actor. In fact, it was Hess who performed the original recording of “All Shook Up,” which Elvis Presley went on to turn into a #1 hit. Because of his flair for music, Hess composed the soundtrack for The Last House on the Left, in addition to starring in it. “Wait for the Rain” is the most noteworthy song from the soundtrack, which played over the opening credits sequence. Eli Roth was such a fan that he used the song in his debut feature, Cabin Fever.
Horror movie songs don’t get much more iconic than this one, written and performed by Alice Cooper. “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)” was a perfect companion piece to the fun and self-referential Friday the 13th sequel Jason Lives, celebrating the return of the real Jason Voorhees. Ensuring its future as an awesome export of the 1980s, the end credits song was given its very own music video (above), which saw Alice Cooper being attacked by Jason and featured several clips from the film. The personification of everything we love about the 80s, right here.
The third installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Dream Warriors, was released just one year after Jason Lives, and it too featured a totally badass song of its own. It was heavy metal band Dokken that was tasked with coming up with a song that tied into the film, and boy did they deliver. “Dream Warriors,” which played over the end credits of the fan-favorite Elm Street sequel, was also brought to life with a particularly awesome music video, featuring clips and even some brand new original footage. A true anthem for Freddy fans, and yet another reminder that life will never be as awesome as it was in the 80s.
Not to be outdone, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise got in on the heavy metal fun in 1990, when Leatherface enlisted the help of his good friends Laaz Rockit to spice up his third outing. I’ve always been of the mind that Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 is one of the true unsung gems of the franchise, and this head-banging ode to the big guy is further confirmation of that belief. I mean, come on… how often do you get to see guitars cut up by chainsaws?!
If you’ve ever seen Maniac Cop 2, you were no doubt surprised by the end credits song, which is equal parts bizarre and absolutely delightful. Though it was legendary composer Jay Chattaway who composed the score for the 1990 sequel, rappers Josh Barnes and Brian “B.Dub” Woods were brought in to end the film on a fun note, which is precisely what they did. No idea how this came about, or why, but I do know that the world is a much better place with the “Maniac Cop Rap” in it!
For me personally, a large part of the appeal of Return of the Living Dead is the music, which infused a whole lot of fun into a movie that already was a whole lot of fun. And no song from the film’s soundtrack is more memorable than “Tonight (We’ll Make Love Until We Die),” which of course played over the highly memorable scene of Linnea “Trash” Quigley performing her iconic nude cemetery dance. The song was written and performed for the movie by the band SSQ, which was headed by lead singer Stacey Swain. No music video necessary for this one, since the scene is pretty much already the world’s greatest music video!
One of Stephen King’s favorite bands, the Ramones were featured twice in the 1989 adaptation of Pet Sematary, first with the song “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” which played during the film, followed by the song “Pet Sematary,” which played along with the end credits. While the former had been released by the Ramones over a decade prior, the latter was written specifically for the film and ended up becoming one of the band’s biggest radio hits. Interesting to note, Plain White T’s covered the song for the Frankenweenie soundtrack.
What better way to end a horror movie set on Valentine’s Day than with a loving ballad? No better way, thought the composer of 1981’s My Bloody Valentine, and the movie is all the better because of that decision. The studio originally planned on ending the film with a hit rock song, but when they realized they couldn’t afford it, they gave the ball to composer Paul Zaza, who came up with this catchy little ditty. Performed by well-known Canadian tenor John McDermott, “The Ballad of Harry Warden” basically recaps the entire plot of the film, only in the form of a song.
We end this nostalgic little list with my personal favorite original horror movie song of all time, which I’m almost as in love with as the movie itself. Killer Klowns from Outer Space simply wouldn’t be Killer Klowns from Outer Space without this awesome song from California-based punk band The Dickies, which played over both the opening and ending credits of the film. No song on this list is more perfectly suited to the movie it was made for than this one, and the music video for the film also evokes that fun vibe of the film, featuring clips and original footage of the Klowns in action. The Dickies released an EP called Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 1988, the same year of the movie’s release, though only the title track was featured in the film.
Can you think of any other original horror movie songs? Comment below and let us know!