Heavy Metal Horror Movie Day

 

‘Blood, Satan, the occult, fighting off zombies, social chaos, violence, death— on the surface, these descriptors sound like your average indicators of our favorite horror movies, however, they’re just as representative of horror’s musical cousin equivalent: heavy metal. Just like metal horns and concerts pair so perfectly, these misfit subgenres have been tied together for decades— even coming together as one in the form of “metalsploitation,” (yep, a real term) in which heavy metal music is exploited, satirized, and, most importantly, portrayed lovingly within its own, unique variety of horror films.

‘When metal crusaders Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and their bandmates axed their not-so-metal original band names Polka Tulk Blues Band and Earth for the darker, more favorable Black Sabbath after Mario Bava’s 1963 horror anthology of the same name in the late 1960s, heavy metal— and its match made in hell to horror— was born. Rejecting the more mainstream hippie culture of the time and wanting to create the musical parallel to horror films, Black Sabbath took inspiration from horror writer Dennis Wheatley and adopted themes of the occult into its lyrics. Other musicians of the era started walking the same, blackened path, as bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest arose in Sabbath’s horror-inspired, metallic wake, and we were then introduced to our first light wave of heavy metal-horror movies.

‘The 1980s saw an overtaking boom in not only heavy metal popularity overall, but particularly the heavy metal-horror subgenre. The crunchier, aggressive sounds of Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax were often opposed by an unrivaled number of mainstream, MTV-era, hair metal bands, including Motley Crue, Poison, and Ratt— which was naturally capitalized in the form of a major flux of campy, silly, cult metal-horror movies that are equally remembered for their of-the-time soundtracks as they are for their low-budget special effects. At this point, heavy metal had become a societal nuisance, as the Reagan administration spread fears of Satanic Panic and warned parents and society about the “corruption of youth” through “Satanic” music and horror movies. Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, and several others defended their music, as naysayers swore their lyrics contained “subliminal messages” and “influenced” young people to do bad things. Trick or Treat, one of the most beloved heavy-metal horror movies to exist, toys with all of the prudish allegations against heavy metal of the time, as a sweet, bullied, metal-loving teenager plays a heavy metal cassette backwards and inadvertently conjures up his deceased rock star idol, who isn’t exactly as heroic as he had cracked him up to be. With cameos from both Gene Simmons and Ozzy as a hilariously bemoaning heavy metal criticizer, Treat’s love letter to the heavy metal subculture laughed in the faces of those who simply didn’t get it.

‘Along with Treat, other ‘80s films that commented on the era of which they were set in came in the form of Heavy Metal, the animated genre hybrid whose cartoonish blood spills and decapitated heads fall under the horror umbrella; Paganini Horror, in which a Bon Jovi-sounding band becomes cursed by a piece of music they play; The Gate, the kid-friendly favorite that follows in way of Trick or Treat, as the young protagonists play a metal record backwards and unleash a hellish portal; and Black Roses, in which the new metal band in town corrupts kids by turning them into demons. We Summon the Darkness fits perfectly into this epoch of films, as the characters attend a heavy metal concert in the ‘80s while a “Satanic cult” is murdering people in the area. The Satanic Panic peddlers must’ve been right all along!’ — Julieann Stipidis

 

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Movies

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Don Edmonds Terror On Tour (1980)
‘Someone starts murdering people and a rock band called The Clowns (a KISS rip off) are under suspicion in “Terror On Tour”. The film begins with a girl murdered right after the band performs on stage. At first I thought the main suspect was one of the band members who really enjoyed putting on the makeup, there was a weird scene in the band’s dressing room with him explaining that it’s easier for him to talk to girls with it on… But I don’t know, the film lost focus and I didn’t know what was going on half the time. In between all of the scenes with the band, we get some shots which show the rock and roll lifestyle (sex, drugs, alcohol, etc). No reason to have them in there. Anyways, it soon becomes apparent throughout all of the craziness that the killer is someone dressing up like the other band members. More murders take place during the concerts, and the cops begin investigating. All of this leads up to a silly conclusion.’

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Hans Hatwig Blödaren (1983)
‘On tour through Sweden, the all-girl rock ‘n’ roll band “Rock Cats” suddenly find themselves trapped in no-man’s land when their tour-bus breaks down. Soon they get to meet “the Bleeder”, an insane beast of a man whose sole interest is to kill them all off, one by one. The hunt is on…’

Horror Reviews with Junkmaster3: Blödaren (1983)

 

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Claudio Fragasso Monster Dog (1984)
‘Victor Raven (Alice Cooper), a famous rock star, returns to his childhood home to shoot a music video. Believing his presence is responsible for the return of a monstrous hound that killed folks when he was kid, the locals decide to do something violent about it.’

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Beverly Sebastian Rocktober Blood (1984)
‘A crazed rock singer returns from the dead to murder members of his former band.’

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Mats Helge, Mike Jackson Blood Tracks (1985)
‘A blood bath of terrifying violence is created when a group of rock musicians and their film crew venture deep into the snowy mountains to shoot scenes for their latest video. The group are left stranded after being cut off by a series of avalanches, and are forced to take refuge in a remote mountain cabin. The crew decide on a nearby disused power station, as the next shooting location, but soon discover that they are not alone as they and the group fall into the clutches of the wild, mutant like creatures that inhabit the power station. Fearing that their territory and existence is being threatened they unleash a bloody reign of terror upon their unsuspecting victims.’

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Krishna Shah Hard Rock Zombies (1985)
‘Hitler cultists kill everyone in a heavy-metal band but the lead singer (E.J. Curcio), who brings them back as zombies.’

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Charles Martin Smith Trick or Treat (1986)
‘Rock and roll and horror meet head on in this 80s movie about a high school outcast who plays a record backwards and raises the spirit of dead rocker Sammi Curr, who promises to help him get revenge on the school bullies.’

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David DeCoteau Dreamaniac (1986)
‘A heavy-metal musician makes a deal with a satanic succubus to make him successful with women, in return for the succubus being able to feed on the girls.’

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Albert Pyun Vicious Lips (1986)
‘Sometime in the distant future, a fledgling band gets an opportunity for a breakthrough, if they can make it in time to a faraway planet to perform in a very popular club.’

the entirety

 

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John Fasano Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare (1987)
‘At a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, a hopeful hair-metal band seeking inspiration to record their upcoming new LP will soon find themselves in a furious confrontation against the Prince of Darkness himself.’

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Tibor Takács The Gate (1987)
‘Nerdy friends Glen, played by a young Stephen Dorff, and Al crank up the metal jams that help them unlock a gate into a netherworld where demons try to take over the world, but ultimately just end of trashing the kids’ house. Like it wouldn’t have happened anyway.’

Trailer

 

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John Fasano Black Roses (1988)
‘A small-town teacher (John Martin) saves teenage souls from a heavy-metal rocker (Sal Viviano) and his band from hell.’

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Dominick Brascia Hard Rock Nightmare (1988)
‘When John was a little kid, his grandfather would constantly tell him that he was a vampire, so he did what I would have as a child. He grabbed a stake and dropped that bloodsucker. Except, you know, his grandfather was just joking and as a result, John grew up in a mental hospital. But hey, things worked out OK. Now he’s in a rock and roll band and once the cops tell him they’re too loud for the garage, he heads to the house his grandmother left him. That said, his bandmates are getting killed off one by one, possibly by a werewolf who was once his grandfather, so maybe things aren’t so great.’

the entirety

 

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Dimitri Logothetis Slaughterhouse Rock (1987)
‘A man visits Alcatraz prison after having dreams about all the people who died there. When he gets there, his brother is possessed by an evil vampiric demon. The ghost of a female heavy metal singer who was killed there tries to help the man fight the monster.’

Trailer

 

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Jag Mundhra Hack-O-Lantern (1988)
‘A young boy named Tommy sees his father murdered by his grandfather in a brutal satanic ritual on Halloween night. Years later, as Tommy’s grandfather attempts to initiate him into the cult, a mysterious killer begins preying on the people closest to Tommy.’

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Donald Farmer Scream Dream (1989)
‘One of the girls in a rock band is fired from the band. She is, in reality, a witch, and possesses the body of the girl who replaces her in order to take revenge on the rest of the band.’

the entirety

 

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Ron Ottaviano & Steven DeFalco Heavy Metal Massacre (1989)
‘The whole premise of the film is that David DeFalco — starring as Bobbi Brown here — plays a serial killer who hangs around Metal bars, preying on women who have some apparent attraction to his flowing hair. But that isn’t established from the off. Instead, the actual opening is literally just still frames of this bloke set to metal music: After that, the movie pans around the outside of a building, before slowly panning inside what looks like someone’s living room. Everything starts flashing and spinning about halfway, like someone just discovered a filter in Windows Movie Maker.’

Trailer

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Dennis Devine Dead Girls (1990)
‘A female band, who are exponents of “death rock”, retreat to a cabin for the weekend. They soon find themselves being knocked off by a masked killer who uses weapons they have mentioned in their songs.’

the entirety

 

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Mark Freed Shock Em Dead (1991)
‘Martin is a total loser who makes a deal with the devil to become the greatest rock star in the world.’

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Alan Smithee Raging Angels (1995)
‘Two young musicians (Sean Patrick Flanery, Monet Mazur) fall in with an organization that brainwashes followers while purporting to promote world peace.’

Trailer

 

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Todd Jason Cook Death Metal Zombies (1995)
‘Brad Masters enters a contest and wins an album by his favorite band of all time, Living Corpse. The tape has a special song called “Zombiefied”, which turns Brad and his friends into zombies at a party. Luckily, Brad’s girlfriend Angel misses the party and it is up to her to save her friends. She runs into Shengar (lead singer of Living Corpse and ruler of the dead world) , who attempts to stop Angel. During Angel’s escape, she teams up with her friend Tommy who learns that there is only way to stop the zombies. Now, Angel and Tommy have limited time to figure out how to reverse the zombie curse and save their friends.’

Trailer

 

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Henrik Myrdhen Terror i Rock ‘n’ Roll Önsjön (2001)
‘In the 1970’s, a group of Hard Rock loving teens take up the fight with a nazi-zombie.’

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Alex Chandon Cradle of Fear (2001)
‘Helped by deranged angel Dani Filth, who leaves a trail of charnel house death in his crimson wake, the cannibal convict forces two Goth vamps to endure a one night stand from hell, two tough female robbers to see through each other, an obscenely rich coke-head to chop up more than a few lines and an internet surfer to descend into madness when he uncovers the ultimate web depravity.’

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Neal Sundstrom Slash (2002)
‘A rock band gets stuck on a haunted farm while visiting their lead singer’s family.’

the entirety

 

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Killjoy August’s Underground Mordum, (2003)
‘Hell-o, once again sick-os and scalers of the underground Horror scene. This is Horror at its most shocking, uncensored, brutal, depraved, sickening and realistic as one can get. To avoid fainting, vomiting and heart failure… Not only will you repeat, “It’s only a movie… only a movie… only a movie…,”… You’ll beg, hope and pray for it to be.’

the entirety

 

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George Streicher Rock ‘Em Dead (2007)
‘A high school, death metal band face a ghoulish dilemma when they strike a deal with the devil himself in order to create the greatest song ever written.’

the entirety

 

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Richard Boylan Heavy Metal Horror (2014)
‘Julia, a disillusioned young prostitute hounded by an evil spirit, escapes her pimp and crosses paths with a heavy metal band, bringing their worlds together in a night of terror.’

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Jason Howden Deathgasm (2015)
‘After being bullied one too many times and failing to win the heart of the blonde lass, Brodie plays a song with his new band, DEATHGASM (all caps, of course), and inadvertently brings forth a demon force known as The Blind One, instantly plunging their normal corner of the world into bloody chaos. Can the rockers survive the end of the world?’

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Joshua Allan Vargas Hairmetal Shotgun Zombie Massacre: The Movie (2016)
‘The film is about a hair metal band that, while struggling to find its own identity, decides to record its first full-length album is a creepy cabin located in the middle of a notorious cemetery. Chock full of weed, coke, and booze, the band discovers a secret in the cellar and unwittingly open a gate that allows demons to possess the corpses in the surrounding cemetery. Forced to have to survive the night and with the odds getting slimmer, the band must battle hordes of the demonic undead and hope to get a record deal somewhere in the process.’

Excerpt

 

 

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p.s. Hey. ** Brandon, Hi, Brandon. That would be great, yes, let’s meet up when I’m next back there. It might not be too long from now as I’m getting ready to shoot a new film with my collaborator Zac Farley in SoCal, and we need to get there soon to start doing the prep work. I’ll let you know. Mm, I guess a lot of music that seems appropriate springs to mind. Can you give me any sense of your general music tastes, or what you already know and like? There’s all kinds of stuff from, like, harsh noisy music to really spare, more folky music on the other end, with lyrics and without. Any coordinates you can give me? I’m happy to think of suggestions. Thanks a lot! ** David, Well, it’s over at least, but soup-only is intense. Ice cream? I hope your mouth is being hella friendlier today. I know there are plans to get the ‘Jerk’ film shown in the UK, but I don’t know what they are. I’m seeing Gisele on Monday, and I’ll ask her. ** David Ehrenstein, ‘Duelle’ has very slight issues here and there, but it’s so great. I’m in the Cecil Taylor was a genius camp. ** Misanthrope, Hi. I hugely recommend Tate. He was the first living writer I fell in love with back in the early 70s, and his poetry was a big influence on me, and I think he’s just incredible. I, of course, hadn’t seen any of those Chalamet films I listed. I just looked at their materials and took an educated guess. I’ll probably see ‘Dune’ at some point, but I hated that director’s ‘Blade Runner’ film with a passion, and it’s hard for me to imagine him making a film that isn’t similarly overblown, drawn out, empty, artsy hocus-pocus. Did your last pill perform a magic trick? I’m guessing not, but … ** Dominik, Hi!!! He’s great, great, great. That’s so cool about your friend who collects Tic Tac boxes. I love collector-itis stuff like that. I wish I collected something. I used to when I was younger. And what a novel fetish. Very cool. Dominzilla! Wacky dictionary you’ve got there. Oh, gosh, I hate to make love go there but … love causing Putin and everyone in the Russian govt. who supports him to spontaneously incinerate into tiny piles of ash, G. ** Ryan / ANGUSRAZE, Hey. Man, I’m so sorry to be slow. My brain has been elsewhere and swamped with stuff. I’ll write to you pronto Add my big-up to ‘Funeral Parade Of Roses’, yes. Interesting about the sensual fitness effect. I should think about my body. I never do. I just treat it like my automobile. This is a repeat from yesterday, but the recent films I’ve seen are Pedro Costa’s ‘Vitalina Varela’ (great!), Jacques Rivette’s ‘Duelle’ (great!), ‘Moonfall’ (guilty pleasure), and Bertrand Mandico’s ‘After Blue’ (very irritating). Any other films floating your boat of late? ** Steve Erickson, I hope you don’t get the lingering Covid after-effects thing. Yury still has some odd issues from his bout, nothing serious, but it’s been months and months. Thanks about ‘Jerk’. I’ll let you know what the US plans are when I know what they are. ** Brian, Hey, Brian. Tate is truly, truly wonderful. In my book. My nephew used to smoke a lot of pot. The phrase ‘Dubstep is the future, man’ came out of his mouth not infrequently. I’m totally with you on the assessment of moviedom’s grim current status, and I’m not feeling glum even. Well your prof’s enthusiasm is, like, a good thing, right? You have a superb brain, so I’m positive you’ll come up with something extraordinary. Wow, I get the stressfulness, but it’s really exciting that you’re shooting your film today. But know that I’m crawling out of my skin with anxiousness to shoot ours. I hope it goes really well and smoothly. Did it? Pray tell. ** Bill, Hi, B. ‘Ghost Soldiers’ is dreamy great. If you ask me. How’s your weekend potentially hanging? ** Right. Something came over me, and I decided to check out what the Heavy Metal/Hard Rock + Horror Movie combo resulted in and then pass along the results of my investigation to you. See you tomorrow.