Tag Archives: Horror Movies

Liner Notes: Songs from the Boiler Room

BS: Like all good ideas, this came to me at the most inopportune time – driving to work.

TC: And you drove off the road?

BS: The things I do for my art.

TC: We appreciate your sacrifices.

BS: I wish my insurance saw it that way. Enough about my driving skills…

TC: Ya, let’s get into it. If you didn’t figure out who the horror icon was for the October 4th playlist, it was Mr. Fredrick Krueger.

BS: So glad you used his Christian name. I don’t think they ever referred to Freddy Krueger as such in the entire Nightmare franchise, but ya can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. So, when I pitched you the initial idea of the Horror Icon Playlist – what was your take? How did you approach the task?

TC: I thought it was a fun idea that really tapped into a few of our shared passions. As far as my approach, it’s honestly been a little bit of fighting against the most obvious, on-the-nose choices, and a little bit of divine inspiration.

BS: That has been the hardest part of this project – not being too obvious. I like that we laid down some ground rules when it came to the playlist:

  1. Songs can’t be in the movie
  2. Songs can’t directly reference the movie
  3. The songs need to tell the story, but not make it overt

The genesis of this idea came from hearing “Devil Inside” by INXS and thinking: This would totally be on Regan MacNeil’s playlist. Then, I immediately thought against it because it was such an obvious joke. Yet, that kernel of wisdom stayed with me throughout the day.

TC: And frankly, sometimes the obvious joke is too good to pass up, but I’m proud of the choices we made on this one and I think it really works.

BS: A really good example of going for the obvious is “I’m on Fire”. We originally talked about using “Fire” by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, but when The Boss came on I knew we had to make a change.

TC: Absolutely, and I think part of what makes it such a great choice is how relatively quiet and calm that song is. The Arthur Brown song sounds like a guy is legitimately on fire. That’s less funny.

BS: Y’know, I hadn’t even thought of it like that. I did think of Hot Fuzz when we first pitched “Fire”, which could have been some fun misdirection. We also learned a valuable lesson about not recalling songs simply by their lyrics… looking at you “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago. Yes, we were ready to put in a Broadway musical number in our Freddy Krueger playlist. Ultimately, I learned how wrong I was and panicked looking for a second song for the ‘list; fortunately, there was Radiohead.

TC: And don’t think we won’t possibly put a song from a musical in one of our future lists. “Memory” might show up in a Pet Sematary playlist.

BS: Damn straight. Fun fact: did you know John Mellencamp wrote a musical with Stephen King based on a supposedly haunted cabin Mellencamp bought?

TC: Is that true? That’s awesome.

BS: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

TC: Can we talk about the three songs on the list that directly reference Freddy’s look?

BS: This was all you! When you threw out “Undone (The Sweater Song)” I couldn’t stop laughing.

TC: Freddy’s just got such an iconic wardrobe. It felt like all three elements – the hat, the sweater, and obviously the knife glove – needed to be commented on by our song choices.

BS: I love when someone takes a song and uses it in such a way that voids any and all meaning the song has. You did that with “You Can Leave Your Hat On” – that was such a sexy song.

TC: I regret nothing.

BS: Regrets? I have a few. Namely, I feel like I really should have rewatched A Nightmare on Elm Street to get some of the sequencing right. I fear someone will flame us in the comments that Freddy’s long arm scene comes after Nancy’s bathtub scene.

TC: That’s possible, but all reader engagement is good engagement, right?

BS: Beggars, in this case, can certainly not be choosers.

TC: I hope we got the sequence right, but, regardless, that big arms moment had to be a song. That scene is too iconic.

BS: That’s a really good point. We spent most of our time bouncing back and forth from thinking of clever songs and distilling A Nightmare on Elm Street into its iconic moments.

TC: Songs with the word “dream” or “dreaming” were obviously on our radar right away, but I love that the only one we actually used also references the car. I also love that it’s cheesy as hell.

BS: We damn near broke the internet looking for songs with “dream” in the title. Again, like “Undone”, I was cracking up when you dropped that Billy Ocean classic as the closer for the list. Well done, my friend.

TC: Thank you, but I’m just glad you had this idea in the first place. We already have a decent set of playlists lined up and bits and pieces of several others. This has been a fun creative exercise.

Variety of Horrors

Not sure what to watch this October?

Here’s a list of some horror sub-genres that might help you escape the horrors of our day-to-day lives. As always, these are merely just one person’s interpretation of horror and any of its sub-genres.

A is for Abduction. Looking for alien abductions? Check out Fire in the Sky. Or, for a more down-to-earth approach, give Buried a gander.

B is for Body Horror. Really, anything David Cronenberg would fit in this category. Disclaimer: it’s best to eat before watching any body horror films.

C is for Comedy. You need to laugh sometimes amongst all the scares. Maybe something like Shaun of the Dead or Little Evil will suffice.

D is for Demonic Possession. The Exorcist, nuff said.

E is for Eco or Environmental Horror. Be it a disaster film like The Day After Tomorrow or a disaster of a film like The Happening, sit back and bask in the wonder and awe of nature killing every single one of us if given the chance.

F is Found Footage. Check out that alliteration! So, this sub-genre may not be for everyone, but it’s worth giving something like The Blair Witch Project a viewing.

G is for Ghost Stories. Just watch The Changeling (no, not that one).

H is for Halloween. Michael Meyers: the reason for the season.

I is for Internet Horror. A newer sub-genre that blurs/shares the lines with Found Footage, but still worthy of your viewing. Unfriended might be a good place to start.

J is for Japanese Horror. Start with Ringu and go from there.

K is for Korean Horror. Start with Train to Busan and go from there.

L is for Lovecraftian. HP Lovecraft was a racist piece of shit. Watch something inspired by his horror and not his racist views. Watch The Evil Dead.

M is for Monsters. Pretty simple with a lot of options. Watch Splinter.

N is for Night of the… There’s a small wealth of good horror movies that use this naming convention. You can’t go wrong with: Night of the Comet, Night of the Creeps, Night of the Demons, or Night of the Living Dead. Hell, watch The Night Of; it’s not horror per se, but I hear it’s pretty good.

O is for Occult. Try A Dark Song.

P is for Poltergeist. You don’t have to watch Poltergeist or Poltergeist, but you could watch Paranormal Activity.

Q is for Questionable. Host a watch party, and ask your friends if something like Brightburn is a horror movie or if it’s a superhero movie with horror elements.

R is for Remake. Watch The Evil Dead.

S is for Slasher. Scream is always a solid flick.

T is for Torture Porn. Not my favorite sub-genre, so maybe go with something like… I dunno, the first Saw. You can moderate philosophical debates with your loved ones after you’ve briefly traumatized them for a little over 90 minutes.

U is for Underrated. The Entity is too often overlooked this time of year. Get your hands on a copy.

V is for Vendetta. You could watch V for Vendetta and ponder if it’s political horror. No, I’m talking good ol’ fashioned revenge. Go the supernatural route with something like What Lies Beneath or go ultraviolent with The Purge.

W is for Women. Watch a movie written or directed (or written & directed) by a woman. Never look at children’s books the same way with The Babadook.

X is for X-Rated. Yes, you could watch a horror porn parody. No, I don’t have any recommendations. Or, you could watch an (originally) x-rated horror movie like The Evil Dead.

Y is for Young Heroes. Try The Monster Squad or Pan’s Labyrinth.

Z is for Zoological. That’s right: animals can be scary. Go with Cujo or Jaws. Break the rules a little bit and watch Them!