Heavy metal musicand horror movies are the perfect union. The imagery and themes of horror offer dark complements to the extremity of the music. The first metal band, Black Sabbath, even pinched their name from a classic Boris Karloff movie. Interestingly though, whileheavy metal bandsoften take inspiration (both lyrically and visually) from the horror genre, horror movies themselves don’t always return the favor. Metal music, after all, tends to be quite abrasive - not really suiting the eerie atmosphere many genre flicks attempt to create.
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Occasionally though, horror movies center themselves around the heaviest of musical genres, usually with a tongue firmly in cheek.Fist-pumping soundtracksand caricature bands are the order of the day, with lashings of gore and monsters purged straight from classic album covers. Many actual musical artists even appear, adding to the fun. Here’s a selection of some of the best (and worst) heavy metal horror movies, turned all the way up to 11.
10Death Metal Zombies
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Death Metal Zombiesis a gnarly low-budget affair concerning a possessed tape of a death metal album. One of the songs, titled “Zombiefied,” turns all who hear it intothe walking dead. Fortunately, there is a way to reverse the curse…
Shot on a very low-budget,Death Metal Zombiesis a cheap but gory affair. There are some moments of wit, and it certainly lives up to its title with the amount of death metal music on offer, but it’s perhaps just a little too bad to be considered good.
9Monster Dog
Alice Cooper, the iconic shock rock legend with a penchant for the macabre, wanted to starin a low-budget, sleazy horror movie.Monster Dogwas the perfect vehicle for him, one of his first big commitments since getting sober.
Alice plays rockstar Vince Raven in thisSpanish horror film, who is staying at a creepy house so that he can film a music video. The problem is, he isn’t alone…or is he? Cheap, cheesy, and full of overblown hard rock songs,Monster Dogis a fun if forgettable flick, and one that is quite difficult to track down today. Some of the “Vince Raven” songs appeared on Alice Cooper’sThe Life and Crimes of Alice Cooperbox-set album.
8Heavy Mental
The infamous low-budget production company Troma explored the heavy metal subculture in their predictably OTT affair,Heavy Mental. Focusing on a guitar possessed by the tormented soul of its former owner, this film has it all: gore, ghosts, rock ‘n’ roll, and somevery evil female assassins.
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Lewd, violent, and a bit of an editing nightmare,Heavy Mentalis a typical Troma movie, with just enough tacky thrills to stay on the right side of entertaining.
7Suck
Suckis a black comedy centering on an indie rock band, whose band member, Jennifer, gets turned into a vampire. A vampire hunter called Eddie gets wind of this and goes off in hot pursuit as the band heads out on tour.
While the music on show inSuckis more rock than metal, there are some fantastic cameos from the metal world, including Alice Cooper, Alex Lifeson of Rush, and Henry Rollins. Iggy Pop also turns up, and genre legend Malcolm McDowell plays the aforementionedEddie Van Helsing(close enough to the name of a guitar god).
6Shock ‘Em Dead
Shock ‘Em Deadis a surprisingly fun movie from the early ’90s, although it feels like a mid-80s cult classic. Co-starring Traci Lords, the movie involves a young guitarist who sells his soul for fame and fortune. The downside is…he has to feed on the souls of others to keep himself alive.
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Featuring Nitro guitarist Michael Angelo Batio on “guitarist-double duty,“Shock ‘Em Deadis a fun slice of horror metal camp. Gory, inventive, and boasting a decent, head-banging soundtrack, it’s pure entertainment.
5Trick Or Treat
Trick or Treatmight be the ultimate heavy metal movie. Featuring a soundtrack by Fastway, the band of guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke who played on Motorhead’s classic albums, and with cameo appearances from Ozzy Osbourneand Gene Simmons, it has everything a metalhead could want from an 80s horror movie.
Trick or Treatis a cult classic, revered for its musical pedigree and great special effects. Indeed, SFX artist Kevin Yagher later went on to design the Cryptkeeper for theTales From the Crypttelevision series. A huge amount of fun!
4Deathgasm
Another horror movie dealing with the subject of a cursed heavy metal album,Deathgasmmight be unoriginal in the plot, but it is hugely inventive in terms of its execution.A comedy horrorthat toes the line nicely between the two genres, it never goes too far on either side, meaning that the laughs and the scares come in equal measure.
The characters ofDeathgasmare immensely likable and the special effects are superb. The gore sequences were definitely influenced by theEvil Deadfranchise. Unfortunately, a previously-teased sequel movie was rejected.
3Studio 666
The Foo Fighters have always embraced a sense of fun with what they do, and despite their more commercial rock leanings, frontman Dave Grohl has never shied away from being a proud metalhead. The band formed a thrash band called Dream Widow, releasing an album to coincide with their hilarious OTT movie,Studio 666. It’s as ridiculous as the title suggests.
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The Foo Fighters all play “themselves” (AKA the members of Dream Widow) as they record a new albumin a haunted mansion. Combining the band’s wicked sense of humor with frights and gore aplenty, it’s an absolute riot. It also boasts a supporting role from Jenna Ortega. Interestingly, the Foo Fighters recorded their Medicine At Midnight in the same mansion the movie was filmed in, and lots of creepy things occurred…
2Dark Floors
Lordi are literally heavy metal monsters, and most of their music videos play out as short horror movies. It was only a matter of time before the band turned their collective demonic gaze to the big screen. The result was a surprisingly high-concept affair.
The strange, shifting plot involves an autistic girltrapped in a hospital, with a secret gift that helps her to defeat some attacking creatures. These creatures are of course played by the band, each member getting their own fright sequence.Dark Floorsis an unusual and often atmospheric experience and boasted a tie-in song from the band called Beast Loose In Paradise.
1Phantom Of The Paradise
Phantom of the Paradiseis one of the greatest cult musicals, combining elements ofPhantom of the OperaandFaust(with a dash ofDorian Gray), merging it into a concoction of various musical styles. Of course, rock plays a large part in the proceedings, with some memorably proggy tunes scattered throughout this bleak masterpiece.
Directed by Brian De Palma,Phantomis a dark tale with lashings of black humor and a truly depressing ending. It warns of the dangers of selling out and pursuing a life of narcissistic excess, backed up by an endlessly catchy soundtrack. A true classic.
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