It's that time of the year again - Halloween! And nothing says Halloween quite like horror films! While a memorable instrumental score is vital to the success of today's horror films / franchises, adding to the chilling atmosphere of frights, haunts, and scares, often overlooked are the original songs made especially for many of the top titles in the horror genre.
In the 1980's and early 1990's, the horror film genre was inextricably and forever linked with hard rock / hair metal, so much so that it even created a sub-genre of horror films lovingly known today as the 'Heavy Metal Horrors.' Thus, it's no surprise that this list is dominated by hard rock / hair metal songs and bands!
So, without further ado, here is Hoffa's list of the top 10 greatest original songs made specifically for use in the soundtracks to many of your favorite horror films!
#10 -
'Have You Seen It' by Reggie Bannister & the Jizz Wailin Ya Doggies from the film Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)
#9 -
'Hellraiser' by Motörhead from the film Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
#8 -
'Energy' by Thor and the Tritonz from the film Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987)
#7 -
'After Midnight' by Fastway from the film Trick or Treat (1986)
#6 -
'Who Made Who' by AC/DC from the film Maximum Overdrive (1986)
#5 -
'Paradise (We're On Our Way)' by Black Roses from the film Black Roses (1988)
#4 -
'Cry Little Sister' by Gerard McMann & Michael Mainieri from the film The Lost Boys (1987)
#3 -
'Dream Warriors' by Dokken from the film A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
#2 -
'He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)' by Alice Cooper from the film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
#1 -
'Pet Sematary' by The Ramones from the film Pet Sematary (1989)
Be sure to let Hoffa know what you think of this list and add your suggestions in the comments section below.
Enjoy Halloween!
For Hoffa, the music, whether it's score or song, is vital to the effectiveness of the motion picture experience. In this blog, Hoffa focused on original songs, as opposed to instrumental score. But as far as scoring is concerned, Jerry Goldsmith was indeed one of the master maestro's of the last century - he is greatly missed but will always be remembered as his work lives on! Members of the London Symphony Orchestra fondly remember 20 hour days with Goldsmith, as the man was a perfectionist and refused to call it day until a set sounded just right to him. He himself would often go without sleep, food, or showering while working on a project. As far as original songs made specifically for horror movies, do you have a favorite? Any suggestions or honorable mentions that we can add to the list?
The Lost Boys was indeed a great atmospheric film and Hoffa loves to crank up the stereo volume to 'Cry Little Sister' - too bad the recent sequel didn't live up to the standards set by Schumacher's classic, unfortunately. As a species/culture, has our imagination run dry in the last decade? Or is Hoffa just getting old that he fondly recalls the '80's and '90's as the good old days?
Moody, atmospheric, dark - PERFECT!!! And Giorgio Moroder's score not only complimented the film so very well, but also worked in tandem with Bowie's song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpdHMaccjw4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuR06KUnL8M Anyone else remember this one? It's on Hoffa's watch list every Halloween!
Hoffa would choose Kopins all day long! ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p0ShXsdZhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYxxgvA8rlM&feature=related
Here is the live version. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPyj8CJSIf4
Another great selection - perhaps Hoffa should have consulted with Greg before compiling the list! And Hoffa sees what Greg means about the movie version being better to watch ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMUbOi9B_S8