HORROR TEN SPOT: Top 10 Horror Movie Songs

February 27th 2009, 5:31pm

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

When fellow AITH staffer Pat Torfe hit me up a while back with the idea for a list of the best horror movie songs, I had no idea putting this list together would be so much f*cking fun. If nothing else, agree or disagree, I hope ya’ll have half as much fun listening to all these jams as I did collecting them.

The only absolute criteria I had for this list was that it had to be populated by songs with both music and lyrics. Other than that, pretty much anything goes. It was tough to have to leave Dueling Banjos off the list, but ya gotta have some standards.

So check out the fun below, and if you’ve got some favs that didn’t make the list, spit bullets so your fellow arrowheads can jam out witcha!

1. Carmina Burana (Carl Orff), NATURAL BORN KILLERS

The O Fortuna chorus of this masterwork is one of the most powerful pieces of music ever written. The fact that it has been so overused and still retains its efficacy is the best testament to its strength. It’s also funny because people remember it from movies it wasn’t even part of because it’s become so synonymous with dark and scary scenes. Don’t f*ck with The Orff!

2. Hell’s Bells (AC/DC),MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE

Who Made Who is probably the “technically” correct pick from Stephen King’s only directorial effort, but the fact is Hell’s Bells is not only a superior song by any measure, it’s also one of the best songs in the group’s entire catalog. Hard to imagine anybody who doesn’t get chills when that bell starts ringing.

3. Time Is On My Side (The Rolling Stones), FALLEN

I personally thought Fallen was a pretty flawed movie, but I know more and more genre fans who’ve slowly come around to the opinion that it’s a minor classic. No matter your view, it’s hard to imagine a situation much creepier that hearing this song after watching the flick. The beginning does a great job of establishing our expectations, and the rest of the flick cashes in hard core.

4. Cry Little Sister (Gerard McMann), THE LOST BOYS

I’m not gonna use this space to argue that The Lost Boys is one of the best vampire movies ever made, but it certainly is one of the most entertaining. And the final battle scene is perfectly set up by this ridiculously intense song. Ahh the days before Kiefer started saving the world.

5. Pet Sematary (The Ramones), PET SEMATARY

I’ll admit it’s a little weird revisiting this video now that Joey Ramone has passed on, but one has to assume he meant what he said and is happier for it now. Not much to say about it other than it’s a great song that perfectly captures the movie.

6. Dream Warriors (Dokken), A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS

Tough one here because Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter by Iron Maiden was another solid entry in the NOES metal god video race. But not only was the third flick a better movie than the fifth, but Dokken scored a legitimate crossover hit with the song as well. Not too shabby.

7. Bodies (Drowning Pool), JASON X

I was torn here, because while the song was heavily featured in the trailer, it never actually makes an appearance in the movie. But it’s so strongly associated with the flick that I feel like I’m on pretty solid ground including it. Still, the horrendous oversight of leaving it out of the cinematic release cost this outstanding song a place in the top 5.

8. Suffocate (Motograter), THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake

What used to be thrash metal seems to have morphed into nu metal, which near as I can tell simply means “stripped of all melody”. But anybody who pops in this little ditty and isn’t headbanging in the first 10 seconds is just a broken soul. Whether or not you like the fact that it puts you in a homicidal mood is something I’ll leave to you.

9. Scream Until You Like It (W.A.S.P.), GHOULIES II

I was a huge fan of Blackie Lawless throughout my youth, and while W.A.S.P.’s big screen splash in The Dungeonmaster was sweet, it took a bad sequel to a fun movie to get them on a horror soundtrack. The upside is that at least this song made the experience of G2 slightly better than a complete waste of time.

10. Hellraiser (Motorhead), HELLRAISER

There’s just something about Motorhead that rocks. They’ve never been one of my favorite bands based on song writing or musicianship, but still they kick ass. And when you add that indefinable awesomeness to a Clive Barker classic? Good times, my friends!