The Tuesday Top 10: Favorite Horror-Themed Songs

Day of the Woman's thought-provoking post yesterday on the intersection between music and horror has put me in a musical state of mind. And so, for today's Tuesday Top 10, I've compiled my all-time favorite horror-themed songs. Now, some of these tunes are scary, and others are just steeped in the horror milieu. So scariness was not a requirement. Rather, these are the top songs that come to my mind in connection with the genre I adore so much...

10. The Time Warp
What would the list be without a number from the greatest horror musical of them all. Just a fun, anthemic song that epitomizes what The Rocky Horror Picture Show is all about, and why it has gained such an infectious fan following. Plus, I just love Magenta's Marlene Dietrich impression.

9. Black Sabbath
The title song of Black Sabbath's self-titled first album is a genuinely terrifying song. Just listening to Ozzy wail, "Oh no, no, please, God help me!" gives me goosebumps. A sinister song that was probably partly to blame for legions of parents freaking out over their kids listening to this band.

8. Thriller
How could I not include Michael Jackson's pop ode to zombie culture? Plus, the video was even directed by John Landis. Big-time extra points for the rockin' appearance of the one and only Vincent Price, delivering perhaps the greatest rap of all time. "The funk of 40,000 years," indeed. V-Price could spit mad lyrics, yo.

7. Werewolves of London
God bless Warren Zevon. This staple of 1980s classic rock radio is the kind of song you just can't get out of your head. Plus, you've got major references to Lon Chaney Jr. and Sr., and the title itself is Universal-inspired. I'll never give up hope of one day seeing a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vick's. Hopefully, his hair will be perfect.

6. The Thing That Should Not Be
Metallica be some horror freaks, with a particular obsession with the work of H.P. Lovecraft. And this song is their magnum opus to the Cthulhu mythos, creepy as hell and grim in the extreme. In fact, I recommend you check out this excellent fan video created for the song--pointed out to me by the Vault's resident Lovecraft expert, RayRay.

5. Ghostbusters
Rumor has it that Ivan Reitman wanted Huey Lewis & The News to record the title song for his movie, but when they turned him down, he brought in smooth jazz crooner Ray Parker Jr. and got him to basically record a Huey Lewis-style song. Whatever the case may be, there is probably no one born between 1970 and 1980 who doesn't know all the lyrics by heart...

4. Surfin' Dead
God damn, but this is a great song by The Cramps, featured prominently in the soundtrack to The Return of the Living Dead. In fact, that flick is filled to the brim with rockin' horror tunes, so I figured I'd limit it to just one. In reality, I could probably fill this entire list with them if I wanted to.

3. Don't Fear the Reaper
Such bleak subject matter for such a mellow-sounding song! Blue Oyster Cult's biggest hit pops up in the original Halloween, and of course was also the opening theme to the miniseries of Stephen King's The Stand. Forty-thousand men and women every day...

2. The Monster Mash
So corny, but so much damn fun. Who doesn't love Bobby "Boris" Pickett's iconic novelty smash of the 1960s. A surf-tinged tune that conjures up all the innocent fun of the "monster kid" era. I can play this one for my kids 20 times in a row, and they'll still keep asking for it. In fact, it would've been very easy to slap this one up at number one. But I had to be brutally honest with myself and pick my true favorite...

1. This Is Halloween
It figures that Danny Elfman, formerly of Oingo Boingo, would come up with this deliciously eery theme song for Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The song is a perfect homage to childhood terrors, and sets the scene excellently for Burton's unique vision. This one always reminds me of what it's like to be a kid hiding under the covers from vampires... Plus, Marilyn Manson also did an awesome cover of it!

Some inevitable runners-up:

• "I Put a Spell on You" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus
• "Love Song for a Vampire" by Annie Lennox
• "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo
• "The Downward Spiral" by Nine Inch Nails
• "Nature Trail to Hell" by Weird Al Yankovic
• "Sweet Dreams" by Marilyn Manson
• "Summer Breeze" by Type O-Negative
• "Mad Monster Party" by Ethel Ennis

MILK

Written by Dustin Lance Black
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Starring Sean Penn, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna and Josh Brolin


Harvey Milk: How do you teach homosexuality? Is it like French?

It was difficult for me to stand up after seeing Gus Van Sant’s masterful MILK. The lights had already come on so my puffy eyes could be hid no longer but I had forgotten how to move. I was too engulfed with sadness and dismay. All I could think about was how far we think we’ve come as a supposed progressive people. Harvey Milk, the man whose story Van Sant is telling, was elected into public office in the late ‘70’s in San Francisco. He was the first openly gay man to be elected to any significant level of government in American history. He was also shot and killed after being in office for less than a year. His last major political accomplishment was successfully campaigning to defeat a bill called Proposition 6. This bill would call for the dismissal of all openly gay school teachers and any persons who supported them. The bill had already passed in a number of other states and fear was mounting that even the country’s most gay-friendly city might follow suit. Harvey wouldn’t have it and ultimately, neither would San Francisco, or all of California for that matter. Why then are gay men and women still struggling to be treated like human beings to this day?


MILK picks up Harvey Milk’s life in the eight years preceeding his assassination. In that time, he meets a man who would become his lover for many years; he moves from New York to San Francisco to find new challenges; and he runs a number of times for public office as an out and proud gay man. He also loses a number of times but Milk was not a man who could easily be deterred from his very important goal. It was Milk’s mission to represent his people; to show the city he loved that the gay population was one of the reasons that the city itself was so well loved by all who visited and that they too had a powerful and reasonable voice. Milk was committed to making sure that voice was heard. Van Sant, an openly gay man himself, is just as committed to the cause but his part is very different. Even today, the image of the gay man is still being sold to mainstream, or straight if you will, audiences in a delicate way. Van Sant’s Milk is an ambitious entrepreneur. He has a strong character, funny and flighty one moment, romantic and intimate the next and always dedicated to the bigger picture outside of himself. Apparently, painting the gay man as human is still necessary because many still haven’t figured it out for themselves.


Of course, Van Sant can’t get all the credit as he is only as strong as his parts. In this case, his parts are all perfect. “Big Love” staff writer, Dustin Lance Black’s sensitive screenplay is heartbreaking and genuine. Director of photography, Harris Savides, who has brought a dreamlike lucidity to Van Sant twice before on GERRY and ELEPHANT, goes back and forth between archival and new footage seamlessly planting the viewer in both the historical context and the surrounding human drama. Danny Elfman fills the soft space with a score so layered, it can easily be described as his most original work in recent memory. And then of course, there are the men. I will never describe a straight man playing a gay role as an act of bravery. I will, however, always applaud an actor’s ability to shed their entire ego and transform into another being so fearlessly. The caliber of the mostly male ensemble cast of MILK seems raised by a desire to do justice to this important man and the difference he made. James Franco as Milk’s longtime lover continues to show versatility that I never expected by embodying support and strength. Josh Brolin, as the fellow city supervisor who ultimately kills Milk, gives a ferociously internal performance that is in constant turmoil. And though I have never been as huge a Sean Penn fan as most would appear to be, I am a devout admirer now. Penn’s performance is a rarely achieved transformation – one so believable and so gripping that it lifts the entire film to new levels of excellence and inspiration.


MILK is not only a Gus Van Sant career high but also an instant American film classic and a contemporary gay film masterpiece that, like the revelatory BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, transcends the gay experience and steps firmly into the human experience. If only for that reason alone, MILK has the potential to be more than a film and be part of a movement. After all, if there is one thing that Harvey Milk fought so hard for for so long, it was to be seen as a man who deserves the same human rights as his neighbours. Thirty years after his death, the fight he fought is still ongoing and thanks to Van Sant, Harvey Milk is back to help make sure it finally gets won.

DVD Review: TIM BURTON'S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Written by Tim Burton, Michael McDowell and Caroline Thompson
Words and Music by Danny Elfman
Directed by Henry Selick
Voices by Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Sarandon and Paul Reubens


I’ve never been able to pin down what exactly is the target audience for TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. It’s a holiday tale seemingly too dark to be a Christmas classic and too warm to be a Halloween fright. It’s animated so that eliminates a good chunk of close-minded adults yet it’s far too scary for younger kids (unless you consider Santa Claus being tortured to be good wholesome fun). It’s a musical too so there go all the adolescents outside of the drama club. That doesn’t leave many but those who do count themselves as part of this film’s loyal following know how lucky they are. Sure, it’s an altogether bizarre amalgamation of two seemingly opposite holidays but it is also incredibly clever, darkly romantic and one of the most underrated and satisfying musicals of our time.


THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS originated in Burton’s mind in the early 80’s, while he was working at Disney. Not so surprisingly, the dark story was not the kind of film Disney was looking to make at the time and so it was left behind. Burton left Disney behind as well but went back years later to get his original concept drawings that would become the cast of countless cookey characters that have, since its original 1993 bow, spawned an incredibly successful merchandising line. The first and foremost of these characters is Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king who presides over Halloween Town. The citizens and denizens of Halloween Town aren’t bad people, er, creatures. No, rather they are simply carrying out what they were born to do – bring chills and thrills to the boys and girls of the world on the last day of October. Only after more years than he can count, Jack feels like something now is missing. His emptiness is only exacerbated by a fateful visit to Christmas Town. Jack is overtaken by this indescribable warmth and joy that exudes throughout this place that he’s never known before and suddenly, the world is full of possibilities again.


Walt Disney has been toying with us for years. The film has only been allowed out of that pesky vault once a year, finding what seemed like a new home in 3D theatres in time for Halloween. Finally, the mouse house has let Jack and friends back into our homes in a 2-disc special edition. “Special” would be putting it mildly. Not only is the film impeccably restored but the extras feel so rare that you truly feel as if you are being treated to a genuinely thorough backstage look at this artistic triumph. Deleted and extended scenes are raw and unfinished, giving them a silent film era look. Actor, Christopher Lee reads Burton’s original poem that the film is based on against illustrations inspired by Burton’s original concept art. Even the teaser trailer is interesting in a time capsule fashion and how often can you say that? It only goes deeper from there. The “Making of” is broken down into each part of production and we are introduced to the delicate intricacies of stop-motion animation. Hundreds of puppets, meticulously detailed sets and unique camera mechanics are only three incredibly fascinating parts of this immense three-year long project. And still, I am only skimming the surface here of what other options are included in this package. Burton’s short film’s VINCENT (the story of an impossibly melodramatic seven-year-old boy descending into the madness of his mind) and FRANKENWEENIE (a mad scientist boy brings his dead pooch back from the dead in this precursor to EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and homage to Frankenstein) are a particularly extraordinary inclusion. And finally, a brand new commentary track was recorded with Burton as well as the two other unsung heroes – director, Henry Selick and composer and lyricist, Danny Elfman (who also contributes Jack’s singing voice). They have plenty to say but oddly, they’re all saying it at different times, having recorded their commentaries seperately. Despite not recording together, they are all on the same page when it comes to their genuine appreciate and pride for this project.


There is not enough space here for me to convey just how unique THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS is. Burton, Selick and Elfman, along with the hundreds of other animators and contributors, drew inspiration from such Christmas classics as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, turned them inside out and somehow managed to come up with a contemporary version that will remain now forever listed amongst these original classics as a masterpiece all its own. Suffice it to say, it needs to be seen and if you find yourself loving it, then this collector’s edition is a must have.

FILM & DVD