10 Perfectly Placed Songs in Horror Films

Kicking off this list with one of my personal favorites. It’s always great when the film uses the song both the storytelling and the soundtrack. In this American Psycho scene, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) has lured Paul Allen (Jared Leto) to his apartment, and being the music buff he is, goes into the discography history of Huey Lewis & the News, while preparing to hack-and-slash. In an absolutely classic moment, Bateman turns on “Hip to be Square,” describes it as one of the band’s biggest hits, does a little jig, and viciously mutilates an unsuspecting Allen with an axe while the upbeat tune plays on.

Though written back in the ’30s by Richard Rodgers, the version of “Blue Moon” during the iconic An American Werewolf in London transformation scene is performed by Sam Cooke. This groovy, slow, and romantic jazz song clashes so perfectly with the ferocity of David’s painful lycanthropic change. It’s an amazing choice, as the audience’s sensory awareness is thrown off by witnessing something so violent while calming music accompanies it.

Honestly, the entire Demon Knight soundtrack could have been used in this place, but “My Misery (Demon Knight)” was written specifically for the soundtrack by one of the most metal bands of all time. The song perfectly captures the bad ass leather-wearing, demon-slaying vibe of the film, and it’s blend and back-and-forth jumps between metal, hard rock, and ’90s era grunge molds to Billy Zane’s insanity throughout the film.

This song was written by Jerry Ragovoy, made famous by The Rolling Stones, and plays an important role in the lesser-known cop horror-thriller Fallen from 1998. Denzel Washington plays detective Hobbes, who oversees the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Turns out, the Reese was possessed by the entity Azazel, who can transfer its consciousness from person to person by touch. In a creative and creepy way, the film shows who is possessed by having Azazel sing or whistle “Time is on My Side.” It still gives me the heebie jeebies.

This one is definitely the most memorable song in Scream, setting a depressing tone while the town of Woodsboro closes its businesses and empties out in response to a serial murderer on the loose. The gruff vocals and western-style chimes thematically pair well with Dewey’s comparison or Woodsboro with The Town that Dreaded Sundown.

One of the best folk songs of all time, “Rocky Mountain High,” takes a place in Final Destination’s story, as a “Death Song” warning to Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) by foreshadowing death. The John Denver song can be heard in specific moments throughout the film, most famously before the initial plane crash in the film’s opening. Alex even notes the irony of hearing a song where the singer was killed in a plane crash before getting on the plane. In fact, there’s an entire list of theorized connections the song has to the film, which can be found here.

In one of the more bothersome parts of the entire Insidious franchise, “Tip Toe Through the Tulips” plays by itself on a record player after the family moves from the house that they think is haunted, only to realize it wasn’t the house, but the family themselves that a dark entity was attached to. It’s a moment where both the family and audience go from safe to on edge in a matter of a few notes. At first, the song is accompanied by a creepy little ghost child but becomes more frightening when it comes on again in The Further, while the demon is hard at work in its lair.

In a film chock-full of amazing ’80s songs, this one takes the cake by becoming the main theme of the film (sorry, Tim Cappello!). Though there are plenty of comedic moments in The Lost Boys, this song sticks to a darker tone, to remind us that even though we’re dealing with a lot of mullets, we’re also dealing with a lot of murder.

A musician first, one of Rob Zombie’s strengths has always been picking songs that amplify powerful or intense moments in his films. The finale of The Devil’s Rejects is no exception as “Free Bird” and its accelerating build-up partners perfectly with the trio’s hopeless acceleration into a swarm of bullets. The song tells the story as the villains that see themselves as heroes are thought to meet their end.

This is my absolute favorite of the bunch. Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” was the flawless choice to keep the audience engaged, giving us an upbeat and catchy tune during one of the more intense and scary moments of the film. This scene keeps the film from ever moving away from the horror-comedy genre. The editing is absolutely wonderful, matching beats with what’s happening on screen. This music/film matching style went on to become a staple of Edgar Wright’s directing, most notably in Baby Driver.

These ten songs make an excellent Spotify playlist, with entries coming from all areas of the music spectrum. Obviously, I can’t list them all, so what are some of your favorite placed song in horror films?