Remembering my angsty-monster-driven youth recently, I was reminded of just such a video. This sparked an idea for a post where I collect some of my favorite music videos with horror themes. Even if the music isn't particularly my favorite, I have to give a hat tip to these awesome videos for at LEAST trying. Especially if the video tries to tell a story, which is a hard thing to do in the medium of music videos. Sometimes they get it right on the nose, and sometimes even the music works with the visuals. Fail or not, these are my favorites, and I wanted to share/subject you to them.
KWEENTS FAVORITE HORRIFIC MUSIC VIDEOS!
BACKSTREET BOYS - EVERYBODY (BACKSTREET'S BACK)
Yes, I hear what you are saying, "Really Kweeny? A Boy band? Are you cooking meth again and sniffing the fumes? But honestly, the video is good. You could turn the sound off and STILL be entertained watching this silly, tongue-and-cheek tribute to old horror icons. The makeup is really well done, and they clearly had an affection for the old classic monsters. When I was 13 or so and saw this, I was amazed that a BOY BAND was doing such a fun tribute to things I loved. At least you can say the Backstreet Boys have good taste in movies, if this is a true indication of their tastes.
ROB ZOMBIE - LIVING DEAD GIRL
Yes, we could argue EVERY Rob Zombie video is a tribute to Horror, but I find this one in particular is very old school horror. It does a fine portrayal of a combination of zombie films, black and white horror, and the Frankenstein's monster story. The style is what is the most striking, and it has more of a cohesive story than some of his other videos. I think it's a fine tribute to classic monster movies.
ALICE COOPER - VENGEANCE IS MINE
Again, I turn to the horror shock rockers, but this time it's my old pal Alice Cooper bringing the darkness in horror videos. His older songs have more of a horror feel, but the videos were pretty terrible and not really horrific enough for this countdown. (But I sure love songs like Welcome To My Nightmare and Feeding My Frankenstein) This video off of his newer album not only has a song I can rock out to, but the video is AWESOME. Who doesn't love a crazy asylum video, with ALICE COOPER in it!
DISTURBED - ANIMAL
Disturbed isn't for everyone, especially harder heavy metal fans, but I find their songs great for things like working out. When I need to pump some energy up, I put their stuff on and it helps. This song though, OH FUCK YES I LOVE IT. I love it not only because it sings to my wilder side, but it has friggen WOLVES and WEREWOLF imagery in it! *HOWL!*
OZZY OSBOURNE - BARK AT THE MOON
Speaking of awesome werewolf videos, this classic Ozzy video has all the elements of old horror movies. With a mad scientist at the beginning drinking potions, putting him in a straight jacket and locking him up, a horse drawn carriage with his lifeless corpse inside, to him turning into a wolf itself! OZZY KNOWS WHAT I LIKE! I remember when I first saw this video and how excited it got me.
THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS - THE KILL
Not really a fan of most of their work, but this song and video won my heart. The whole thing is shot like a re-imagining of The Shining, and fans of the movie (like myself) will love it. It's a really well done video, and the visuals are very striking. Plus, I actually enjoyed the song to the video, which is a nice treat when both meld together well.
ROCKWELL - SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME
Yup, it's an old school pop video from the early 80's! This one is really well done, and feels like a serial killer is stalking someone throughout the video by the way it's shot.We get ghostly apparitions dancing, half naked dudes in grave yards, you name it. It's actually a little creepy at times, and makes me think of Jason or Mike Myers stalking someone they will kill. I do enjoy that the stalker pets the dog though.
FEVER RAY - IF I HAD A HEART
This one is probably my favorite on the list, not just because the story is haunting and actually chilling, but the song that accompanies it is ghostly as well. It gets stuck in my head when I am having a dark mood, and that's because the video/song combo is just prefect. It has a voodoo/obscure cult feel, and really watch what's happening when you view this one. You just know the kids on the boat are being led to their doom by the dark feel of this video. You don't need blood and guts to make a story interesting.
MICHAEL JACKSON - THRILLER
You knew this one was going to be here. I don't know a horror fan who hasn't seen this video. It was so wicked when it first came out, with a great song to accompany the fun video. It had a plot that was easy to follow, just like the other videos here, but what it had that the others didn't was the wonderful VINCENT PRICE narrating in the middle! You want cred in your music video with horror fans, put VINCENT PRICE in it!
So that's my list. Like the videos I chose or wanna share some of your favorites with me? Put them in the comments!
So that's my list. Like the videos I chose or wanna share some of your favorites with me? Put them in the comments!
I was never a fan of Backstreet Boys, but I still always liked that 'Everybody' video!
ReplyDeleteWhat? No Aphex Twin? No Birthday Massacre? ;)
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