Talk Horror The Mouth of Madness
Horror movies, aside from having really creepy orchestral music otherwise, seem to have a pop or rock song tucked away for every morbid occasion, from getting trapped in a room for the rest of your days, to admiring yourself in a fresh-cut coat of women’s skin, to having a mechanical frog mask crush your head. As horror often covers topics of these sorts, it’s entirely possible that for every grisly occasion, there could be two or three hits that some horror film has used to cover the proceedings.
Today on TalkHorror, we’ve got two songs from two very different horror gems, each of which just happens to be ideal for watching the world, or one of its inhabitants, roast.
First up, from 1985’s Return of the Living Dead: Burn the Flames, written and composed by Roky Erickson!
Pros: Heavy song to get burned alive to, with a sense of finality to it, used to great effect in the film. As the song goes on, it descends into lyrical chaos, while never losing that imagery of ash climbing through the sky.
Cons: The chorus gets a bit repetitive. Odd delivery makes it sometimes get hard to tell if the singer is really going for crazed, or disinterested.
Now the challenger, from 1974’s Phantom of the Paradise: The Hell of It, composed and performed by Paul Williams!
Pros: Upbeat, ironic music to get burned alive to. The song literally delivers a burn, mocking your entire life, while it talks about you getting burned… in hell.
Cons: A little overlong when it gets to the instrumental. No one literally gets burned alive while it plays in the film, although two guys look the part.
Whether you envision the fiery grave of Joan of Arc or Matt Cordell plunging ablaze from Sing Sing, which of these tunes best lights your fire, TalkHorror watchers? Got a vote or comments on this matchup? Take it to our forums!
