Retro Horror Playlist: Part Two

We’re returning for another look at the classic sounds of yesterday that infuse the horror movies of today with emotion and terror.

Returning for another round of musical madness, I’m back with fifteen more classic tunes featured in some popular modern horror films. These tracks serve as memory markers in film for me, taking me back to relive the scene and refreshing my love of the piece.

While many horror movies opt for score now, leaving us with no pop culture references to savor among the soaring strings, I’ve hunted down fifteen modern films that put the classic music from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and prior at the forefront of their setlist. Movies from recent years to the early 2000s, including Slashers and The Supernatural, are all represented, showing the universal language music speaks across the subgenres.

Check out part one of this musical movie journey right here. 

It: Chapter 2 – Angel of the Morning (Juice Newton)

The much-anticipated sequel, IT: Chapter 2, was a star-studded affair that brought all the kids of Derry back together, only all grown up.

Mike Hanlon, the sole member of the “Losers Club” to remain in Derry, has called his fellow club members. 27 years later, though they battled their demon successfully, It has returned. Bill, Ben, Beverly, Richie, Stan, and Eddie all rejoin to keep their promise of defeating the seemingly timeless evil.

In what is now known as an “infamously funny” scene — during an encounter with the monster — Juice Newton’s classic Angel of the Morning is cut in at a strangely disgusting point. Some internet sleuths were quick to say the song referenced the Boys 2 Men tragedy, where a portion of one of their songs played. Others pointed to King’s other work, The Langoliers, in which the song was briefly mentioned as part of a character’s childhood.

Either way, the scene garnered the wrong kind of attention and was a bit of a head-scratcher for audiences when the music and the bile started flowing.

Overall, it was a memorable soundbite from the 70s, unfortunately, misplaced for audiences who weren’t in on whatever reference the song was trying to land for that sordid moment.

Insidious: The Red Door – Roll With the Changes (REO Speedwagon)

Recently, the Insidious franchise returned with its fifth entry, Insidious: The Red Door. Besides featuring an iconic Ghost cover of “Stay” featuring the one and only Patrick Wilson in the film’s closing credits, there was another musical highlight for me.

The story resumes nine years after the original incidents with the Lamberts began, at the funeral for Josh’s (Patrick Wilson) mother, Lorraine. Now divorced, he and his ex-wife Renai (Rose Byrne) negotiate a way for him to get closer to his now estranged son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins). It seems that years of stress and trauma with added memory loss put too much strain on their marriage and his relationship with an aging Dalton.

Convinced to drive Dalton to college as a way of bonding, Josh is put on the road with his bitter son, heading off to school and getting closer to The Further than they thought they would ever get again.

This 1978 power ballad performed by REO Speedwagon, written by Kevin Cronin, graces the beginning of the road trip for Josh and Dalton. The lyrics and title all speak towards Josh’s desire to help Dalton and get closer to him as things shift in their lives, but Dalton is unreceptive to his father and the music.

A musical olive branch for a missed childhood, Josh still hasn’t found a way to open up, and I can’t help but wonder if this song was his best attempt at reaching out to his son.

Malignant – Where is My Mind? (Safari Root/The Pixies)

James Wan returns in a unique form to deliver 2021’s divisive Malignant.

Starting from the beginning, we are at a research hospital where a patient named Gabriel has just killed several staff members. A parasite by diagnosis, Dr. Florence Weaver makes the call to “cut out the cancer” in this flashback to 1993. In a frenzy, we flash to the present, to a pregnant Madison Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis), returning home from work to her husband.

After a disagreement, in a fit of rage, he slams Madison’s head against a wall, drawing blood and causing the woman to lock him out. Little does the abuser know, his fury just woke something much angrier and deceptive than he could ever be.

This is a different version from the 1988 classic Pixie’s jam, adapted for this film by Safari Root and featured in the most recent Batman film. The song’s lyrics are never quite heard, just the painful riff of guitars to a sky-high chorus. This could act as a dual reference for both Madison’s memory loss and vivid dreams where she sees murders committed, making her question her sanity.

This song also serves as a covert hint that the person she’s looking for is much closer than we imagined, perhaps his name is right on the tip of your tongue, or, sitting there, right at the back of your mind.

The Babysitter – I Just Want to Make Love to You (Foghat)

2017 was arguably Samara Weaving’s homecoming to horror. Starring in this film and Mayhem alongside Steven Yeun, Weaving was heating up to become the established Scream Queen we know her as.

In the Netflix horror hit, Cole is an adolescent boy just on the brink of being too old to be watched anymore. He is not a hit with his peers, but he does have one ally, Bee, his babysitter, who played pitch-perfect by Weaving. Scaring the smarts back into Cole’s bullies, she’s all good-looking and has a brazen attitude toward the youngster, but she has her own satanic plans with her friends in store for later.

We see these two at their playful best in this scene, dancing and jamming on air guitars in Cole’s living room. Though I’m sure the concept is still a bit foreign to a boy as young as Cole, his crush on Bee is strong, and this song certainly covers everything a man might not so discreetly say to a woman he likes. Written by Willie Dixon and performed by Foghat, this rocking tune salutes the good old days before Bee reveals her true intentions.

Enjoy the good times, folks; you never know when your best friend will try sacrificing you to the devil — even after bedtime.

Freaky – Que Sera Sera (The Chordettes)

2020 saw a horror makeover on the classic Freaky Friday. Starring Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton, this horror comedy did well, all things considered.

In a sleepy town, the legend of The Butcher (Vaughn) is a topic of discussion. When the actual villain himself arrives on the scene, though, he dispatches a group of teens with no fairytale ending, leaving with an exceptional dagger. The next day, a miserable Millie (Newton) is performing as the school mascot. Attacked by the butcher and stabbed non-fatally with this new, mystic weapon, he is scared off by police before he can kill the costumed girl.

The next morning, though, we find that Millie and The Butcher have curiously swapped bodies.

A slow-motion walk through the crowds of people that don’t notice her, Millie’s body is empowered by the arrogant certainty of The Butcher. This scene stands out as this is The Butcher’s foray into a new killing field that won’t recognize him for what he is, and deserves praise for Newton pulling double duty as a frightened nobody to a terrifying somebody.

“Que sera sera” is a horror favorite.

From the Evil Dead Rise trailer to the opening credits of the MGM hit series FROM, it seems “what will be will be” is the motto when we dive in to these incredible scenarios.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe – Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sunshine In (The Hamblens)

One of 2016’s most talked about gems, The Autopsy of Jane Doe was a small-budget film with a huge impact.

Arriving at a crime scene with multiple homicides, the body of a Jane Doe is found in the basement. All signs point to everyone in the house trying to get out. The Sheriff takes the body to local mortician Tommy (Brian Cox), working with his son Austin (Emile Hirsch), who is ready to go out with his girlfriend. Tasked with discovering Jane Doe’s cause of death by morning, the father-son duo go to work, soon realizing this seemingly untouched corpse is anything but benign.

This particular song is played for anyone lucky enough to meet Jane Doe. The song references the devil several times, saying he smiles when you suffer and you can defeat him with a grin.

These seemingly dated and silly references play deeply into the lore revolving around the torture and execution of the unidentified girl; witches, after all, were consorts to that smiling devil.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – Season of the Witch (Donovan/Lana Del Rey)

Supposedly an easy access point for younger horror fans to get into the genre, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a 2019 film based on the creepily illustrated children’s books of the same name.

Setting the stage: it’s Halloween, 1968, in the town of Mill Valley, PA. Three friends, Stella, Auggie, and Chuck, prank their bully but are chased down in retaliation. The three hide out in the back of a young drifter’s car and propose they conclude Halloween elsewhere. The four go to the former, supposedly haunted home of the Bellows family who owned the local paper mill and who supposedly had a daughter accused of witchcraft.

Allegedly committing suicide after being accused of being involved when the town’s children began to die mysteriously, Sarah Bellows was a storyteller, among other things, and had a book of horror stories. In their escape from the old house, Stella takes the book with her, unaware of the consequences.

This song is a fairly obvious reference to Sarah Bellows and the time of year the kids are celebrating, which is also known as “The Season of the Witch.” Released in 1967 on singer-songwriter Donovan’s new album, “Season of the Witch” was seen as a revelation as the sixties drew to a close, and psychedelic pop of this nature was being produced in the wake of war and cultural disruption.

Played at the beginning of the film and covered by Lana Del Rey at the film’s conclusion, “Season of the Witch” is a funky anthem celebrating the darkest time of the season, magic, and mystery.

Orphan: First Kill – The Glory of Love (Jimmy Durante)

Acting as both sequel and prequel, Orphan: First Kill brings back our leading lady, dressed as a gullible girl.

Starting from Esther’s origins, we go back to 2007, when she is still known as Leena Klammer (Isabelle Fuhrman), aged 31. Suffering from a rare hormonal imbalance that causes her to appear as a child, Leena orchestrates her escape by seducing a guard and hiding in an art therapist’s car. Upon arrival, she kills the woman and looks up missing girls to style herself after in hopes of passing herself off as an orphan whose parents live in the USA.

Esther is smart and sinister, but in this prequel, I couldn’t have guessed she would meet her match.

“The Glory of Love” plays in the first film and follows Esther in the second. We see the song on a record player in her new room with her American family. As the song plays, Esther muses at the trappings of her new life, and this could very well be considered her anthem once she has found a mark.

Esther prides herself on playing the loving daughter seductress, but this happy little tune seems to follow her wherever Esther finds someone ready to love.

You’re Next – Looking for the Magic (Dwight Twilley Band)

The 2011 survivor-slasher flick You’re Next takes the final girl model and makes her formidable.

Beginning in a remote home where a less than happy-looking couple has just wrapped up in bed, Erik Harson retires to the shower while his girl Talia pours a drink and looks for some music. After his shower, the man discovers “You’re Next” written on his window in blood, Talia’s body lying dead. The attacker, wearing a lamb mask, finishes his work by killing Erik with a machete.

This leads to our protagonist, Erin’s, introduction to the scene. A bit of an oddball amongst the family of immense wealth and privilege, the gathering still stands to be a smash for the bunch. But when the family is under siege, Erin steps up to defend the home and save her life with skills and bravery her in-laws weren’t privy to.

This song is the first on a CD selected by Talia moments before her death. “Looking for the Magic” by The Dwight Twilley Band is our opening number, and with its upbeat vibe, you don’t expect trouble. After the first couple is killed,, we see this CD left in the house, leaving this song to skip over and over again.

It is only one of two songs listed for this movie’s soundtrack.

A sign that no neighbors are coming to check, “Looking for the Magic” plays again closer to the halfway mark during another execution, becoming a haunting anthem that means you’ve arrived at a dead end.

X – In the Summertime (Mungo Jerry)

2022’s X took us back to the sexy seventies with a star-filled lineup including it girl Jenna Ortega and certified, veteran scream queens Mia Goth and Brittany Snow.

It’s 1979, and our opening scene is that of police discovering numerous dead bodies on a rural Texas farm. Flashing back 24 hours, we come to aspiring adult entertainer Maxine (Mia Goth), coked up and ready for a road trip with her boyfriend and producer Wayne (Martin Henderson). Along with a cast of characters that you’ll readily recognize, the group is off to shoot an adult movie.

They arrive at a farm owned by Pearl and Howard, who have a guest house where the group intends to shoot their film. Caught up in sex, drugs, and youth, the band doesn’t know yet that they are being watched with careful, envious eyes.

This song plays early in the film as the group prepares to head out on their road trip.

We see the girls getting packed and ready and hear the happy chorus of Mungo Jerry’s 1970 classic “In the Summertime.” Hot weather and hot women, this song definitely speaks to the carefree nature of the crew and the fact that these men have women on their minds, as they’re surrounded by beautiful, sexually liberated ones.

This is a happy setup to what will become a grisly affair.

Followed by the wildly successful Pearl (where Goth reprises her role as the terrifyingly ambitious woman) and awaiting its sequel MaXXXine, whose promo trailer features a song from the previous playlist, Animotion’s Obsession, X was just a wink and a nod at the universe to come.

The Crazies – Bring Me Sunshine (Willie Nelson)

A remake of the 1973 classic, The Crazies (2010) put Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell front and center of this effective recreation.

The sleepy town of Ogden Marsh, nestled in Iowa, is home to Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant), who is enjoying a local baseball game. Things don’t stay peaceful for long, though, as a townsperson enters the field with a shotgun, forcing David to kill the man on the spot in front of a crowd. David’s wife Judy (Radha Mitchell) is a physician, and begins to notice more strange behavior in other townspeople like repetitive speech or slowed movements.

The discovery of a military aircraft in the local swamp gives the sheriff some answers, indicating the source of this contamination is the water. Fighting to stop the water flow to the townspeople with the military closing in, David is in for it if he hopes to get himself and his wife out of the poisoned town alive.

By the end of this film, we are greeted with Willie Nelson’s breezy single “Bring Me Sunshine”. We see in the final shots that not only are the infected still at large, but this couple is under military surveillance in their bid to escape.

Originally written by composer Arthur Kent in 1966, Nelson’s cover gives false hope that these characters will live to see another sunrise.

Annabelle Comes Home – Band of Gold (Freda Payne)

Bringing the Warrens back on screen for the first time for any outside branches of The Conjuring Universe, 2019’s Annabelle Comes Home was probably the strongest of the side story entries.

Returning to the original’s opening scene, we are met again with the disturbing little face of Annabelle. The Warrens (portrayed by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) take the doll, which was used as a prop in an attempted demonic possession. On their way home, the doll makes its power known, summoning spirits and almost getting Ed killed.

Locked behind sacred glass in their infamous room of horrors, Annabelle is one of the most dangerous things the Warrens acquired. With a young daughter in the house and teens coming in and out for babysitting, it’s only a matter of time before prying eyes try to catch a glimpse of what the Warrens have hidden away.

Playing in the car, Freda Payne’s 1970 “Band of Gold” is a soulful tune and seems to be a positive omen for the people from which Annabelle was taken. Cut short, when the Warrens pass by a fatal car wreck, it seems the Warrens can’t have a trouble-free evening of enjoying the radio.

Setting up the time period and beginning the film with a deceptively groovy song to celebrate one less demon roaming free, you rarely hear happy music in The Conjuring universe.

Upgrade – Smokestack Lightnin’ (Howlin’ Wolf)

This absolute gem of a movie from 2018 seemed to go mostly overlooked, but with Logan Marshall-Green heading the charge, Upgrade stormed in with creative, futuristic, and science-fiction horror ideas to keep your blood pumping.

Our tale begins as a sad one. Gray (Green) is an auto mechanic, a dying breed when all cars are AI. Married to the love of his life, Asha (Melanie Vallejo), Gray is off to make a sale with his wife. Introduced to an implant called STEM by his employer and generally unimpressed, Gray heads home sick of technology. Their ride back is nothing ordinary, though, as their car malfunctions, resulting in a crash — and the arrival of four men.

The group kills Asha and paralyzes Gray, leaving him to watch his wife die just out of reach. Now a quadriplegic and looking for the “off switch,” Gray is about to be offered a second chance at an upgraded existence.

This is the first song that plays in the film, a relic of a vinyl that fits perfectly. Gray works with his hands, gets dirty, and doesn’t mess with tech.

Choosing to remain tech and implant-free, Gray makes himself stand out among his polished, futuristic-looking peers as a man happy to spend his days making a living with his hands and some engine grease.

This bluesy tune was recorded in 1956, written by Chester Burnett, and performed by Howlin’ Wolf. It sets the ideal mood of a man who is an anachronism in his own world.

The Final Girls – Bette Davis Eyes (Kim Carnes)

2015 brought us some girl power with The Final Girls, a slasher-comedy with a loaded lineup.

Max (Taissa Farmiga) is waiting for her actress mother, Amanda (Malin Akerman), to complete an audition. Upon finishing, Amanda laments that she will only be known as a “scream queen” from an old horror movie she starred in during the 80s. On the drive home, in a moment of distraction, Amanda looks away from the road and is killed in the subsequent collision, leaving Max alone.

Three years later, Max is convinced to attend a double screening of the movie her mother starred in. When the theater is set ablaze accidentally during the showing, Max cuts a hole in the screen, stepping through with her friends to safety. They don’t know just how into the film they’re getting.

The Final Girls is a horror comedy with heart. It speaks to a beautiful mother-daughter relationship cut short by tragedy and the lasting impact of cinema. Written by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974, the track was recorded the same year featuring DeShannon, but it was the 1981 cover by Kim Carnes that drew attention.

Winning Grammys and connecting Carnes and Davis, the song created a dynamic relationship between two powerful, talented women. In the film, this track is Max and Amanda’s “song” that belongs to them. Before Amanda is killed, the music ends, and we see warm moments between mother and daughter enjoying a catchy melody.

The song is also featured at the end for a particularly sad sacrifice, also playing into the final girl fallacy that virtue means survival.

Final Destination 3 – Love Rollercoaster (Ohio Players)

In my previous playlist exploring the music of horror, Final Destination (2000) made the list with its cheeky John Denver nod.

This third installment in the franchise brings about a new cast of young, attractive, doomed teens celebrating at a carnival. Mary Elizabeth Winstead heads this 2006 thriller as Wendy, waiting in line with friends for a rollercoaster. Moments before boarding though, as in all these films, Wendy gets a vision that the coaster will malfunction, killing all on board.

While the chosen few make it off in time to see the disaster play out, we all know death doesn’t give up so easily.

Featured in a grisly double death scene, two girls who survived the accident are at a tanning salon, trying to get a little color. It seems they both didn’t bring music, so in a random choice, one of the ladies selects a CD, and the first track is the funky 1975 hit “Love Rollercoaster” by the Ohio Players. The girls seem unaware that this first track is a message about their fate — what are the odds of choosing that CD with that song?

It’s a good enough track, though, as the girls are so caught up in dancing and singing in the buff that by the time the heat has been cranked up, it’s too late to stop the tan from turning into a fourth-degree burn.

A poppy hit to distract from the scene’s intensity, it does provide levity to an otherwise heavy moment in death’s design.