Horror movies and rock music are a match made in Hell.
The two outcasts have been tied together for decades for their showmanship, energy, and revelry in darker themes and imagery. Both offer a sense of escapism, too. It’s only fitting that they often overlap, with rock artists crossing over into horror on screen. Sometimes, rock artists draw inspiration from the genre and set out to create their own horror features.
The latest to do so is Powerman 5000’s Spider One with directorial feature debut Allegoria. Allegoria, also written by Spider One, tells of “a group of artist’s lives becomes unwittingly entangled as their obsessions and insecurities manifest monsters, demons, and death.”
Krsy Fox (Frank), Adam Busch (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Bryce Johnson (“Pretty Little Liars”), and Scout Compton (Halloween) star in the musician’s horror movie debut.
Allegoria is available now on VOD and Shudder. For the release, we salute six times rock artists collided with horror behind the camera!
XX – St. Vincent
Annie Clark, known professionally as St. Vincent, co-wrote and directed “The Birthday Party” segment in the horror anthology XX. Melanie Lynskey stars in the darkly comedic tale, which sees a housewife scrambling to pull together a birthday party despite a tricky corpse situation.
Dark Floors – Lordi
The Finnish metal band with an affinity for monsters broke out in 2002 before winning 2006’s Eurovision Song Contest. In 2006, frontman Mr. Lordi came up with a story for the feature horror movie, Dark Floors, starring the band as monsters terrorizing a hospital. Heavy metal and monsters collided on screen and behind the scenes for this one.
Studio 666 – Foo Fighters
Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Foo Fighters used horror as a vehicle for a movie about their band. Trying to inspire creativity for the Foo Fighters’ tenth album instead winds up summoning demons from Hell in this one, offering up an entertaining and bloody horror-comedy that serves as a band spotlight first and foremost. Band members Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, and Nate Mendel star in and produced the horror comedy, which is based on a story idea by Grohl.
The Breach – Slash
Rue Morgue Magazine founder Rodrigo Gudiño helms his second horror feature that adapts a gory, Lovecraftian story by author Nick Cutter. It centers on a retiring police chief drawn into a grisly murder investigation, leading him to a house of unspeakable horrors. The film is executive produced by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, who is also the co-producer of the score. It’s Slash’s second outing as a horror movie producer; he previously produced 2013’s Nothing Left to Fear. The Breach premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival, so expect a release date soon. Also, look for Rush’s Alex Lifeson in a small role.
Strangeland – Dee Snider
The rock musician and Twisted Sister singer didn’t just star in Strangeland as Captain Howdy, the creepy sadist who lures teens through the internet; he wrote and produced it. The concept for Strangeland stems from a song on Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry album. The movie developed a cult following over the years, so much that sequel talks persist today. If that’s not enough to prove his horror mettle, Snider is helming a new horror movie this year.
House of 1000 Corpses – Rob Zombie
Rocker Rob Zombie’s directorial debut employs a mishmash of cinematic inspirations, and the film’s dark house conception brings a very atypical, vivid aesthetic to the period. A group of friends traveling the backroads of Texas searching for urban legends on All Hallows Eve in 1977 find more than they bargain for when they cross paths with the sadistic Firefly clan. The gritty handheld footage of the Firefly clan-inflicted torture against the pristine neon haze of Spaulding’s dark ride and Dr. Satan’s underground layer is just as manic as the Firefly family. Zombie’s debut didn’t just inspire a trilogy but kickstarted an enduring career as a horror filmmaker.
Spider One’s Allegoria is available now on VOD and Shudder.
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