Top 10 Punk Rock Horror Movies
Today Shudder releases its’ latest exclusive The Ranger which promises to be a punk rock horror flick for the ages. For a full review of The Ranger, Charlotte has one up on the site, check that out HERE. In honor of this release here is a list of the Top 10 Punk Rock Horror movies of all time. Included with each movie is a punk rock song that is either from the movie or fully embodies the movie. Enjoy.
Some honorable mentions include Liquid Sky, Night of the Demons and Demons.
Class of 1984
Class of 1984, like many films on this list isn’t exactly horror in the traditional sense as it plays more like a revenge film. Take the classic trope of dedicated teacher moving to an inner-city school with the hopes of making changes, add a little rape-revenge horror element and tons of punk rock aesthetic and you have a cult film worthy of your attention. Also, the cast includes Michael J. Fox before he was super famous and before he put the J. in his name.
The band Teenage Head not only stars in the movie but contributes to the soundtrack as well.
Dolls
The 1987 cult classic Dolls doesn’t have a punk rock sound track but the two main victims of the evil Puppet Maker and his wife are classic 80’s punk rock girls. The couple turn humans into porcelain dolls as a means of torture for their earthly. A puppet master before Puppet Master and a forgotten gem in the legacy of Stuart Gordon of Re-Animator and From Beyond fame.
As the movie is lacking in punk rock but is heavy in punk rock girls, the most fitting song is The Damned by The Plasmatics whose lead singer Wendy O Williams is the most punk rock chick ever.
Surf Nazis Must Die
The first of three Troma flicks on this list, this one being the most Troma. An earthquake hits California and for some reason rival surfer groups vie for control of the beach. The Fuhrer of the Beach and his gang of surf Nazis kill an African American dude who is jogging on the beach early one morning, which is obviously a terrible idea. His mother, Mama, seeking revenge, breaks out of the retirement home to exact revenge on the surf Nazis. This is a ridiculous troll of a movie that every horror fan needs to see at least once.
Nazi Punks Fuck Off by The Dead Kennedy’s seemed like a fitting song to attach to this film.
The Toxic Avenger
There is nothing more punk rock than the DIY nature of Troma. The Toxic Avenger is a big fuck you to the entire mainstream film industry. Released with no reaction and made for a $500K budget The Toxic Avenger went on to spawn three sequels, a stage show, a kid’s cartoon, a Marvel Comic and a possible reboot with rumors of involvement of Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is one of the greatest and most recognizable extremely low budget cult movies in history.
If you’ve only heard rumors of this amazing flick and never watched it, check out the rocking theme song for an idea of what you are in for when you finally watch it.
Class of Nuke ‘Em High
The Toxic Avenger is only outclassed by one Troma film and that is The Class of Nuke ‘Em High. A high school that is far too close to a nuclear power plant and is overrun with subhuman freaks when the water supply is tainted by toxic waste. Every character in this movie looks like they are straight from a punk rock mosh pit. I honestly believe there was no wardrobe coordinator, they just let everyone wear what they had in their closets. For a film that really captures the aesthetic of the 1980’s punk rock culture look no further than The Class of Nuke ‘Em High.
In honor of the amazing creature at the end of this flick, the most fitting song to represent this film is a cover of Alice Cooper’s Schools Out by GWAR
Driller Killer
I can’t get through one conversation about horror without mentioning at least one Video Nasty (check out my list HERE). Driller Killer is the tale of a guy who loses his mind having to listen to his neighbor’s band Rooster, amongst other things. A starving artist that slowly loses his mind and is driven to murder homeless people by drilling into their head in the most gruesome scenes in horror history. Released in 1984, censored until 1999 and currently sitting in the public domain free for anyone to access. The Driller Killer is what happens when punk goes bad.
The Swedish Crust-Punk band Driller Killer and their song Fuck the World is the audio embodiment of this movie.
Slumber Party Massacre 2
In the sequel to Slumber Party Massacre, lone survivor Courtney and her bandmates are stalked and murdered by an Andrew Dice Clay lookalike with a guitar that has a giant drill bit on the end of it. This is an absurd movie that ranks so highly because of the absurdity. The premise, the killer, that guitar all of it is ridiculous. This movie is a must see for all horror fans especially for those who enjoy over the top 1980’s sleaze.
Oh, did I mention there is a musical number?
Green Room
This 2015 film proves that punk rock will never die. An awesome flick about a punk rock band that is being stalked by punk rock’s archnemesis Neo-Nazi skinhead fucks! A fantastic movie which received tons of acclaim and won a few awards when it was released. It includes Patrick Stewart as the skinhead leader and an awesome soundtrack. I swear when I played in bands when I was younger I played at this exact same bar….or maybe they all just look the same.
What’s more fitting than Coronary by the band from the movie The Aint Rights!
Repo Man
Starring Emilio Estevez, this is the fantastically obscure and underrated story of a punk rocker who pairs up with a repo man in search of a 1964 Chevy Malibu that has aliens in the trunk. Repo Man has outstanding special effects for its time and a killer soundtrack. Including Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag and The Circle Jerks. Gives a big punk rock middle finger to big companies by including no background advertising. The food is labeled Food. The onscreen laundry detergent is called Laundry Detergent. No corporate scumbags were making an extra dollar off of free advertising from this movie. Honestly the only thing keeping this out of the number one spot is that it just happens to be more Sci-Fi than horror.
Straight from the soundtrack TV Party by Black Flag.
Return of the Living Dead
Obviously right? I mean, was there any question about what the greatest punk rock horror movie is? This movie holds a special place in my heart and is one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Romero did it first but this movie forever connected Zombies with BRAINS! I could go on and on about this movie and its punk cast of characters Scuz, Spider, Suicide and of course Linnea Quigley as Trash. But instead let me put some focus on the music, specifically two of the most insane songs which were played during iconic parts of this movie.
The first is Party Time by 45 Grave which sounds like an upbeat song and the cheesy music video will make you smile. But listen to the lyrics which are about a 5-year-old girl, with cigarette burns on her arms who was murdered and brutally raped by her mother and her friend. Do you want to party? IT’S PARTY TIME! An interesting chorus to a dark song.
The next is the from the iconic scene at the end of the movie where the mortician puts himself into the cremation furnace. The song playing was made by a crazy person, Roky Eirkson, who legit escaped from the mental hospital and was a paranoid schizophrenic who was subject to involuntary electro shock therapy. If you ever want to know what pure insanity sounds like check out Burn the Flames by Roky Erickson. His laugh at the end is the laugh of pure insanity and the Dracula reference, “creatures of the night, what music we make” are horror legend.
You can catch The Ranger now streaming exclusively on Shudder. See how it stacks up against the great punk rock horror movies. I for one am excited to see the punk rock aesthetic and to see which songs will be on the soundtrack.
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Written by Bud
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