MONSTER MASH-UP - Alright, here’s the deal: you're scoring the trailers for several upcoming horror movies, so put your iPod or MP3 player of choice on shuffle and post the first song you hit for each trailer. That song is the centerpiece of the trailer, and these are the featured monsters:1) Vampire
2) Werewolf
3) Zombie
4) Slasher
5) Creature from the Black Lagoon (I say it's time for a comeback)
You might want to skip the orchestral stuff to avoid being too on the nose, but the important thing is to then offer up a few lines for each movie explaining how the music fits the trailer. Is it a creepy fit? Does it turn the movie comedic? My test-run will be in the comments.
1) Vampire
ReplyDelete“Adeste Fidelis” / Nat King Cole – Yes, just in time for the holidays comes a tale a bloodsucking vampires. Listening to the song, I think it’s gotta be used with eerie irony in the trailer, which’ll look like a holiday movie when it starts, but as the music swells cut to a grisly montage of vampire attacks. Idea cribbed from Misery's use of "The Little Drummer Boy" in its trailers.
2) Werewolf
“I’m the One” / Van Halen – Oh shit. Up-tempo rock song? With that title? There’s no other possibility. Teen Wolf remake. The music plays as the movie’s poor man’s Michael J. Fox (Shia?) discovers that being a werewolf is cool, dude!
3) Zombie
“Girlfriend” / Matthew Sweet – We’ve seen zombie best friends in Shaun of the Dead, so can zombie romance be far behind? God I hope so. This is the second comedy of my set, and I see the trailer opening with scenes of this guy talking about general girlfriend issues with his buds, but when they finally meet her…sudden record needle scratch, she’s a fuckin’ zombie! Wacky montage ensues as Matthew Sweet belts out “Girlfriend.” 90s nostalgists recall the song fondly and think, “I might go see that.”
4) Slasher
“Rape Me” / Richard Cheese – Um, sorry. It’s just what turned up. Yes, this is the lounge-style cover of the song, and come to think of it, I see it working in a Jennifer's Body type movie that flips preconceptions. The girl’s a Jason-style slasher who lures creepy frat boys with her hottie looks, then dispatches them messily, and the movies central dilemma is that she accidentally lures a nice guy and can’t decide whether to off him. “Rape Me” plays ironically in the trailer as she’s choppin’ the scumbags. Despite ironic intent, audiences everywhere find the song inappropriate.
5) Creature from the Black Lagoon
“Suspicion” / Jimmy London – I love this reggae cover of the old Terry Stafford/Elvis tune from the 60s! And I think it means that in this version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the guys on the trail of it learn that it can change into a normal human. Reggae-“Suspicion” plays in the trailer as we see them becoming increasingly paranoid that the creature is one of their own! Scary! Now go listen to the song.
1) Vampire
ReplyDelete"Delirium Trigger" by Coheed and Cambria. A good, creepy song that alternates between moody, quiet stretches and louder sections full of growls and screams. Great for a more modern take on vampires that are little more than rabid monsters.
2) Werewolf
"My Blue Heaven" by Taking Back Sunday. Who wants emo? Maybe it's time for an I Was a Teenage Werewolf remake?
3) Zombie
"78" by The Prize Fighter Inferno. Lots of drumloops and tinkling pianos, almost a strange dance song. "I don't wanna love you anymore." Maybe something a little stranger, a 28 Days Later type of story without the escape element. Trapped in the city and trying like hell to make it work.
4) Slasher
"Tell Everyone" as performed by Greg Dulli. Just Greg and and an acoustic guitar singing a love song with some violin in the background. The voice that moves from deep and soulful to soaring. Could make for a great, moody trailer, just images with the song over top of it.
5) Creature from the Black Lagoon
"She Says" by Superdrag. Sixties-influenced pop about being so stoned you can't sleep. If that don't fit a creature feature, I don't know what does.
1) Vampire
ReplyDelete“Solitude Standing” / Suzanne Vega – A fairly quiet tune about the personification of solitude and being okay with being alone. Emo vampires, here we come!
2) Werewolf
“The Last Word” / Voltaire – A morbid, violin and guitar song about committing suicide to spite someone else. I'm picturing a scene like that as the opener, but with a werewolf attack during the suicide. Emo werewolf, here we come!
3) Zombie
“Waterloo” / Abba – That's right, Abba. Fuck you. Anyway, This has to play over the big climactic fight scene, where the embattled group is attacked by hordes of zombies. I'm thinking zombie flick like Brain Dead or Shaun of the Dead, not something real serious.
4) Slasher
“Traveling Son” / Ego Likeness – Fairly slow, with occasional bursts of energy. Good traveling music for a slasher on the move, but also has a weird mother/son theme running through it ("So make me proud, boy, and set them souls aflame"). Could make for a cool Friday the 13th style killer who isn't tied to one place.
5) Creature from the Black Lagoon
“Why Must I Be Sad?” / They Might Be Giants – A peppy, upbeat tune, with a repeated chorus of "Sad, sad, sad, sad, Why must I be sad?" I see this as a comedy, with the Creature emerging from the Lagoon feeling good about himself and ready to find his place in the modern world, maybe as an executive or a physical therapist or something.
I wasn't sure if this was going to work because I made up the meme my own crazy self, but the responses so far are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteMORE!
1) Vampire
ReplyDelete"Gimme Stitches" / Foo Fighters - Upbeat little tune with Grohl's standard scream-y vocals. I see it being about a pair of vampire doctors who alternate between sewing up patients and feeding on ones they don't like, a dark comedy.
2) Werewolf
"Rock Star" / N.E.R.D. - Dance/rap track that I got off the SSX soundtrack. As with all the Werewolf movies so far, it seems most suited to a hipster vampire movie, where the nerd learns that being a werewolf has made him cool. Except that my Teen Wolf sequel ends darkly with him going on a rampage through the school as his blood rage overcomes him. Also, I suggest Jesse (Zombieland) Eisenberg as the lead, and Ellen (Juno) Page as his love interest.
3) Zombie
"Overkill" / Colin Hay - Acoustic version of the Men at Work tune. I think this is a comedy/drama about a guy who gets turned into a zombie and keeps trying to fit into his regular life, but he just can't make it work.
4) Slasher
"Live on Tomorrow" / Juliana Hatfield - '90s Grrl alt rock. I think this one is about a serial killer on a college campus, and here's the twist: Our serial killer's a girl. We don't see a lot of that, right?
5) Creature from the Black Lagoon
"Better Off Dead" / Bad Religion - Huh. This would probably have been better for any other category, especially zombie or slasher. Maybe for a Black Lagoon remake where there's more than one of the creature, and it's a zombie-like invasion of a coastal town.
I was planning on participating, but then I would feel obligated to read everybody's responses. There are too many for me, and thus, this meme is too successful for its own good.
ReplyDeleteMan, reading is hard.
ReplyDeleteWhat if I start some sort of semantics argument about Blink 182 in the comments? Then you'll have to read like 14 comments anyway, and you might as well post. ;)
ReplyDeleteI could talk about how bad Tarantino's movies are. That usually gets the joint jumpin'. ;-)
ReplyDelete1) Vampire
ReplyDelete"Boy's Club"/ Ween - Parody song that's meant to be ironic, pop with heavy subtext. So these vampires are living out the dream on a college campus, taking out innocent students one by one. The twist is that the vampires are gay and only go for drunk, closeted frat boys. Comedy that may possibly move into buddy movie, romance, or soft-core porn territory
2) Werewolf
"Red Right Hand"/ Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - This is too easy. In fact, I think this song has been featured in numerous horror movies before. So, werewolf . . . we'll make this movie a period piece set in the antebellum western frontier. Settlers and homesteaders fight against werewolves set against the backdrop of the wild and untamed wilderness. I have to make it a conventional plot because the song so is.
3) Zombie
"Fernando Pando"/ The Virgins - Modern rock romance . . . ? Therefore, zombie romance again :). High school sweethearts are infected with whatever the zombie causing virus du jour is, but they continue their romance while attempting to find brains, fighting off decomposition, and attempting to eliminate the remaining humans in their neighborhood.
4) Slasher
"Half Day Closing"/Portishead - Ambient-ish with lots vocal alteration and electronic elements. I'm figuring this one to be set in New York in the winter, a serial killer uses the bodies of women he picks up at art galleries and later kills for outdoor "art installations". Stripped down art-house style.
5) Creature from the Black Lagoon
"J'y Suis Jamais Alle"/Yan Tiersen - Um, creature bicycling through the French countryside searching for love?
D3, what part of mandatory don't you understand? :)
ReplyDeleteThis isn't just blog silliness...IT'S THE LAW.
Jamie, awesome addition. Corpsified art installations could be the next big horror trend.
ReplyDeleteAfter creatures from black lagoons.
Alright... I'll participate and even read everybody's replies. I'm also including youtube links for each song.
ReplyDelete1. Vampire
Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love - A high school vampire story placed in the 70s! Dazed and Confused meets 70's pulp horror. In this scene, the recently turned group of teenage protagonists go around feeding on their first victims and partying at keggers all at the same time in an orgy of sex, drugs, rock & roll, and fangs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09e_naTLVxo
2. Werewolf
Blake Lewis' cover of The Cure's Love Song - Yeah, it's an American Idol track; go fuck yourself. This slower and slightly creepier version of the track would probably work well in a scene designed to show the werewolf character's extreme psychological isolation and self loathing after waking from his wolf state to find himself naked and bloody in a cave, standing over the half eaten corpse of his betrothed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEDa-UFmPHQ
3. Zombie
Pennywise's Perfect People - A small group of gutter punks from Queens visits Manhattan to perpetrate bit of mayhem and destruction on the unsuspecting yuppies and end up biting off more than they can chew when they find themselves trapped on the island with... Zombie Yuppies! In this scene, the punks find a bit of joy in exploding yuppie heads with blunt force trauma from skateboards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPtaFmnmdsI
4. Slasher
Nas' Nas is Like - Hip Hop culture slasher taking place in the inner city slums of Detroit. In this pivotal scene, we see one the young teenage characters getting dressed up. It's quite a long scene as he makes sure every detail is perfect and in place as he dons his hip hop wardrobe meticulously. The character just received a call from his boys and told them he might be a while to get himself "correct" and this explains the prolonged getting dressed scene. The scene ends in the audience seeing him pick up the mystery killer's weapon of choice last thing before walking out the door and closing it behind with a him with a thud that syncs up with the drum outro of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQHHdrzU4P0
5. Creature from the Black Lagoon
Muddy Water's You Can't Lose What You Never Had - When local blues man Eli Brown's two brothers, Jean Paul and Stephan, come back to the swamps of southern Louisiana to attend their dead father's funeral, they discover that Eli traded his soul for peerless blues talent in a deal with the devil. Nobody profits in deals with the devil, and Eli's evil and selfishness are slowly turning him into a horrendous swamp monster at night that is responsible for the death of the Brown's father. In this early scene, the three brothers somberly stand watch over their father's coffin at dusk the night before the funeral... moments before Eli transforms and attacks Jean Paul and Stephan. The slow blues track plays again over the closing credits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgHQalqG6E8
oh... this was for trailers... oops. well you got scenes instead.
ReplyDelete>>oh... this was for trailers... oops. well you got scenes instead.
ReplyDelete:D
That's alright - this is art, not science, and in the words of Gaff in Blade Runner: "You've done a man's job, sir."
Honestly, I think I would consider seeing most of the movies you posted.
i still don't own a goddamn mp3 player. so sue me.
ReplyDeleteHere at Toodlepip, we're not a stickler for rules. Chris, you're officially granted special dispensation to just CHOOSE music that amuses (or frightens) you.
ReplyDeleteWe're through the looking glass, people!
ok, i'll bite.
ReplyDelete1) Vampire - i don't much like vampires, so i'm thinkin' Yakkety Sax, ala Benny Hill. Grainy, sped up B&W film; a dude in a dimestore costume chasing blonde girls through a Norwegian forest. He's an actual vampire, but the black-metalheads of mid-nineties Norway are much more evil than him and won't take him seriously. He can't catch a break.
2) Werewolf - I Wanna Be Your Dog by Iggy Pop. Punk rock werewolves invade early eighties New Jersey suburbs, fuck shit up. No moral.
3) Zombie - Staying Alive by the BeeGees. Disco is undead in this mid-seventies splatter gore comedy. The zombie apocolypse hasn't slowed business down any at the hottest nightclub in town, where the patrons are dancing their legs off. Literally.
4) Slasher - White Room by Cream. San Francisco, 1969, the Summer of Love. Someone's chopping up the hippies. Nobody cares.
5) Creature from the Black Lagoon - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat by Charles Mingus. Private eye/swamp creature Blake LeGuin fights rascism and political corruption in 1950's Louisiana in this moody noir thriller.
Because participation is mandatory, I choose not to participate.
ReplyDelete--Ben "Stick in the Mud" Kimball
boo.
ReplyDeleteI should add that Blake LeGuin, of course, drinks like a fish.
See now, Chris, that was fucking awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd Ben, the secret police will be coming for you.
By the way, Chris, speaking of Iggy Pop's classic "Be Your Dog," have you heard his new album, Preliminaries? Dunno how it works overall, but the one track I heard off of it, "King of the Dogs," was pretty cool. Very "New Orleans jazz":
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NhR5RxG0ks
Skipping past soundtracks scores:
ReplyDelete1) Vampire -- Flesh by K.M.F.D.M.: So yeah, if you know anything by K.M.F.D.M. you know this song, too. This is gonna be a Blade-type vampire flick- flashing lights, lots of blood, violence, gore and rrrRAwk.
2) Werewolf -- Why doesn't anybody like me? by No Use for a Name: Aww, maybe it's all the fur...
3) Zombie -- Die Another Day by Madonna: These are turning out nicely cheeserific. Ooh, in this one the sassy femme fatale can't be bothered by a silly little thing like death! She'll *un*die another day! -_-...
4) Slasher -- Why Go? by Pearl Jam: Now we know why Mommy sent her away to that place... Yet another tale of an evil, murderous little girl? Makes me think of the Nick Cave song 'The Curse of Millhaven'.
5) Creature from the Black Lagoon -- Sanctified by NIN: I don't know much 'bout no Creatures from the Black Lagoon, but I think this one's a-headed for some creepy 'romance'...
i heard a track off it called "I'm a Punk Rocker". it was not punk rock at all.
ReplyDelete