5 More Horrific Soundtracks

This Halloween season has been pretty quiet. Oh, there's plenty of screams to wake you up at night, along with those pesky bumps. Then, of course, you've got the cackling witches in your backyard (why they can't get their own damned giant cauldron to chant Shakespeare quotes, I haven't a clue), but where's the music? The carols? The mood-setting tunes? They are, as always, in the movies. Bringing you back around once more for even more epic horror OST's, and here's hoping you have an awesome Halloween.

Oh, by the way, I did finally get around to watching Mephisto Waltz. It was good, but the score was better.

1. Suspiria

It would be a crime to forget Goblin on another one of these OST horror lists, and an absolute tragedy to forget Suspiria. Chilling, beautiful, and packed with atmosphere. There could have been no artists to rival the beauty of the movie and pair so well with Argento's masterpiece than Goblin.

2. Return of the Living Dead

Maybe I'm in a metal mood. A punk mood. An 80s mood. Or, maybe, just maybe--Return of the Living Dead has not only one of the most epic title songs in cinematic history (well, maybe not traditionally epic, but definitely awesome), but it's an arrangement of some of my absolute favorite music artists to boot.

3. Near Dark

Tangerine dream. There's just something about them. Even though synthesizers aren't generally my style, they somehow manage to take the style and create something absolutely beautiful. Another excellent example of a band that paired so well with the atmosphere of the movie, I can't imagine anyone else being quite so perfect.

4. A Nightmare on Elm Street part 3: Dream Warriors

Okay, so why didn't I pick part 1? That's where the original title song came from, isn't it? Yes, however, part 1 didn't have Dokken. Part 3 did. They have a lot more fun with rock in this one than the earlier two did, and it definitely shows in the somewhat 'metal' moments of the better character deaths.

5. 28 Days Later

When this film came out, my mom immediately rushed out to buy the cd. Neither of us had heard anything like it before, or seen a film quite so groundbreaking. Yes, say what you will about 28 Days now, but there's no denying that it transformed the genre of zombie films. I'd say maybe the same way Sam Peckinpah changed westerns. The music is jarring, gritty, and yet--absolutely beautiful, beginning to end.

A Tribute to Barbara Steele

I'll be hard-pressed to ever put any horror actress above Ingrid Pitt, but of all the icons, Barbara Steele is one of the most memorable. He had an incredibly distinct bone structure and...these eyebrows that could just kill a guy. What's more, she had presence. Presence that dominated the screen, no matter who she was with. Except Vincent Price...they were a good match onscreen. But I'm very biased towards Mister Price, as I'm sure most of you realize by now.

When I first saw 'Black Sunday', I was struck dumb by just how gorgeous this woman was at the same time as being...very creepy. If I had to pick one woman to represent the Victorian ideal of beauty onscreen, I think Barbara would take the cake. Much like Anita Ekburg, Barbara was often dubbed over with other women's voices in her roles. I will go ahead and say I am not a fan of that particular device when I think an actress has a perfectly lovely voice, but what is even more amazing is that Barbara was still wonderful, despite the fact that she still didn't often get the chance to do her own talking.

Unfortunately, Barbara really didn't get a fair cut in a lot of movies. She also grew to resent being known as a scream queen, which is perfectly understandable. She was almost onscreen in a Corman film, but her scenes were cut. I haven't seen them, so I can't say for certain whether or not the decision was a good one...but it probably wasn't.

I'd like to end this short entry with a quote from Barbara herself, which might shed some light as to why she was so incredible in the few horror films she was in, and I think holds true for all great movies...scary or not: "Film is so porous, and to my mind, so oddly occult, that I think that film itself absorbs odd energies like a living skin." You're one in a million, Barbara Steele. One in a million.

Halloween Hotties: Vintage Pinups for October

Halloween isn't just a time for...y'know, doing all that stuff I talk about all the time. It's also a great time for awesome photography. Spooky trees, interesting tombstones, ghosts...and Bombshells. From Betty Davis to Dusty Anderson, and everyone in-between. Chances are, if there's a beautiful model or actress from the golden age out there, she's had her own little October photo shoot. The following are a selection of my favorites.