Sound is the livelihood of horror. The shrieks, the eerie hums, the scores that crawl under your skin: They all matter. But what really wrecks me isn’t the standard horror toolkit. It’s when a movie drops in something we know. It could be something safe, like an upbeat radio tune. Or it could be a sweet little melody to soundtrack the twisting of the knife. But whatever the sound, that familiar comfort suddenly feels like a trapdoor.
I touched on this before in my 2021 piece about Tales From The Darkside. A theme song that should’ve sold me on countryside charm instead made me afraid to even glance at a group of trees. Now that autumn is here, I’m diving back into the moments where horror hijacked pop culture to make the ordinary terrifying. This is…
Curated Terror: The Songs of Horror, Vol. 4.
[Disclaimer: This article may or may not contain light spoilers]
George Harrison “Beware Of Darkness” – Weapons (2025)
When an entire classroom of kids, except one, vanishes on the same night at the same exact time, a sleepy Midwest town is left clawing at shadows for answers. Did their teacher snap? Did the cops botch it? Was it the volatile blue-collar dad down the street or the strung-out drifter on the corner? Every theory spawns ten more, and suddenly everyone looks guilty.
Weapons threads these mysteries into a slow-burning fever dream, equal parts unnerving and grounded, until it snowballs into the most unlikely summer hit of 2025. Sure, Zach Cregger’s direction and the knockout ensemble deserve their flowers, but what too many fans and critics alike missed was the film’s sound. Kicking things off with George Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness” from All Things Must Pass was definitely a choice, but the “Dark Beatle” sets the mood for a horror movie perfectly. The song’s shadowy drift and its refusal to resolve back to its home chord scream unease, which makes even more sense upon finishing the film.
Dramarama “Anything, Anything” – A Nightmare On Elm St. 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Freddy Krueger, the child-murdering ghoul turned full-blown dream demon, is back on Elm Street, sharpening his claws on the last of the survivors. But this time, the tables might actually tilt. One of the kids figures out she can absorb the dream powers of her fallen friends. Suddenly, Freddy’s got a challenger who isn’t just running scared. She’s gunning for the title of “Dream Master.”
Alas, The Dream Master marks the exact point where the Elm Street franchise went off the rails. Freddy’s not terrifying anymore. He’s basically Bugs Bunny in a striped sweater, cracking jokes while the screen explodes with MTV neon. It’s the franchise’s worst era, kicking off in real time.
Still, I’ll give it this: Using Dramarama’s “Anything, Anything” was a killer needle drop. The song about a failing relationship is filled with desperation as an attempt to save something that’s already gone. It’s the perfect mirror for a kid doing karate in his garage, convinced he’s gonna fist-fight Freddy Krueger. On a meta level, it’s hard not to hear those lyrics as the studio begging audiences to hang on to a franchise that had already burned through its best nightmares.
The Ramones “Poison Heart” – Pet Sematary Two (1992)
After losing his movie-star mother, Jeff Mathews’ father drags him back to a small town in Maine to reset their lives. But grief doesn’t make it any easier. When Jeff hears whispers about a Native American burial ground that supposedly brings the dead back, he starts entertaining the idea of burying his mom’s body there. It’s a morbid idea, but he clings to the hope that resurrection might fix his broken family.
Pet Sematary Two will never touch the original, but it’s also nowhere near the dumpster fire most critics make it out to be. It’s trashy early-’90s edge has its own charm, and like the first film, it sneaks in some Ramones. Only this time, instead of anchoring a scene or penning a custom track, “Poison Heart” eerily drifts over the end credits. More of a tip of the hat to the franchise than a vital piece of the movie, but it works. The song’s gloomy, almost Danzig-esque vibe feels right at home with the film’s off-kilter mood. “Poison Heart” is a weird Ramones song, and Pet Sematary Two is a weird horror movie, but sometimes weird is exactly the point.
The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” – Us (2019)
Adelaide Wilson can’t shake the scars of a childhood trauma. Heading back to her old beachfront home for a family vacation only stirs the pot. The unease builds until her paranoia proves to be spot-on. Suddenly, a group of strangers shows up at the door, and they aren’t there looking to borrow sugar.
With Us, Jordan Peele sidesteps the sophomore slump. Sure, it doesn’t get the universal acclaim Get Out did, but its exploration of identity and the ugly truths of American history cut just as deep. One of the most unnerving moments doesn’t even center on the Wilsons. When their friends get their own surprise visitors, the horror is staged against the sunny psychedelia of the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.” That dissonance of pure horror colliding with one of pop’s most blissful songs hammers home the film’s obsession with duality. It’s not the centerpiece of Us, but it’s the kind of detail that proves Peele knows exactly how to twist the golden scissors.
Tim Cappello “I Still Believe” – The Lost Boys (1987)
Teenage brothers Michael and Sam, along with their newly single mom, pack up and move in with Grandpa in the chaotic beach town of Santa Carla. Sam links up with a couple of comic book geeks, while Michael falls in with a crew of brooding delinquents who just so happen to moonlight as vampires.
And then there’s that scene. You know the one. Tim Cappello, oiled up, jacked to high heaven, draped in hardware-store chains and purple spandex, absolutely annihilating a saxophone during a cover of The Call’s “I Still Believe.” It’s a moment so absurd it feels like parody, which explains why it’s been meme’d to death and even dunked on by SNL.
But here’s the thing: for all its sweaty, campy weirdness, it kinda rules. The song rips, Cappello goes all in, and against all odds, this bizarre minute-long performance has become as iconic as the fanged pretty boys it shares screen time with. Awkward? Absolutely. Cringe? For sure. But unforgettable? Without a doubt.
Goo Goo Dolls “Awake Now” – Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Freddy Krueger finally did it. He wiped out every last kid in Springwood, Ohio. With no teenagers left to torment, he takes his nightmare show on the road, only to land in a small town where, surprise, his estranged daughter is working as a therapist. The big question: Will she join him in his carnage, or be the one to finally drag him to Hell?
By the early ’90s, the slasher icons were creaking under their own weight, and Freddy was no exception. Freddy’s Dead is every bit as limp as the two entries before it and light years away from the sharp terror of his debut. But buried in the mess is one genuinely cool touch: the opening credits roll to “Awake Now” by, of all bands, the Goo Goo Dolls. Before they became VH1 royalty with Iris, they were cranking out scrappy alt-rock. The track’s murky chords and Replacements-style grit punch hard, and the stacked, emotional vocals in the chorus practically blueprint emo a decade early. It’s a killer opener that’s moody, tense, and way better than the movie it’s attached to. Unfortunately, once the credits fade, it’s all downhill from there.
Johnny Goth “Come 2 Me” – Halloween Ends (2022)
Michael Myers has been ghosting Haddonfield for over four years, and in his absence, Laurie Strode is finally trying to ditch the trauma cycle by hammering out her memoir. But the town itself isn’t exactly ready to move on. Enter Corey, a local misfit who accidentally inherits the role of Haddonfield’s new boogeyman once bodies start dropping. The question hangs over the season like a knife: Did Michael recruit an apprentice, or is this place just cursed to keep replaying its nightmarish horror on loop every Halloween?
Halloween Ends is easily the most polarizing entry in the entire series. What should’ve been Laurie and Michael’s final face-off instead swerves into a weird, almost-romance detour that feels closer to Carpenter’s Christine than anything in the Myers mythology. At its core sits Corey and Allyson, Laurie’s granddaughter, as they spark up a diner-side trauma bonding session. Just as things get intimate, Allyson’s obnoxious ex barges in. Corey, now carrying himself like he’s auditioning to be The Shape’s understudy, jumps up and threatens him with bone-chilling intimidation. Next thing you know, Corey’s whisking Allyson home as “Come 2 Me” plays, and any sane person would be spotting flashing neon red flags. Instead, Allyson’s swooning for the most radioactive bad boy Haddonfield’s ever produced.
The Fixx “One Thing Leads To Another” – The House Of The Devil (2009)
Samantha’s your typical broke college kid just trying to make rent, so when a babysitting gig pops up, she bites. Only catch? When she shows up at the creaky old mansion, she finds out there’s no kid. Just an elderly mother-in-law upstairs and a boss who gives off the kind of vibes that scream, “Don’t sign this deal.” What she doesn’t know is that the gig comes with a bonus: a late-night run-in with a pack of devil worshippers who’ve been waiting for someone just like her.
With The House of the Devil, Ti West drops a love letter to every VHS-era horror trope while still making it feel fresh. It’s a slow burn dripping with dread and tension that coils tighter with every scene. West even finds terror in the mundane. Like the moment Samantha, bored and uneasy, pops in her Walkman, blasts The Fixx, and dances her way through the house in a scene that’s both charming and disarmingly human. It’s the calm before the satanic storm, and the audience knows damn well the night’s about to nosedive into hell.
