Halloween 2K25 – Great Songs Not Found on Streaming Services
Horror is the one genre of filmmaking that embraces it’s low budget roots. A majority of the films released in the 80s that we love so much were not made by major studios, but by small independent studios who were just looking to cash in on the home video market. For example, New Line is considered the “studio Freddy built” because it was only because of Nightmare on Elm Street that New Line developed into the major player it became.
Just as important as visuals in horror movies is audio, this usually results in a lot of time and effort being put into the score and soundtrack of a film to ensure it provides the atmosphere that matches the visuals.
Due to budget restraints, weird licensing agreements, and just a lack of demand, a lot of the music that I love so much in horror movies has not made its way onto streaming services, nor physical media in over thirty years, if ever. Luckily, some folks have uploaded these songs onto YouTube, so here is a short list of some great horror music that I enjoy but can’t add to my Apple Music playlist.
Come to Me by Deborah Holland (Fright Night 2)
This is a recent addition since I just watched Fright Night 2 recently. I love the beautiful, haunting vocals and it really gives me that 80s horror vibe.
Rock Until You Drop by (The Monster Squad)
Arguably my favorite film as a kid, The Monster Squad was simply my world. In a great montage sequence, Rock Until You Drop plays and I was so happy to finally get a great copy of this song when The Monster Squad score was released a few years ago.
The Beast Inside (Night of the Demons)
Night of the Demons is a film that I saw on the video shelf often, but never rented. It wasn’t until maybe five years ago that I finally gave it a watched and I enjoyed it. It has a great vibe and its a decent way to pass a couple of hours.
A highlight of the film is the song The Beast Inside which runs over the end credits.
Inconclusion by Dee Snider (Strangeland)
I had three major loves in the late 90s/early 2000s: horror, pro wrestling, and 80s hair metal. So, when I learned that Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame was making a horror film called Strangeland I was over the moon.
Strangeland stars Dee Snider, Robert Englund, and a young Linda Cardellini. Released in 1998, the film did a fantastic job of capturing the fear that existed about who was on the internet, and the anonymity they could use. The story tapped into the Modern Primitive subculture and featured lots of needles and hanging from hooks.
I really enjoyed the film when it first came out, although I don’t feel like it has aged all that well. The song included here played over the end credits, and I absolutely fell in love with it back in 1998 and still enjoy it today.
Fall Break by Peter Yellen (The Mutilator)
If you’ve never heard this before, you’re going to think I made a mistake adding it to this list. It doesn’t sound anything like something you’d hear on a horror movie soundtrack, but something maybe more on a made for TV teen comedy.
The Mutilator a slasher filmed her in my home state of North Carolina, was originally titled Fall Break which is the title of this song. Once the movie begins a scene that looks like it could have come out of an episode of Full House begins with this song playing over the background and it makes you wonder if you actually turned on a horror movie or not.
The story of the song in a nutshell is: the film was shot under the title Fall Break and the director asked composer Michael Minard (co-writer of the song Under the Boardwalk) for a fun beach song to be used in the film. Despite not really fitting the tone of the movie at all, the song was used over the opening credits, but eventually the distributor changed the title of the film to The Mutilator for it’s wide release which made the song and it’s title Fall Break seem even more out of place. It’s a catchy tune, that no one would associate with horror or Halloween unless you’ve seen the movie.
Get Dead by Shari Belafonte (The Midnight Hour)
This is another new addition to my non-streaming horror/Halloween playlist. A few days ago, I watched The Midnight Hour, a 1985 ABC made for TV movie starring LeVar Burton. It’s very 80s and features an unexpected song and dance number towards the end performed by Shari Belafonte (Harry Belafonte’s daughter). It was clearly inspired by Thriller and is catchy enough that it would fit perfectly on a Halloween playlist.
