Can't comment on Hubbs' theory regarding Blue Öyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper being a fanbase litmus test, but I do know his mate, Joe, was the ginger, Grunge looking head from The People Under the Stairs (1991); and more importantly, three instances where the song fits perfectly in either a horror film or television series:
According to IMDb, the first time Don't Fear the Reaper made an appearance on film was in John Carpenter's horror classic, Halloween (1978). It might also be the very first time I ever heard the song for that matter.
It's low key inclusion works beautifully in this pot smoking scene. Much like Dr. Loomis, the song serves its purpose like an ominous prophet of doom. The "my dad!" moment where Annie spot her father's car, and who happens to be Sheriff Brackett, conveniently has two purposes: the universal stoned teens getting possibly caught with drugs scenario, and the viewer learning that Haddonfield's finest has stolen some William Shatner masks, is tooled up and ready to party for the night.
Sadly, this wasn't the only time the song made an appearance in the franchise: both Rob Zombie's awful remake and David Gordon Green's travesty of a "requel" trilogy incorporated it for the sake of nostalgia.
Props to Mick Garris' opening credits sequence from the 1994 TV mini-series, The Stand appearing early on in what's otherwise six hours of my life I'll never get back. Despite being checked out by the series, the opening credits were, and still are, TV excellence. So good that they play out in my mind's eye whenever I hear the song.
It's Armageddon time for us all as a deadly virus finds its way into the world. The way the camera hauntingly pans over various areas of the military complex and its dead occupants while the song plays is chillingly effective. The end of days has begun.
I can barely remember anything else from The Stand other than Rob Lowe being in it, the demonic Randall Flagg reminding me of Billy Connolly, and a nuke going off in Las Vegas, which was nowhere near as awesome as I hoped. Probably explains why I haven't really checked for anything else adapted from Stephen King ever since, with the exceptions of The Green Mile (1999) and The Mist (2007).
Ti West's return to making horror films with not one, but two fine films, was a sterling comeback. X was a wonderful slasher period piece that evoked the early films of Tobe Hopper and general seventies grindhouse. A slow burner for sure, but the journey was just as much fun as its gruesomely final destination. Mia Goth became 2022's face of horror well before that prequel monologue when she grossed me out as the geriatric and horny psychopath, Pearl. The scene where she's turned down from her sexual advances by R.J while Don't Fear the Reaper blares out from his car's stereo, is a sight to behold. The spray of blood over the car's illuminating headlight, basking the gruesomely violent murder scene in a crimson red is Argentoesque to say the least. Absolutely beautiful.
Sadly, the legacy of the song has descended into insufferable brainlets reviving an ancient meme from a primordial era SNL sketch, and YouTubers incorporating it their awful fan videos, which have successfully rick rolled me while searching for actual ripped movies scenes on the net. Might explain why I prefer B.O.C's Godzilla these days.
Halloween definitely would have been the first time I heard it too. Another W for Carpenter.
ReplyDeleteCarpenter has got to be amongst the biggest influencers on Gen X'ers out there.
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