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Get Amped: 6 Heavy Metal Horror Films to Watch Ahead of ‘Heavy Trip’

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“Symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme war pagan Fennoscandian metal.”

That’s what bassist Pasi (Max Ovaska) answers when asked what kind of metal the band at the center of Finnish metal comedy Heavy Trip play. Pasi is the definitive historian of metal music and can recall every riff he’s every heard with uncanny ability. Pasi is joined in musical aspirations by frontman Turo (Johannes Holopainen), cheerful but always hungry drummer Jynkky (Antti Heikkinen), and guitarist Lotvonen (Samuli Jaskio). The four escape their mundane jobs in their small town by practicing in the basement of Lotvonen’s family owned reindeer slaughterhouse, with dreams of playing in Norways’ biggest metal festival. From there, what transpires is a journey of epic metal proportions; a corpse stealing, reindeer blood drenching, mental asylum escaping, badger fighting, guttural screaming quest with serious metal attitude.

In other words, Heavy Trip is the most joyous film 0f 2018. Though it’s not horror, its DNA is shaped by metal, and horror and metal are the genre equivalent of peanut butter and jelly. It’s also fitting that this black metal comedy is coming to theaters this Halloween season. Late-night theatrical showings will be taking place in top markets on October 5, 2018, with a nationwide VOD release set for October 12, 2018. In preparation, here are 6 horror movies steeped in metal music to watch before Impaled Rektum and Heavy Trip melt your face.


The Gate

For the burgeoning metalhead, this is the best intro horror movie. Two twelve-year-old friends accidentally open a gate to hell in their backyard, unleashing demons, when they play a cursed LP by the band Sacrifix backwards. Young metalhead Terry (Louis Tripp) and hero Glen (Stephen Dorff) are excellent leads, and the practical effects are great. There’s a reason this remains a favorite in the genre.


Wild Zero

So, this one is more garage rock than metal, but it still retains that hard rock spirit and a major sense of fun. The horror comedy is based on a simple setup: aliens are responsible for unleashing the zombie apocalypse and only Japanese rock band Guitar Wolf can save the day. Essentially playing out like one feature length music video that puts Guitar Wolf’s distortion infused, punk-influenced attitude and sound at the forefront while they slaughter zombies along the way. It’s an absolute blast.


Black Roses

This irreverent ‘80s creature feature sees its metal band Black Roses arriving at a small town and turning its teens into rebellious metalheads. But, the band is really a bunch of demons in disguise, and the kids aren’t just becoming rebellious, but actual monsters. It works because it’s directed by metalhead John Fasano (Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare), who brings together rubber-suited monsters and a catchy as hell soundtrack with bands like Lizzy Borden, Hallow’s Eve, King Kobra, and more.


Trick or Treat

Metal god Sammi Curr mysteriously died in a fire during the peak of his success. It turns out it was a Satanic ploy, as Sammi plans to return from the grave by possessing radio airwaves via his as-yet-unreleased final album. When his biggest fan Eddie (Marc Price) gets ahold of it first, Sammi uses Eddie to collect sacrifices until Eddie’s had enough and tries to fight back. If the title is any indication, this is a Halloween set metal horror mashup. Trick or Treat is one massive love letter to metal. Look for cameos by Ozzie Osbourne and Gene Simmons, music by former Motörhead guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke, and a ton of metal references throughout.


The Devil’s Candy

Devil's Candy via IFC Midnight Sean Byrne

Often in movies, metal is synonymous with Satanism. Sean Byrne’s long-awaited follow up to The Love Ones refreshingly makes metal the vital tool against the demonic forces threatening to tear the Hellman family apart. The rural country home at the center of the film also happens to be home to a Satanic presence. The opening scene sees Ray Smilie (Pruitt Taylor Vince) playing his Flying V in front of a crucifix, trying to block out the voice of “Him.” That same voice seeks to possess and control Hellman patriarch Jesse (Ethan Embry) after the family moves in to the same house years later. It’s his love of his family, and his bond with his daughter over their shared passion for metal, that might keep “Him” at bay. A banging soundtrack that includes bands like Ghost, Slayer, Machine Head and metal references throughout, this one is a can’t miss for metalheads.


Deathgasm

Written and directed by Jason Lei Howden, this New Zealand horror comedy is a definitive love letter to metalheads. Brodie is a social outcast, further ostracized because of his adoration of metal. He finds a kindred spirit in Zakk, who convinces him to break into an abandoned house to find metal musician Rikki Daggers. They succeed in finding Daggers, who hands them an album that contains “The Black Hymn,” before being offed by a Satanic cult moments later. Naturally, the boys play it and invoke a demon. Gore, death, and speed metal ensue. A soundtrack with artists like Axeslasher, Beastwars, Skull Fist, and Elm Street set against Howden’s ode to Peter Jackson’s early splatter work is a blood-soaked blast.


Bonus: Black Sabbath

This 1963 horror anthology by Mario Bava may not scream metal, but it inspired blues rock band Earth to reform as Black Sabbath, and they began incorporating occult themes and horror lyrics with a much more metal sound as a result. A stunning anthology that stars Boris Karloff and served as major inspiration to one of the most recognized metal bands should be required viewing for metalheads.


Heavy Trip thrashes into theaters on October 5, and VOD on October 12, 2018.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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