Top 10 Metal Songs Inspired by Horror Films
When your playlist screams louder than the final girl.
Horror and metal have been locked in a blood pact since day one. You hear it in the lyrics. You see it in the artwork. And you feel it when the riff hits like a chainsaw to the chest.
Some bands take influence from horror themes, but others go full savage and build songs straight out of your favorite nightmares. Here are 10 metal tracks that didn’t just nod to horror films—they summoned them.
Slayer – “Dead Skin Mask”
Inspired by: Ed Gein / Psycho / The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
A slow, haunting riff and lyrics soaked in rot. Slayer’s ode to Ed Gein—the real-life inspiration for Leatherface and Norman Bates—is a masterclass in horror storytelling. And that whispered child voice at the end? Pure nightmare fuel.
Lyric to die for: “Dance with the dead in my dreams…”
Ice Nine Kills – “Stabbing in the Dark”
Inspired by: Halloween (1978)
No band embodies horrorcore quite like Ice Nine Kills. Every album is a blood-soaked tribute to slasher flicks, and this track channels Michael Myers with a perfect balance of melody, brutality, and creepy AF ambiance.
Best moment: The breakdown hits like Myers crashing through a closet door.
Motionless in White – “Undead Ahead 2: The Tale of the Midnight Ride”
Inspired by: Sleepy Hollow (Washington Irving / Tim Burton)
This one's based on the Headless Horseman, and it rides in with gothic flair and hammering riffs. Motionless in White are horror fashion icons with a flair for the dramatic—and this track feels like it could play over the end credits of a Burton flick with fangs.
Bonus points: For working “Ichabod Crane” into a chorus.
Rob Zombie – “Living Dead Girl”
Inspired by: Classic horror + 1960s exploitation films
Let’s be real—Rob Zombie is a horror movie in human form. This track oozes sleaze, B-movie worship, and late-night VHS energy. It’s campy, groovy, and somehow still heavy.
Soundcheck: This song should auto-play anytime a fog machine gets turned on.
Cradle of Filth – “Her Ghost in the Fog”
Inspired by: Gothic horror + Hammer films
More than just black metal theatrics, this track feels like a Victorian ghost story. Cradle’s Dani Filth delivers every lyric like he’s summoning phantoms—and the entire production screams haunted castles and fog-drenched graveyards.
For fans of: Dracula, Poe, and anything starring Christopher Lee.
Evile – “Infected Nation”
Inspired by: 28 Days Later + zombie outbreak films
British thrash revivalists Evile crafted this banger as a tribute to the virus-run-amok horror genre. The lyrics echo the societal collapse and rage-fueled chaos of films like 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead.
Riff damage: Think Slayer meets sprinting zombies.
Murderdolls – “Dead in Hollywood”
Inspired by: Every horror icon you can name
Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison (RIP) teamed up to make a horror-punk-glam-metal monster that name-drops Freddy, Norman Bates, and more. It’s tongue-in-cheek, it’s catchy, and it’s covered in grave dirt.
Lyric shoutout: “Norman Bates is coming after you / And he’s gonna burn your mama’s house too!”
Necrophagia – “The Beyond”
Inspired by: Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond (1981)
If death metal had an Italian horror subgenre, Necrophagia would be the high priest. This track is a sonic love letter to The Beyond, packed with grotesque samples, brutal riffs, and apocalyptic atmosphere.
Viewer discretion advised: Fulci fans only.
Metallica – “The Thing That Should Not Be”
Inspired by: H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth
While not directly based on a film, Lovecraft’s cosmic horror has been adapted into countless screen nightmares—and Metallica brought it to the masses with this eerie, sludgy monster from Master of Puppets.
Vibe check: Feels like sinking into black water under a blood moon.
Ghost – “From the Pinnacle to the Pit”
Inspired by: The Omen / religious horror
Ghost doesn’t reference one horror film—they evoke the entire Satanic cinema canon, from The Exorcist to Rosemary’s Baby. This track in particular drips with evil grandeur, like Damien Thorn grew up and started a doom-pop band.
Play this during: Any possession scene. Or brunch. Your call.
So what did we miss?
Which track still makes your skin crawl or gets you screaming the chorus in a graveyard at midnight?
If your playlist is filled with screams and solos, you’re in the right place.
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