From the strange, to the spooky, to the downright bizarre, music videos have been borrowing elements from the horror genre now for almost half a century. As they are usually short and condensed, in-line with their respective song, some videos often leave us wanting to know more. I know I'm not the only one who's uttered a "what just happened there?" or "shit, that's how it ends?" after spending several minutes invested in a music video. Some of these videos show the potential for feature-length films, so just for fun, here are 20 music videos that could definitely work as feature-length horror films. Enjoy.
20. Bedshaped- Keane
Directed by none other than Corin Hardy (The Hallow, and this years The Nun), this stop-motion video depicts a sad and lonely man who searches a desolate city for some sort of solace. In one instant, he hallucinates a number of restaurant-goers as demonic beings, forcing him to take refuge in a grimy bathroom. With its unsettling stop-motion visuals and director Corin Hardy at its helm, the video could easily work as a feature-length animation รก la Coraline, about a homeless man who searches for solitude in a city full of people who reject him. Oh, and some of those freaky demon faces too.
19. Please Don't Leave Me- Pink
In this video depicting the most extreme domestic abuse, Pink begins by begging her boyfriend not to leave, before he slips on a couple of marbles and sparks a highly disturbing Misery-type situation. Pink spends the majority of the video going to extreme lengths to ensure her boyfriend doesn't leave, and even paints his face in some bizarre makeup that makes him look like a living doll. It's actually really dark for a Pink video, but it could definitely make for an interesting sort of horror film akin to that of Misery.
18. Bad Romance- Lady Gaga
Gaga is known for her theatrics, and the video for "Bad Romance" pretty much sums them up perfectly. Full of stylish and surreal imagery, the video essentially follows Gaga being kidnapped and sold to mobsters who keep her held in a Nicolas Winding Refn's bathhouse. The end of the video implies that she gets her sweet revenge on the mobsters and escapes, which means that "Bad Romance" could work wonderfully as a violent revenge horror. Think I Spit on Your Grave but with the production design of a Dario Argento film, with Gaga retaining her position in the lead role. Now wouldn't that be something?
17. The Beautiful People- Marilyn Manson
This list wouldn't be complete without a Marilyn Manson video, and how much more Marilyn Manson could you get than "The Beautiful People"? The infamous video depicts Manson in a bizarre outfit consisting of stilts and prosthetics, giving him a grotesque appearance overall. It also has some seriously dystopian vibes about it, meaning that the feature-length version could be some sort of Mad Max-esque body horror. Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the film would follow Manson as the leader of a cult who use technology to modify their bodies, turning them into grotesque mutants of sorts. Just imagine Manson hunting down his victims in that costume, nightmare fuel if you ask me.
16. The Perfect Drug- Nine Inch Nails
The video for this song is inspired by the art of Edward Gorey and takes place in an Edwardian-style mansion where Trent Reznor seemingly drinks himself into insanity following the death of a child. Loss is a frequent theme in horror films as seen in the likes of Don't Look Now and more recently Hereditary, so take that type of atmosphere and put it in a gothic Hammer horror-type situation, and you've got yourself an instant classic.
15. Total Eclipse of the Heart- Bonnie Tyler
A gothic mansion, creepy hallways, and choir boys with glowing eyes, the video for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is way more disturbing than it has the right to be. In a feature length version, Tyler's character would be a timid boarding school teacher whose students have become demonically possessed, forcing her to run for her life through this labyrinthine gothic manor. Maybe the tagline could be something like "DON'T turn around.."
14. Tribute- Tenacious D
I mean technically this was sort of adapted to feature length with The Pick of Destiny, but I think Jack Black and Kyle Gasses song about the devil could easily work as a horror film as well. Tribute would be a southern-gothic horror film about two musicians on the run from the devil, culminating in an epic showdown in which they must play the best song in the world. Think The Hitcher meets Army of Darkness, or something like that.
13. Blue Orchid- The White Stripes
This video looks like if Tim Burton directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, set in a grimy house where a gothic looking Jack and Meg White perform to themselves while model Karen Elson has a run in with a white horse. In Blue Orchid: The Movie the Jack and Meg characters would be similar to the Sawyer family, making furniture from bones and that, while Elson's character would be the final girl who manages to escape their grasp due to Jack's affections for her. The Black Keys could also feature as White's first victims, I'm sure he would just love that.
12. Kids- MGMT
This somewhat controversial video from MGMT depicts a young toddler who is terrorised by grotesque monsters that his mother appears oblivious to. The child cries in terror throughout at the grizzly looking creatures around him, however, his mother could not seem to give a bollocks. The film based on this video could follow a group of young children who face off against monsters that adults cannot see, and if you think that sounds a lot like IT then you're dead right.
11. Lullaby- The Cure
You can always count on Robert Smith for a freaky video, and the one for "Lullaby" may just be his freakiest. This video features Smith in bed, having disturbing nightmares about his cobwebbed bandmates and the sinister 'Spiderman' who intends to eat him. It actually reminds me a lot of Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves, so in that respect the feature length version could follow a similar structure, only with the sequences based on Angela Carter's writings being replaced by segments based on Robert Smith's nightmares. Maybe Tom Holland could even play the Spiderman, simply because I couldn't resist making that on-the-nose joke.
10. Freak Like Me- The Sugababes
"The Sugababes? Surely not?" I hear you heckle. Well clearly you have not seen their video for "Freak Like Me". Covering the original song by Adina Howard and sampling Gary Numan's "Are Friends Electric?", the song is a bit of a banger by itself, but the video could definitely act as the foundations for a feature length horror film. Set in a darkened London nightclub, the video depicts the three bandmembers as vampires, who seduce and subsequently murder men around the club. Horror has always been a platform for strong female characters, and with the vampire subgenre in need of a bit of a re-vamp (sorry), then how could this possibly fail?
9. Hard Rock Hallelujah- Lordi
Finland's demonic Eurovision champions have actually released their own horror film entitled Dark Floors before, but the song that won them the Eurovison, "Hard Rock Hallelujah", has an accompanying video that could definitely improve upon it. Set in a high school, the video follows a shy young metalhead girl who is bullied and harassed, only for the demonic members of Lordi to invade her school and empower her to get revenge. A feature length film would play out like a hybrid of Carrie and Deathgasm, with Lordi themselves in the roles of the demons as in the video. Now that would be metal.
8. Scream- The Misfits
Directed by the late great George Romero, the video for this horror punk anthem depicts the members of the Misfits terrorising a hospital after being turned into bloodthirsty zombies. If Romero were still alive then he easily could have adapted this video into a feature length film, depicting a number of survivors held up in a hospital as they defended themselves from devil-locked zombie punks. A post-credits scene would then set up a sequel with Glenn Danzig as the venegful zombie king.
7. What's a Girl to do?- Bat For Lashes
This eerie video from Bat For Lashes depicts the singer cycling along a dark road, accompanied by a number of other cyclists in animal masks. This could work great as a modern day folk horror in the vein of The Wicker Man and The Blood on Satan's Claw, and would follow a teenage pagan cult who carry out their dark practices on their unsuspecting neighbours. The song in question would also make for a perfect opening theme as well.
6. Black Hole Sun- Soundgarden
While this years Truth or Dare seemed to take a bit of inspiration from this video, it's definitely not what you'd want from a "Black Hole Sun" movie. The video famously features a number of characters with bizarre grins who go about their seemingly perfect lives before their town is swallowed up by a black hole. A film version could play out like an Ira Levin novel, with this seemingly idyllic community hiding a dark secret beneath it all, ultimately culminating in an apocalyptic climax as penance for their sins.
5. Stan- Eminem
The song that spawned the most overused slang term on twitter has become infamous for its highly disturbing music video. The video depicts an obsessive Eminem fan named Stan (played by Devon Sawa) who writes letters to his idol and becomes frustrated when he receives no reply. His dark obsessions ultimately lead him to drive off a bridge with his pregnant girlfriend in the trunk of the car, only for Eminem to finally write back after it is too late. It's a disturbing story to say the least, and it could easily work as a feature-length horror film.
4. American Wicth- Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie has the privilege of being both a musician and a filmmaker, and his videos often take various elements form the horror genre that he mashes together in his own unique style. This animated video for his song "American Witch" features the eponymous sorceress as she travels by motorcycle across a hellish landscape, encountering a variety of grotesque monsters along the way. Zombie could easily adapt this to the bigscreen, using his distinct grindhouse style and penchant for gore to create a truly thrilling action-horror film.
3. Vlad the Impaler- Kasabian
Noel Fielding stalking the countryside while carrying oversized wooden pikes? Yes please. This video directed by Richard Ayoade pays homage to classic Italian horror films by the likes of Dario Argento and Mario Bava, while also heavily referencing the historical figure from which the song gets its namesake. A feature-length version could easily work, with Fielding's character revealed to be a man obsessed with the original impaler who is looking to carry on his work. Any chance you could get Goblin to do the soundtrack?
2. Thriller- Michael Jackson
The longest video on our list, but not exactly feature-length, "Thriller" needs no introduction. Zombies, werewolves, and Vincent Price's iconic voiceover, this John Landis-directed video has become iconic in the years since its release, and a feature-length version could easily work. Think Return of the Living Dead, but set to the music of Jackson's Thriller album and culminating in a showdown between the dancing zombies and the varsity-jacket-wearing werewolf. I'm sure Landis would be 100% on board anyway.
1. Come to Daddy- Aphex Twin
Predictable, I know, but it's certainly deservant of the top spot. Directed by Chris Cunningham and shot in the same block of flats from A Clockwork Orange, the video depicts a demon who is released from a television set and is accompanied by a group of kids who all look like Aphex Twin himself. The kids proceed to cause havoc throughout the council estate before the demon himself confronts a terrified old woman. The concept is enough to set up its own horror film, and Chris Cunningham definitely could direct it himself, it would be criminal to let anybody else do so. Well, except maybe David Lynch.
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