#BLOODRUNNER: A Horror-themed Playlist to Get Your Blood Pumping

By Rathika Sheila  •  in Features
Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

BR_PHOTOS150604_08

Look at ’em furries up there! We wouldn’t be caught dead (or alive) watching a horror movie because our hearts are way too fragile for what lies on the other side (furrydom, apparently), but we can appreciate music inspired by cult horror movies. In conjunction with Bloodrunner – Asia’s first werewolf-themed urban obstacle night race – we’ve curated a playlist featuring our favourite songs from the Abyss of Terror otherwise known as Youtube.

Alice Cooper – He’s Back (The Man Behind The Mask) (Constrictor, 1986)

This theme song for Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives can be found in every slasher-movie-fan’s iPod. The music video is hella cheesy (and you shouldn’t expect it to be anything but that since it was filmed in the ’80s) but the catchiness of the song is as undeniable as the existence of Sasquatch’s cooler older brother, Chewbacca.

Blue Öyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (Agents of Fortune, 1976)

Blue Öyster Cult was, well, a cult band that garnered more attention than they anticipated after the release of this song. Many interpreted its meaning to be about suicide judging on the Romeo and Juliet reference made in the track when really it was a metaphor for mortal love. The song also served as inspiration for horror author Stephen King’s The Stand in which the lyrics were quoted at the beginning of the novel.

Deep Purple –  Why Didn’t Rosemary (Deep Purple, 1969)

Anything that’s inspired by Roman Polanski’s work is expectedly all kinds of sick and twisted. Deep Purple wrote the melodious track after watching Rosemary’s Baby, hence the rhetorical but humorous question in its opening lyric; “Why didn’t Rosemary ever take the pill?” Because abortion is against her upbringing, obviously.

Florence + The Machine –  Howl (Lungs, 2009)

Mercury Prize and BBC Sound of 2009 nominee, Florence Welch is a fan of horror stories and as a child she was afraid of what we’re still terrified of. During the production of Lungs, Welch was frequently under the influence of the most sociable liquid in the world, which made her feel like a beast; ideas of werewolves and Gothic horror sounded appealing to the band and the rest is history, really.

Michael Sembello –  Maniac (Bossa Nova Hotel, 1983)

Would you believe us if we told you the song which was made by popular by Flashdance was written after Sembello watched Maniac? Yes, we raised our eyebrow the same way you are right now. Who would’ve thought that a dance anthem was inspired by a psychopath that kills women and takes their scalp as trophies all because he had a shitty childhood? Not us. That’s for sure.

Nine Inch Nails –  March of the Pigs (The Downward Spiral, 1994)

Beneath the noise and heavy distortion lies Trent Reznor’s disturbing lyrics of paranoia and isolation. Creepy fact: The track was recorded in the house where the Charles Manson family murdered Roman Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate. Who sets up a recording studio in the house of someone who was brutally murdered? Americans, apparently.

Stevie Wonder –  Superstition (Talking Book, 1972)

Superstitious beliefs and Asians are synonymous. No matter how westernised our upbringings may be, we’ll never sleep peacefully if a mirror was placed opposite our bed. But Stevie Wonder don’t play no damn spirit coin game, homie! Stevie advises listeners on his truism in every chorus, “When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you’d suffer”. So how does that old saying go, again? “See no evil, hear no evil?” Easy for you to say, Stevie. Ha-ha, tasteful joke.

Radiohead –  Everything Is In Its Right Place (Kid A, 2000)

While it wasn’t inspired by a particular horror movie, the song does leave us feeling a little disturbed but mostly isolated. There’s something haunting about it; the piano or the vocals? We’re unsure as of now.

Michael Jackson – Thriller (Thriller, 1982)

The list wouldn’t have been complete without ‘Thriller’ and you know it. The greatest Halloween-themed hit of all-time accumulated USD 3.4 million in sales; the choreography is still being practised, the red zipper jacket still serves as inspiration for many fashion designers and rightfully so, it’s a badass Michael Jackson song.

So is your blood pumping after that gory playlist? Go burn it off! Bloodrunner will take place on Friday 31 July ’15 at Putrajaya. For more information, click here.