Warning: some of the videos in this post may contain disturbing content and flashing lights.
Did you ever learn the Thriller dance?
I was supposed to learn it – or, rather, a heavily edited version of it that was mostly just doing zombie arms and twisting back and forth – in my elementary school gym class at the age of maybe eight or nine. This should have been right up my alley; even as a kid, I loved all things spooky or Halloween related. However, there was one issue: the sound effects at the beginning of the song terrified me, and I had to go sit in a different room to avoid having a major freakout every time the song played. My teacher was sympathetic, allowing me to take refuge in the school library, and noting to me in a reassuring tone of voice that "a lot of kids get freaked out if they see the music video" and that "it's really scary".
Now, I hadn't seen the music video – and I wouldn't happen to see it until several years later. I just got scared easily. By the time I did watch it, I had grown past that, and I was amused to see that the video wasn't, in fact, intended to be scary. Instead, it was a histrionic homage to the horror genre.
In the first installation of Macabre Music, I talked about horror punk, a genre of music that uses references to and elements of horror in the creation of punk songs. Today, I want to talk about music videos that use horror elements – and even act as a style of very concise horror films. The video for Thriller has some shades of this, in a campy, all-in-good-fun sort of way, and it's one of the most famous examples – but it's far from the only example. I want to take a deeper look at three other music videos to see how they use horror elements.
Evanescence's music video for Going Under features the band playing a concert, where the crowd – as well as several reporters, singer Amy Lee's hair and makeup people, and eventually her bandmate Ben Moody – transform into zombie-like creatures. Interspersed with the concert scenes are shots of Lee singing underwater, surrounded by jellyfish. The video feels claustrophobic; reporters overwhelm Moody, Lee stage dives and is completely swallowed by the crowd, and it's dark except for the disorienting flashing lights. The music helps set the tone, too, using low, sometimes whispered, overlapping vocals throughout the verses that add to the feeling of disconcertion.
The video for Going Under isn't scary, per se, but it's certainly darker in tone than the video for Thriller. Like many horror films, it draws on a real life horror, using zombies – and drowning – as an allegory for the pressures and dehumanizing effects of fame and idolization, a theme also touched upon in Evanescence's video (and lyrics) for Everybody's Fool (albeit, in a more satirical tone).
Tool's music video for Sober features humanoid puppets in a dream-like (or, rather, nightmarish) stop motion. The video doesn't have a super strict plotline – the humanoid puppet finds a box, opens it, and is somehow affected, beginning to levitate and convulse. In fact, according to guitarist Adam Jones, there "isn't a storyline, just images". This only adds to the trippy, disturbing feeling. The video matches the vibe of the music, which is dark, angry, and a little disorienting. The sense as a viewer (and listener) that you don't know what exactly it is you're watching can put you on edge and make you feel uneasy. Like with the video for Going Under, it's not "scary", per se – but in the case of Sober it sure is unsettling and creepy.
Billie Eilish's music video for Bury A Friend employs a lot of classic horror imagery: blacked out eyes, large hypodermic needles, creepy levitation, bright flashing lights, rickety hallways. Like the video for Sober, there seems to be less of a plot line and more just a collection of creepy images. The medical scenes are somewhat reminiscent of several other music videos – for example, Skylar Grey's Dance Without You, Drowning Pool's Bodies, or Panic! at the Disco's This Is Gospel. However, if the video isn't the pinnacle of originality, Eilish's vocal talent more than makes up for it – and the combination of the two elicits a haunting result.
Eilish described her idea for the video as being "an abduction-type thing" where she's "just a helpless body". The song, for that matter, is written from the perspective of "the monster under (the) bed". It features distorted beats and vocals, minimal instrumentation, and some very horror-appropriate lyrics. It's one of several horror-inspired songs in Eilish's discography, as she often uses her music to discuss the horrors of today, and her videos – such as this one – to drive the point home.
So – how is horror used in music videos? Well, it can be used for commentary, to underline the message or tone of the song, or purely for aesthetic purposes or as a piece of art. Of course, there are many more music videos that use horror imagery in different ways, both in the campy style of Thriller and in the more deliberately horrific style of Sober. Just like with full length horror films, horror music videos tend to elicit a strong response from the viewer – whether it's understanding of a real world issue, or just a sense of unease.
What are your favourite horror music videos? What do you think about the videos in this post? Let me know in the comments.