9 Horror Movies Ice Nine Kills Should Write About

Ice Nine Kills has been one of the most musically unique contributors of the metalcore genre for over two decades now, and their recent adoption of thematic songwriting has done nothing less than shoot them to the stratosphere and solidify their status as one of the most in-demand metalcore acts out there today — over the past nine years and three albums, New England’s finest have implemented a strategy of crafting songs based on other creative forms of media, starting with 2015’s Every Trick in the Book, focusing on classic literature such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Beatrice Sparks’ Go Ask Alice. After the album’s success, the band took things up a notch and went full-force into writing about horror films, starting with their 2018 smash hit record The Silver Scream, celebrating the legacies of some of cinema’s most iconic slashers and monsters. In true horror fashion, a sequel arrived in 2021, entitled The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood, and unlike the typical expectation with sequels, the album was somehow musically bigger and better than its flawless predecessor. In this time, Ice Nine Kills has been enjoying their well-deserved success by selling out tours, playing gigantic venues with legends like Metallica, becoming the stars of their own annual horror convention, and just recently unleashed the official song of the indie slasher sequel Terrifier 3, which is currently dominating the box office.

Horror movies and metal music have always gone hand in hand (hence the existence of this blog), so the concept of rock and metal bands writing about horror films is nothing new. However, Ice Nine Kills sets themselves apart from the rest due to their incredible attention to detail with their songwriting. They do more than just drop a couple familiar names and buzzwords or summarizing the events of the films they write about — lyrically, frontman Spencer Charnas has a tendency to put himself in the perspective of the antagonists of the films being written about, like taking on the role of Pennywise during "IT is the End" and Freddy Krueger in "The American Nightmare." Other times, the lyrics make the listener feel like they're in the movie themselves, with some examples being "Rocking the Boat," based on Jaws (1975), and "Freak Flag," based on The Devil's Rejects (2005). Regardless of how harsh the vocals are, Charnas gives these Broadway-esque performances that really enhance the tones of the songs and gives them a larger-than-life feeling. Additionally, working with songwriters like Steve Sopchak allows the band to explore further lyrical themes that are specific to the movies that the songs are inspired by, and there's plenty of room for references, whether it's a name drop, quoting a famous line of dialogue or the film's tagline (or both), or simply writing about a specific theme or tone that the film may or may not be known for.

This type of referentiality also shines through on the musical end, with the band constantly finding places to insert certain sonic cues from the films, whether it's a non-musical diegetic sound, like the camera shutter from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) being heard at the beginning of "SAVAGES," or incorporating selections of the film's score into the song, like the main melody of "Sidney's Lament" from Scream (1996) being implemented in the outro to "Your Number's Up." Much like the band's lyrical work with Sopchak, their musical collaboration with Fleshgod Apocalypse's Francesco Ferrini on the orchestral elements has also played a crucial role in the adding another layer of referential possibilities, as well as enhancing the overall sonic atmosphere of the songs.

As a lifelong horror fan, it's also awesome to see a band write about horror films because it's something that they're passionate about, not just because it's cool or trendy. The lengths that they go to in order to create these songs with so many referential layers to them is something that can only come from people that have a love, appreciation, and understanding of the genre, and to have a band take it so seriously and execute their compositions (no pun intended) at such a high level is incredible. Spencer Charnas has always been an outspoken horror fan, and the genre has played a large part in the band's aesthetic and musical identity from the beginning (just take one look at the cover art for their 2007 debut EP The Burning), so to see them going all-out and embracing that side of them to the fullest extent feels like they're finally getting to live the dream and do what they've always wanted to with the band. Due to the fact that they've knocked it out of the park every single time so far, it feels as if there's no better band out there to lean into the horror genre than them — there are plenty of groups out there that write about horror films of course, but NOBODY does it like Ice Nine Kills.

While there hasn't been any official status update on the next Ice Nine Kills album, it's safe to assume there will be some sort of Silver Scream III to anticipate within the next year — while some people may want them to move on from writing about horror, it would be foolish to abandon what helped get them to where they are today, especially while they're the best at doing what they do. Additionally, it's even more appropriate to continue making horror-centric albums when the number of sequels that some of the most famous slasher franchises have is taken into consideration. Plus, the possibilities are endless — there could be entire albums or EPs dedicated to a certain filmmaker or a specific time in the history of the genre (at the top of my personal wish list is a whole album dedicated to the Universal Monsters), or they could even go the wacky route and metaphorically go to space by writing about sci-fi horror films. If their last album cycle was any indication, there's no doubt that their next move will end up being an exciting one, whatever it is.

My love for both horror films and Ice Nine Kills has been very well-documented by this point, so with one week until Halloween and exactly two and a half years since the last time I've seen the band live (April 24, 2022 in Myrtle Beach, SC, first leg of the "Trinity of Terror" Tour), there's no better day than today to do some wishful thinking in regards to new music from them. I'm sure the next album is most likely written, if not finished, by this point, but my point still stands, so if none of these films appear on the next album, here's to hoping for the eventual fourth Silver Scream record.

Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

In the spirit of "spooky season," it would be wrong of me to NOT include this Halloween anthology. Writing a song inspired by Michael Dougherty's 2007 cult classic would kill two birds with one stone for the band, allowing them to write a song that's perfect for the fall season (sure, "Stabbing in the Dark" was inspired by Halloween (1978), but still), and it would also see them tackling an anthology film, in which multiple stories are unfolding at once. Given the fan-favorite status that this film has amassed over the years without ever having a theatrical release when it first came out, it would be a great film choice from a popularity standpoint as well as a writing challenge in covering multiple storylines in one song.

Poltergeist (1982)

To this point, Ice Nine Kills hasn't written any songs based on ghost movies (unless you count Pet Sematary (1989) as a ghost movie, then in that case, check out "Funeral Derangements"), and something about Poltergeist feels like the perfect candidate for that role. Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg made magic with this movie, and it's fair to say that Ice Nine Kills could replicate that energy with their musical take on it. Between opportunities of implementing the sound of television static and reciting a few memorable lines that many would recognize, there's a lot of potential with the band putting their twist on a film like this.

Beetlejuice (1988)

Before I hear anything about this not being a horror movie, all I'll say is this — gateway horror and horror comedies are still horror films, and there's going to be more of that on this list as well. Much like Scream, Edward Scissorhands (1990), and even An American Werewolf in London (1981), which were all covered during the first Silver Scream album cycle, Beetlejuice falls into that in-between state as well, being an equal mix of different genres. That being said, I feel like this is something that's right in the band's wheelhouse — it's amusing to think of Charnas imitating the titular character, and there's plenty of musical opportunity for the band to create some variations of Danny Elfman's iconic themes with this movie as well. Along with the recent theatrical success of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, it would be a great time to strike with this song.

The Omen (1976)

This is an interesting idea because I can envision this song going one of two ways — it could either be one of their more heavy tracks (since, you know, the main character is the literal son of the Devil), or it could end up being a little more light and upbeat like "Assault & Batteries" (based on Child's Play (1988)). Either way, it's an iconic film that's a little on the darker side, and I'm sure Jerry Goldsmith's score could provide plenty of inspiration as well.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

As one of the most influential independent films of all time and the beginning of George Romero's stranglehold on the zombie subgenre, Night of the Living Dead is a film that's perfect for Ice Nine Kills to tackle. I can't think of a better zombie film to be the first for the band to cover, and it could make for some fitting musical and/or lyrical callbacks to "The Coffin is Moving," from their 2014 masterpiece The Predator Becomes the Prey. Thematically, there could also be a focus on survival, much like in "The Plot Sickens" (based on the book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors) and "A Rash Decision" (based on Eli Roth's Cabin Fever (2001)). In other words, this song could present a fun opportunity to pay tribute to their past while still putting a fresh spin on it.

The Invisible Man (1933)

As I stated earlier, an Ice Nine Kills album, or at the very least an EP, focused solely on the Universal Monsters is probably what I'd most want to see the band do one day, but since I have to choose just one for the sake of this list, I'm going with The Invisible Man (1933). Not only does the titular character, portrayed flawlessly by the legendary Claude Rains, act as a bit of a slasher throughout the events of the film, but he also shares the same kind of tongue-in-cheek sense of humor that the band does in their writing. This is another song that could end up being more on the fast-paced cheery side as a result of the humor involved with the character, but I also wouldn't rule out the band going a little darker with it and focusing on his sadistic murderous tendencies instead.

Gremlins (1984)

Here's another fun gateway horror pick — Gremlins is one of those timeless classics, so it's honestly just a matter of time before it ends up on an Ice Nine Kills record. It already fits with the bipolar nature of metalcore songs in general — screaming verses and clean choruses, lovable mogwais and evil gremlins, see where I'm going here? Anyway, whether it ends up on an hypothetical INK Goes Christmas album/EP or another installment of the Silver Scream saga, Gremlins is a solid choice for any occasion.

Hatchet (2007)

While this isn't a ranked list, these next two choices are definitely at the top of my personal wish list — not only are they two of my favorite movies, but I also feel like the band could do some awesome work writing about both of them. Starting with Hatchet (2007), the horror feature debut of one of the greatest horror filmmakers of our generation, Adam Green, it's easy to imagine just how heavy this song could potentially be. The hatchet-wielding slasher, Victor Crowley, is one of the most brutal killers in all of cinema, second only to Terrifier's Art the Clown, so just judging on the sheer chaos that was the latest Ice Nine Kills single, "A Work of Art," I feel like the band would also have a lot up their sleeves for Victor Crowley's moment in the studio. Coupled with the film taking place in the bowels of the bayou in New Orleans, there are some interesting chances to experiment with new musical avenues as well.

Silver Bullet (1985)

There are plenty of werewolf films to choose from, but Silver Bullet (1985) has always had a special place in my heart. Based on the Stephen King novelette Cycle of the Werewolf, the film has several memorable set pieces, along with a phenomenal score composed by the prolific Jay Chattaway. With Ice Nine Kills' ability to seamlessly intertwine classical cues from film scores with the heavy guitars and loud drums that metalcore is known for, it would be amazing to hear how they'd be able to incorporate Silver Bullet's musical themes in this song. Due to the nature of the score, I can see this song being a little on the calmer hard rock end of the spectrum, in the vein of "The World in My Hands" or even "Love Bites," and I'm more than content with that. There's a plethora of different character perspectives and lyrical themes to choose from too, so if there's ever a Stephen King-centric release or an extra slot on a future Silver Scream album in the future, my fingers are crossed that Silver Bullet will have some form of representation on the tracklist.

For the sake of wordplay, I wanted to keep this list at nine films, but it's hard not to shout out the 1999 horror comedy Idle Hands — celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, it's a film I've revisited quite a few times over the last few months. Also, knowing how much Charnas loves it, I'm expecting that we'll see it on an album sooner rather than later.

As a hardcore Ice Nine Kills fan for the past decade, I'll happily support and listen to anything and everything the band decides to do in the future, but if there was anything I could recommend or at least hope to hear from them in the future, it's all in this list. Part of the fun of a new Ice Nine Kills album is trying to figure out what movies will make an appearance, and the leadup to their upcoming next record will be no exception. As previously stated, this band is deservedly on top of the horror and metal worlds right now, and the future has never looked brighter.

If there are any horror films I missed that you want to see Ice Nine Kills tackle on a future release, let me know what they are in the comments. To keep up with all things Ice Nine Kills, click here.

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