There’s nothing better in a good horror movie than a terrifying score to go with it. Can you imagine Psycho without the kick of the soundtrack during the shower scene, or any of the shark attacks in Jaws without John Williams‘ musical mastery? John Carpenter is a bit of a horror maestro himself and even composed the iconic score for his 1978 film, Halloween. As scary as the score for that movie is, it’s a rock song of all things that’s just as effective. In horror, rock music is often used for lighter moments, but here, the use of Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” became something to be afraid of. It worked so well that other films and TV shows have used it too, and fittingly, Halloween Ends poetically came back to it for the final scene.
“Don’t Fear the Reaper” Is Blue Öyster Cult’s Most Famous Song
For those who aren’t horror fans, Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” is just that song from SNL‘s “More Cowbell Skit”, but despite how the band’s biggest song found popularity all over again in 2000, “Don’t Fear the Reaper” had been one of rock’s greatest songs for a quarter of a century before it. Released in 1976, it does have some stellar cowbell, but it’s also known for its catchy beat and unforgettable lyrics. Donald Roeser, who goes by Buck Kharma, and who has been with the band since the beginning, wrote “Don’t Fear the Reaper”. In a piece about the song for GQ, Roeser said he was inspired to write the song because he was diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia when he was young, leading to him becoming obsessive about death. He added, “So I thought of writing a song about, well, what if one of a couple dies? Is it possible to cross that divide of the mortal coil and reunite somehow?”
The lyrics are both haunting and beautiful, with Roeser singing lines such as “Seasons don’t fear the reaper” and “Come on, baby / Baby, take my hand / We’ll be able to fly” with “Don’t fear the reaper” sung in front of each of those lines. It’s a song about death, but not one that speaks of giving into it. Instead, because we’re all going to die someday, we shouldn’t fear it but embrace life and love.
“Don’t Fear the Reaper” Has Been Used in Many Horror Films and Series
There might be a positive message in “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, but with its ghostly melody and constant mention of the reaper, it has become widely used in horror. Stephen King quoted it in his book The Stand, and it was later used in the ABC miniseries. Since The Stand is about a deadly virus and survivors trying to find a way to keep moving on, using the song made sense. In 1996, “Don’t Fear the Reaper” was used twice in film. It was covered by The Mutton Birds at the end of The Frighteners with Michael J. Fox, a film about loss and grief through a man who can talk to ghosts. It also appears in a rendition by Gus Black the first time we see Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) together in Scream. It’s foreshadowing what’s to come, because Sidney is standing across from the reaper, and she should in fact fear him very much.
You can hear “Don’t Fear the Reaper” in other movies like Zombieland and X, but it’s not limited to film. The Blue Öyster Cult hit also appears in the Supernatural episode “Faith”, and for fans of the Child’s Play franchise, it is sung in the third season of Chucky by Lexy Cross (Alyvia Alyn Lind) in a duet with a boy she likes, Grant Collins (Jackson Kelly). As they smile and look at each other, it’s a love song, but this being a show about a killer doll, it’s a wink to what has happened and what is yet to come for them both.
“Don’t Fear the Reaper” Bookends the ‘Halloween’ Franchise
“Don’t Fear the Reaper” also appears in so many horror films and series as a bit of a tribute to who did it first. In Halloween, the song shows up when Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Annie (Nancy Kyes) are riding around in Nancy’s car, getting high and talking about boys. It’s the last carefree moment of their lives, because right behind them the entire time is another car being driven by The Shape. The song might be about not fearing death because it’s coming for us all, but with Michael Myers trailing in the background, it’s once more used as a source of foreboding. Death is coming for Annie, whose life will end at the hands of the Boogeyman in this very car before the night is over.
The juxtaposition of what was then a modern rock song being listened to by happy teens while the grim reaper stalks them is chilling. It’s used so effectively that “Don’t Fear the Reaper” became synonymous with Halloween. Not only did Rob Zombie use it in his 2007 reboot, but it’s in the very last scene of Halloween Ends. With Michael Myers finally killed, we see his mask lying on a table in Laurie’s home. For horror’s favorite final girl, there’s no reason to continue fearing the reaper because she defeated him. Now she’ll be able to fly.
Halloween is available to watch on Philo.
Halloween
- Release Date
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October 27, 1978
- Runtime
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91 Minutes
- Sequel(s)
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Halloween II, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Halloween: Resurrection, Halloween, Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, Halloween, Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends
