It should serve as no surprise that heavy metal and horror go hand in hand. If there’s horror there’s bound to be a heavy metal fan. If there’s heavy metal, you’re sure to come across at least a dozen hardcore horror geeks. But why do the music and the genre work so well together? Mike Schiff’s documentary “The History of Metal and Horror” is a great look at the history of the genre and the roots of heavy metal that are deeply embedded in the roots of horror. Schiff leaves no stone unturned going back to medieval times and dropping us right down in to modern times.
Director Mike Schiff compiles an exhaustive and complex look at the music and the art of horror with “The History of Metal and Horror.” Here he digs down deep in to the core of both fan bases and how they tend to form a symbiosis with one another. There’s just a nigh endless list of examples of horror complimenting metal and vice versa, and Schiff demonstrates very well how both mediums thrive off of one another and how they speak to their individual audiences.
Schiff speaks to a colorful array of experts, musicians, and authors, sitting down with folks like Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, John Carpenter, Kirk Hammett, Linnea Quigley, Scottie Ian, Charlie Benante, the late, great Sid Haig, Corey Taylor, Marky Ramone, Tom Savini, Doug Bradley, Bela Lugosi Jr., and just so many others. “The History of Metal and Horror” is most definitely a treat for anyone that considers themselves fluent in horror, metal, music, and general pop culture history. Surely, Schiff’s history lesson is a wonderful documentary–even if Mike Schiff never actually answers the question that he poses in the beginning of the movie.
Why do horror fans love metal and why do metal fans love horror? Why do they go hand in hand? Surely a lot of the interviews endeavor to simplify the appeal and give their own insight, but there’s never a moment where it’s made more concrete and abundantly clear to us. That doesn’t hinder the overall movie as Schiff aspires more toward a celebration than an academic dissertation. I just wish he’d given a more definitive attempt to lay it out for us. That said, Mike Schiff delivers on a great documentary suited for horror and heavy metal fanatics alike.