Published on Feb 28, 1999
Admission number one: I hate horror films. Absolutely hate ’em.
I’ve seen
Friday The 13th and
Halloween, and that stuff is just not my idea of a good
time. If you like it, hey, more power to you.
Admission number two: I’m still a bit of a metalhead at heart.
Even though I’m within sniffing distance of 30, and even though
when I went to see Motley Crue last year I felt like the sore thumb
standing out in the crowd, there’s still something about heavy
metal that sends shivers up my spine.
When my own personal worlds of love and hate merge, things can
get interesting… such is the case with the soundtrack album to
Bride Of Chucky. (Let’s be honest, I’ll spell out the only
reason I’d see this movie in three words: Jennifer Tilly’s breasts.
‘Nuff said.)
The soundtrack – which features two songs not in the movie – is
an interesting mixture of the more established artists and the
up-and-coming groups who could be the next superstars when metal
once again rises in popularity. (Don’t laugh; I’m not the only
critic predicting this.) For the most part, the selections on this
disc are well chosen, but there are some surprises.
Surprise number one: the inclusion of The Screamin’ Cheetah
Wheelies, who open the album with “Boogie King”. Oh, don’t get me
wrong, it’s a great track that sets the tone for the rest of the
album. But I’d be hard-pressed to lump this band in with other acts
like Judas Priest and Motorhead (who also appear on Bride Of
Chucky).
Surprise number two: Type O Negative’s selection is a lot
gentler than I ever would have expected. It’s still heavy in its
own right, but “Love You To Death” has a sound that I never would
have expected from this band. (Admittedly, I had not heard them
prior to this album, so this was an eye-opening experience in many
ways.) If their other work is this good, then I’ll be down at the
local record store trolling for their CDs.
Surprise number three: A pseudo heavy-metal cover of “Crazy” by
kidneythieves. This is the only track on the album that just
doesn’t work for me, even though taking on an old Patsy Cline song
is a daunting enough challenge. Nice idea, but this version is a
little listless.
Throughout
Bride Of Chucky, the listener is hit on one side with a more
groove-oriented form of metal (Monster Magnet, White Zombie – is
there any album out there that “Thunder Kiss ’65” hasn’t been
included on?), the other with a more grinding attack (Slayer, Coal
Chamber, Static-X). All the while, the listener is taken for an
exciting ride that only slows down on the last two tracks (the
aforementioned kidneythieves and Graeme Revell).
Bride Of Chucky is a good example of how a soundtrack can
move a listener in good ways – but it’s still not enough to make me
sit through a horror film. Some of us need our beauty sleep.