Sometimes, listening to music feels like its own kind of horror movie. Specifically, Phoebe Bridgers often torments and rips me apart with her painful and raw lyrics and vocals. So, since it is spooky season, I thought that I’d tell you about some horror movie recommendations that pair awfully well with the agonizing dread of my favorite Phoebe Bridgers anthems. Enjoy it, because I won’t.Â
Obsession – “Motion Sickness”
“While you’re bleeding on your back in the glass, I’ll be glad that I made it out and sorry that it all went down like it did.”
This is one of my favorite recommendations. In Obsession, Nikki Freeman is possessed by a demonic entity after Bear Bailey, too afraid to ask her out, wishes that Nikki “would love him more than anyone in the entire world.” Nikki, stuck inside of her body with no control, is unable to prevent the damage that the entity does. Bear takes advantage of her, which is why the lines “I faked it every time, but that’s alright. I can hardly feel anything. I hardly feel anything at all,” painfully connect to the core of the movie. When Nikki finally breaks free of the curse, she realizes the true extent of the damage the entity did. You’ll have to watch the movie to find out the rest…Â
Pearl – “Waiting Room”
“If you were a teacher, I would fail your class. Take it over and over until you notice me. If you were a waiting room I would never see a doctor. I would sit there with my first aid kit and bleed.”Â
Pearl is young woman who has grown up stuck on a farm her entire life, waiting for something that will never come. She desires much more than what she can afford or obtain and wants to be recognized for her talent. You may have heard the agonizing line, “PLEASE, I’M A STARRRR!” Yup, that’s her. To me, when Bridgers repeats the line, “know it’s for the better,” for over half of the song until the end, it reminds me of the building frustration Pearl has with taking care of her family and putting a smile on her face despite her internal agitation and um… murderous tendencies. Those come later.Â
Smile – “Funeral”Â
“And I have this dream where I’m screaming underwater, while my friends are waving from the shore. And I don’t need you to tell me what that means. I don’t believe in that stuff anymore.”
Smile is an extremely upsetting film, but I highly recommend it, nonetheless. The entity in Smile is obviously frightening in and of itself, but the scariest part is that it targets people who struggle with their mental health, specifically with trauma and guilt. Dr. Rose Cotter is the main character of the film. She witnessed her mother die as a child and harbors intense guilt because she could not prevent it. The lines, “I woke up in my childhood bed, wishing I was someone else, feeling sorry for myself, when I remembered someone’s kid is dead,” are representative of Rose feeling stuck in her past, filled so deep with regret, but knowing she is still alive and has to get by without her mother. Rose tries to convince other people that the entity is real, but they cannot see it, so it feels as though she is “screaming underwater.”Â
The Substance – “Demi Moore”Â
“I don’t want to be alone, don’t want to be alone anymore. I’ve got a good feeling. I’ve got a good feeling. It doesn’t happen very often.”
The Substance, somewhat similar to Pearl, is about desiring something you can’t have. The difference is, Elizabeth Sparkle, the main character, once had the stardom Pearl desired. Now, she is older and wants to get back what was once hers because she, and the toxic entertainment industry she caters to, doesn’t see how beautiful she is compared to when she was a young woman. An injection called “The Substance” gives Elizabeth the ability to be young again, but it comes at a cost. This song encapsulates the desire to feel wanted. The lines “tell me what you wanna do to me. Tell me what you’ll do, please,” and repetitive, “don’t want to be alone anymore,” express Elizabeth’s desire to be adored once again. Coincidentally, this song is also called “Demi Moore,” which is the name of the talented leading actress who plays Elizabeth Sparkle!Â
As Above, So Below – “As Above” (duh!)
“You won’t have to believe in magic. Leave it to me and I’ll make it happen. You can’t imagine. I can’t imagine. As above, so below.”
I saved the best for last with this one. This song is from Bridgers’ new album, Lost Weekend. As Above, So Below is my favorite horror movie of all time. Like Rose, the main character Scarlett Marlowe harbors guilt for the death of her father when she was young. “As above, so below” means as within, so without. That can be interpreted in several ways, but in this movie, it means the characters’ traumatic memories manifest as what is below. When they venture into the catacombs in search of the Philosophers Stone that Scarlett’s father was obsessed with finding, they encounter the below, and it isn’t pretty. Although Scarlett wants to “believe in the magic,” there are darker forces in the catacombs than she could ever “imagine.”
These terrific films delve into mental health and the toll that it can take on a person, as does Bridgers’ music. So, watch and listen if you dare! Truly, though, I can’t recommend these songs and movies enough. Remember to grab your tissues and stream Bridgers’ new album, Lost Weekend!Â