Travis Cook
It’s just one of those days. Cut my life into pieces. In the end, it doesn’t really matter… or does it? In this ongoing series, we take a look at the decadent, the depraved, and the downright visionary horror films of the late 90’s thru early 00’s that fall under the umbrella of what we’ve termed ‘nu-metal horror cinema’. Wake up, grab a little make-up, get down with the sickness, and let the bodies hit the floor. *deep breath* Are you READY?!?!?
The term “nu-metal” is, for all intents and purposes, a textbook definition of the term ‘loaded phrase’. Anyone hearing the words ‘nu-metal’ will have a range of reactions, ranging from highly favorable to incredibly visceral. Images of wallet chains, JNCOs, spiked hair, and Fred Durst cloud the mind. To be clear, any cultural movement has its own baggage. In the case of nu-metal, much of that is earned—the sense of entitlement hyper-machismo associated with young white men is particularly distasteful in this modern age.
Having said that, there is often intrinsic value in the artistic works generated by said movement. These works reveal a good deal about the political economy of the period that birthed them. They also serve as signposts to future art and culture trends while paying respects to their own particular influences. Does this mean that everything a culture produces is, quote unquote, ‘good’? Certainly not. But it does mean that these items are worthy of reflection and analysis.
Enter the Nu-Metal Horror Cinema.
What is Nu-Metal Horror Cinema?
Strictly speaking, our goal with this ongoing series is to do two things: define Nu-Metal Horror Cinema, and examine relevant works and reflect on their meanings.
Let us begin by unpacking that first question. For purposes of this column, we’ll identify nu-metal horror cinema as being horror/horror-adjacent films released between 1994 and 2007.
Why just horror? Are there other nu-metal movies? Absolutely. As with any genre, there are countless sub-genres and sub-cultures to be explored. However, for this purpose, we will narrow it down to the specific horror category. To these eyes, it most strongly reflects the overall themes and aesthetics of nu-metal as a cultural object. Apologies to fans of The Matrix, Daredevil, and Transformers, but you won’t be reading about them in this series.
Why those dates? They roughly coincide with the rise and fall of nu-metal as a musical epoch. More importantly, they line up with the origin and ultimate decline of nu-metal horror cinema, beginning with the release of The Crow through Rob Zombie’s Halloween.
Where did Nu-Metal Horror Cinema come from?
There are a couple of specific influences that led to nu-metal horror. The most forward-facing influences of nu-metal music are somewhat tied to nu-metal cinema, though it’s best to think of these as concurrent developments rather than a 1:1 gestation. The fusion of hip-hop and alternative metal that birthed nu-metal can be seen in the aural landscape of the horror movies this series will discuss (especially the subject of this specific analysis). Having said that, as with any movie movement, the influences arise from preceding cinematic works.
Looking backward, one can see an evolutionary line from the slasher cinema of the 80s (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street) combined with the technological body horror from filmmakers like David Cronenberg or Clive Barker. More recently, one can identify an influence of 90s action cinema in the editing and cinematography of many of the movies we’ll be discussing. Auteurs such as John Woo and Michael Bay have tremendous influence, even if not directly associated with horror.
One other film that serves as an epochal point in nu-metal cinema is The Crow, Alex Proyas’ gothic-tinged revenge thriller. (We’ll talk about The Crow in a later installment, but I did want to mention its significance here.) Everything from its comic-book adaptation to the mise-en-scene and soundtrack are tremendously influential to this day.
Which leads us to Spawn.
Spawn as Nu-Metal Horror Cinema
Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is a government assassin, betrayed by his boss and sent to Hell. Once there, he makes a deal to lead the armies of Hell in exchange for being able to see his fiancee (Wanda) again. Simmons is transformed into Spawn, a superhero whose powers include a billowing red cape, biker chains, super strength, and regenerative healing. Once back on Earth, Simmons/Spawn decides to use his powers for good. He then fights back against both his former boss on Earth and his new boss in Hell. Also, John Leguizamo plays a clown demon named Violator.
Spawn is right on the edge of a lot of different genres, in addition to nu-metal horror. It’s a comic book superhero movie right before superhero movies broke big. It’s a black-led action movie that isn’t primarily comedic in nature. This is a dark and edgy movie, full of visual effects and CGI monsters, with a modern soundtrack packed full of metal and electronic/industrial music. That’s a lot to unpack, but we’re primarily concerned with it as a nu-metal horror movie.
As horror goes, Spawn could barely be classified as such. There are only a few notable deaths, most of them are bloodless, and the movie is predominantly concerned with action over mood and tempo. However, as most nu-metal music features actual heavy metal music only as a token aspect, so does nu-metal horror contain a few vestigial images. The notion of an undead, heavily scarred demon coming back to lead Hell’s armies in a conquest of Heaven is the stuff of classical horror dating back to Milton and Dante.
A World Gone Wrong
So what makes Spawn a nu-metal horror movie? To start, the film is concerned with a governmental conspiracy to bring about the apocalypse. Government agencies and corporations with sinister agendas pop up again and again in nu-metal movies, reflecting a general mistrust of forces that shape our world. As the 90s shifted into the 00’s, and especially in the aftermath of 9/11, lack of trust in institutions was commonplace. Nu-metal cinema echoes that lack of trust. Here, we see Simmons’ secret government agency betray him and condemn him to Hell. This reflects a belief in nu-metal music and culture that government and corporations have left behind the common man. These once-trusted entities are actively making the world worse for the average person.
In the world of Spawn, clear societal lines separate the haves and have-nots. Simmons is not welcome in the clean suburbia where his former fiancee and friends live. Instead, he finds comfort and solace with other unhoused people living in an abandoned church, bonding with and befriending other lost souls. Spawn, as a movie, isn’t that concerned with these interpretations, but they are there nonetheless. Nu-metal as a culture posited itself as a force acting in rebellion to suburban middle-class comfort In the iconography and storytelling of Spawn, we see that trope reiterated: nu-metal is for the people, not your parents.
Heroes and Villains
Character and creature design also serve as a forerunner for the denizens of future nu-metal horror works. The evil villain (Martin Sheen) completely burns off Simmons’ skin about 15 minutes into the movie. From that point on, we only see Michael Jai White in rubbery, Freddy Krueger-esque makeup that took hours to apply. Nu-metal horror repeatedly hones in on characters with grotesque features. These characters are often either a product of the society that has ‘abandoned’ them or a reflection of inner violence or an evil nature. In this case, Spawn is both a product of government betrayal and also actively hunting down those who have wronged him with malevolent intent.
Clown/Violator is a twisted, bloated creation, covered with enough foam latex to choke a blue whale. Leguizamo’s hammy performance at times literally bounces off the walls, but the trend of a disgusting, vulgar lead that revels in its own filth is something that will also pop up as nu-metal horror develops. This is an early effort to “push the envelope”, putting forth something to shock and offend with no other immediate purpose than to overwhelm the senses. As an analysis, it is possible to see Clown as a reflection of the bloated excess of a consumer culture gone feral. This idea of the “darker underside of the world” is one that plays out again and again in nu-metal horror.
Cradles of Filth
The production design of the film establishes a number of trends and forms that countless other works to come would pick up and run with. The facility where Simmons is killed is a big departure from the dark, grungy cityscape that the film spends much of its time in—white, sterile, and brightly lit. (The lab from Resident Evil clearly took notes here.) Meanwhile, the clothes worn by multiple characters represent multiple aspects of nu-metal culture proper. Simmons spends much of the movie scuttling around in alleys while dressed in a rough, tattered, shabby overcoat. The government agents that betray him wear black, skin-tight leather; they’re sleek and sinister agents of death.
There is a push-and-pull contrast between the hyper-clean villains and the grungy dirty alleys inhabited by the film’s heroes. It is nothing particularly new here, but in conjunction with the rest of the film, one can see it laying the pathway for leather trenchcoats, sterilized hallways, and filth-encrusted dungeons galore.
But Are There Jams?
I would be remiss not to mention the soundtrack. Including artists such as peak Marilyn Manson, Korn, and Incubus provides a lot of nu-metal bonafides. The soundtrack album might have been the most successful aspect of the film itself. Upon release, the album received Gold status at a time when that still mattered. The music of the film itself also features plenty of metallic guitar and record scratches, all motifs of nu-metal music. There is even a significant Manson needle drop at a key sequence.
So, is Spawn Any Good?
Oh, absolutely not. Michael Jai White is on the record stating that he does not like the movie. John Leguizamo wishes that it had pushed the edge even further in a much darker, more violent, and vulgar direction. Which nu-metal horror cinema will do, but that’s a topic for future discussion.
Regardless, Spawn is not a good movie. The storyline is half-baked, a derivative distillation of countless other revenge thrillers. The acting ranges from over-the-top in a way that disservices the movie or as wooden as a dead tree. (I hope Martin Sheen was paid well for his time here.) The only female character with any agency is criminally underdeveloped. More so, the film unceremoniously disposes of her right when the story starts to build momentum. Wanda has the characterization of a block of cheese. The less said about the unfortunate use of Z-grade video game CGI, the better.
But is Spawn Significant? Important?
It’s not so much that Spawn is an important movie in terms of influence, it is highly doubtful that any budding filmmakers took in Spawn and consciously said “Yes, this is what I want to do.” However, it serves as a signpost along the way as nu-metal horror cinema evolves. Watching it now, one sees the early gestations of what would later be refined and demonstrated much more capably and impactfully.
Think of it like Dimetrodon, a prehistoric animal that preceded dinosaurs. Culture constantly mistakes this creature to be a full-fledged dinosaur when in fact, it is an entirely different species. Even so, you can see the evolutionary trends in it that will lead to dinosaurs. In this way, Spawn is of the nu-metal horror cinema. It’s not really a horror movie, and it’s evolutionarily tangential to nu-metal as a cultural artifact. However, with Spawn, one can identify in hindsight where cinema was heading, and what kinds of stories would be told later on down the road.
Up Next: Backtracking to revisit The Crow (1994) just in time for the reboot/remake/whatever you want to call it comes out in theaters this August.
