Chelsea Wolfe’s favourite horror movies
American musician Chelsea Wolfe has kept a relatively low profile since emerging in 2010 with her debut album, The Grime and the Glow. Utilising a lo-fi, gloomy folk sound, Wolfe was met with instant critical acclaim, although commercial success remained minimal.
Wolfe has remained a somewhat elusive figure, citing an initial fear of performing live as a reason for the slow start to her career. Yet, as the years have progressed, the singer has demonstrated a knack for blending gothic folk and metal influences to create a mysterious and haunting sound. Subsequently, Wolfe’s music has garnered further traction, with her fifth album, 2017’s Hiss Spun, receiving particular praise.
Since releasing her sixth album, Birth of Violence, in 2019, she has worked with artists such as Xiu Xiu, Emma Ruth Rundle, and Jess Gowrie, who she teamed up with for the project Mrs Piss.
However, Wolfe has also dipped her toes into the world of soundtracks, beginning with the comic book series Dark Nights: Death Metal. In 2021, she contributed to the soundtrack for Ti West’s horror movie X, an homage to ‘70s slashers such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Working in collaboration with Tyler Bates, the pair produced a fantastic score which included a cover of Arthur Fields’ ‘Oui, Oui, Marie’.
One of her favourite horror soundtracks is Poltergeist by Jerry Goldsmith. She told Revolver, “Such an interesting blend of unsettling, curiosity and sweetness with all the gliding strings and Carol Anne’s theme weaving in and out. I loved that movie so much growing up so it’s very nostalgic for me, as well.”
Wolfe’s music is perfectly suited for a horror movie score, and is no stranger to the genre. In the same interview, Wolfe discussed her two favourite scary movies, citing Park Chan-wook’s Thirst, partly based on Emile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin, as one of her go-to picks.
Released in 2009, Thirst falls into the vampire category of horror films. Wolfe described it as “gorgeous”, adding: “All the subtle emotions portrayed, the ASMR quality, the colour palette, the transition from powerless to powerful.”
She also picked out Robert Eggers’ 2015 folk horror The Witch. Set in New England, the film follows a Puritan family whose daughter, Thomasin, may or may not be a witch. The singer explained: “It kinda shows that if you call a woman a witch enough times, she’ll fuckin own it and become one. I love the costume design, the incredible acting, the setting, the ending. It’s a glorious film.”
Wolfe added, “Both of these movies have a hyper-religious to witch/vampire pipeline, so that must be what I’m into.”
