Features

Like melodic pop punk? And horror movies? Then Horror Section has got you covered. These St. Louis natives have been cranking out releases at a steady pace ever since they released 'The Prowler' in 2013 and have dedicated songs or entire releases to everything from The Omen and Hellraiser to Halloween III: Season of the Witch and Sleepaway Camp. Latest in line? The band's recently announced My Bloody Valentine 7", which is based entirely around the 1981 slasher classic. Interested in pre-ordering? Don't bother. The whole thing sold out in less than two hours. Check out the NSFW video for single 'Can't Stop The Party' below or read the interview we did with vocalist/guitarist Dave about the new release.

PRT: The songs that make up the new EP are all based on the movie ‘My Bloody Valentine’. What is it about that movie that made you want to do a record around it?

Slashers in general make up some of my favorite movies and this one just strikes a chord with me. The iconic killer and death scenes are super cool and unique but I really love the characters in the movie. The bar scene, the party at the mine, they all just seem so relatable and fun. Well, minus the murder stuff I guess.

PRT: How do you feel about the 2009 remake? And remakes in general?

So the 2009 remake did a lot of things right in my book. They took the familiar setting and plot and put their own spin on it. Why make something the exact same as the original? It took itself seriously when it needed to and had some fun parts as well so it wasn’t so rigid. The 3D effects were fun too. That being said, the ending of the film gets one big eye roll from me - such a lazy way to end a story.

In general remakes can be ok - Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th come to mind as serviceable and fine in their own regard. Couldn’t make it through the Nightmare on Elm Street one though.

PRT: What came first? Your love of punk rock or horror movies?

Punk rock by several years. Music was much more accessible than movies for sure. Didn’t have a TV in my room or anything like that but I did have a stereo. My brother and I would record off the radio, borrow CDs, whatever we could get our hands on and it just consumed our lives. Movies in general and in particular horror would have to wait a few years before the bug really caught me.

PRT: Can you remember what it was that first attracted you to horror movies?

The taboo nature of watching something I knew I shouldn’t be more than likely. We were a pretty strict no rated R or violent/scary movie household but growing up I would get glimpses of something on TV or ads in a comic book. Army Of Darkness sticks out for some reason. I would stare at that ad in whatever Marvel comic it was in for hours. It would be half a decade or more until I finally saw it. I was pretty into comics and sci fi (Star Wars) as a kid and so I had a pretty active imagination and curiosity. Horror is the next logical step to those things if you want to ‘see it all’.

PRT: Do you keep up with new horror movies or do you tend to stick with the classics?

I do try and keep up with new stuff yeah but it can be a bit challenging since it seems like something is coming out every week. I try and split my time in thirds - one third to new stuff, one third to what I’ve seen before, and one third to discovering some ‘new’ old movies.

Shudder is my go to for new stuff. They are always adding stuff - a lot of it is pretty decent too. I have managed to build a pretty large library of movies (a lot of blu ray, some dvd, some VHS) so I like to reach into that for revisiting classics. Then boutique movie labels like Vinegar Syndrome are definitely good for getting into some older movies / lost gems (I’m using the term gem pretty loosely here).

PRT: What is your writing process like when you start working on a new release? You re-watch a certain movie and then start drawing out some ideas?

I’ll usually have a movie or theme in mind and then yeah watch for ideas and inspiration. Sometimes it works and I’ll get a ton of material, sometimes it’s a dud. I have plenty of ideas floating around though, they just need to fall into place.

Some songs start with Tom sending me instrumental ideas and I just see what movie pops into my head as I think through the chords and melody. Sometimes it’s a slasher waiting in the dark, sometimes it’s a satanic ritual about to begin - you never know!

PRT: You have been around for 7 years now and for a band that was supposed to do just a one-off, you have a ton of releases out. What is it that keeps you going?

I think part of it is a strong writing and recording partnership with Tom (guitar) and Gabe (drummer and records all our material), a good relationship with Travis at Eccentric Pop (who might have an ulcer with our name on it), and of course our loyal fanbase. Some people have stayed with us from our first 7” and I’m thankful for that. The world is ever evolving and people naturally change over time - I’m grateful for those like me that like to keep a piece of their world constant with pop punk and 80’s horror. Cheers.