There have been some horror movies through the years that would’ve looked incredible on a NASCAR racecar.
A few months ago, I did a similarly titled article musing on various theoretical movie-themed paint schemes that would’ve been cool to see. This time, Halloween is Thursday (Oct. 31) of this week, so it feels right to tailor that toward horror.
I’m going to kind of approach this with last week’s article in mind, which took into account how cyclical Hollywood is and with various trends and everything, and I’ll try to start around the beginning of the previous millennium’s final decade: the 1990s. The first movie scheme ran in 1989 (Dale Jarrett‘s Ghostbusters II car), which was at the tail end of the golden age of horror movies.
For context, the 1980s were an insanely awesome decade for the genre. You have a wide range of horror comedies (Creepshow), sci-fi (The Thing), slashers (Friday the 13th), body horror (Re-Animator), anthologies (Halloween III) and so much more. This also ranges from little-movies-that-could like The Evil Dead to international productions like Possession.
So, focusing on the three full decades and change that NASCAR movie schemes have been around, let’s look at this by decade. This is going to cover more big-studio fare rather than indie films (a la Hereditary, Midsommar, The Babadook, etc), given their prominence in the mainstream — and despite those indie films’ popularity.
1990s
The 1990s are where horror started to take a downturn, one that kind of lasted for a good 20+ years or so until indie horror began to really take hold and enter more of a mainstream. But that doesn’t mean all scary movies released during that time were bad!
There’s a dearth of good options in the early part of the decade. Gremlins 2: The New Batch, sure. Director Joe Dante was gracious enough to chat with me about making the original and the sequel at Nightmare Weekend Richmond last year.
Other prominent properties that were alive and kicking (their in-movie victims, not so much) during that span included the Child’s Play, Alien and Candyman franchises. One might have needed a JJ Yeley Slayer- or Natalie Decker zombie-esque scheme for Braindead, aka Dead Alive — one of Peter Jackson’s first movies, before he took the Lord of the Rings‘ reins. That movie has so much blood in it.
Army of Darkness is a blast and was probably mainstream enough to qualify, as are the later (and really bad) Halloween installments. But it’s the back half of the decade in which the most mainstream franchise in quite some time hit theaters with Scream.
What I’d give to see a Ghostface mask show up on the hood of a car in the late ’90s, with “SCREAM” emblazoned down the sides. Add a stinger on the bumper: “What’s your favorite scary movie?” or something like that.
Hey, David Arquette was in Scream and The Legend of Hallowdega, and the latter did get a scheme.
The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999, but I kind of despise that movie. We’ll hit up some more found-footage in a bit though.
2000s
Two Scream installments in and the one that was by far the least impressive, Scream 3, came out in 2000. Impacted in its tone and violence by events I don’t even need to specify from the previous couple years, it’s definitely the low point of the franchise.
This wasn’t a great time for horror. Final Destination did drop into theaters in 2000, followed by four sequels over the next decade and change, but I’m not sure those ever had a shot. Especially since in the fourth movie, the opening premonition scene features a late model crashing and exploding into the stands of “McKinley Speedway.”
2001? Nothing intriguing. 2002 did feature the initial release of 28 Days Later, which would’ve been sick to see on the actual No. 28 that Ricky Rudd drove. Slap a big biohazard emblem on the hood with the movie title, some “The End Is Extremely F**king Nigh” graffiti on the back bumper and you’re good to go.
And have Travis Kvapil do the follow-up in 2007 when 28 Weeks Later came out.
It just wasn’t a good decade for the genre overall though. There were a lot of reboots, sequels and rehashes that ranged from Texas Chainsaw to Freddy vs. Jason to the Dawn of the Dead remake. Very little originality, save for a few examples.
2004 featured both Shaun of the Dead and the original Saw. The former is a stone-cold classic that birthed the Cornetto Trilogy (alongside Hot Fuzz and The World’s End), while the latter gave way to a now-10-film franchise, with an 11th on the way next year. Saw might be too far over the line for a sponsorship though.
Maybe Paranormal Activity? Those movies got enough eyes over their first few installments, especially the first one, that it could’ve made sense. Still not much to choose from the rest of the way. However, Zombieland (especially with its Dale Earnhardt reference) would’ve been awesome.
Put Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone on the hood, Woody Harrelson on the driver’s side, Abigail Breslin on the passenger’s side and a zombie on the bumper and you got yourself a scheme.
2010s
The 2010s are also kind of tough, especially since it’s mostly sequels and reboots and indie flicks that make up the most popular horror movies of the decade.
Scream 4 is a solid candidate, as well as potentially the V/H/S franchise. Maybe Prometheus and Alien: Covenant?
The Conjuring franchise had a couple installments, and those were insanely popular. I’d vote for 2014’s As Above, So Below, probably because I was blown away by how good it was despite a bad initial reception by critics. A group of explorers head into the Catacombs in Paris (terrifying enough already) and encounter a literal version of Dante’s Inferno and hell? Genuinely great movie and would’ve made for an eye-catching scheme.
I guess the one big thing in the 2010s were the Purge movies, probably the most mainstream horrors of the decade.
As we get to the end of the 2010s, movies saw the emergence of Jordan Peele, Ari Aster and Robert Eggers as three of this era’s most prolific horror directors, but none of their movies really fit the bill we’re discussing here. Maybe either chapter of It or maybe a viral movie like Bird Box could’ve worked. A Quiet Place as well, even if the setting of a racetrack is completely antithetical to that premise.
2020s
So technically, we did have a horror movie involved in a race in 2020. Unhinged, which stars Russell Crowe with a severe case of road rage, sponsored the Unhinged 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. Crowe gave the command as the grand marshal (virtually, of course, due to COVID-19).
I’ve seen the movie, and it’s a blast, but I don’t exactly consider it horror. But we’ll take these where we can.
The immensely fun Fear Street Trilogy in 2021 could’ve had some vibrant schemes, if the posters are any indication. And between the next year and 2024, Ti West’s X trilogy (consisting of X, Pearl and MaXXXine) would’ve been neat too.
Additionally, as mean-spirited, disgusting and (somehow) fun as they are, I highly doubt the Terrifier movies would’ve ever had a chance.
2024 has been a great year for horror, but I don’t know if any others would fit the bill. M. Night Shyamalan should make a sequel to Trap revolving around a racetrack though.
I’d love to see some more horror-themed cars show up on the racetrack. We always get fun Halloween-themed cars, but still.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
About the author
Adam Cheek joined Frontstretch as a contributing writer in January 2019. A 2020 graduate of VCU, he covered sports there and later spent a year and a half as a sports host on 910 the Fan in Richmond, VA. He's freelanced for Richmond Magazine and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and also hosts the "Adam Cheek's Sports Week" podcast. Adam has followed racing since the age of three, inheriting the passion from his grandfather, who raced in amateur events up and down the East Coast in the 1950s.
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Awesome interview with Joe Dante, Adam and Reel Racing article! How cool that you were able to talk with these icons!