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As Halloween approaches and all things evil begin to wake from eternal rest, horror films and rock music are essential in making the most of the upcoming holiday. When perusing through Netflix to pick a scary movie, you may notice a few films which bear the same title as one of your favorite bands.

These films consist of black and white classics, silent German expressionism, cult classics and comedic gore-fests that have inspired the monikers of some incredible bands. Horror flicks and rock ‘n’ roll make a beautifully brutal combination, so we’ve teamed up with Diffuser.fm to offer this list of 7 Horror Movies That Inspired Band Names.

‘BLACK SABBATH’

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Before the existence of metal innovators Black Sabbath, there was the 1963 horror anthology ‘Black Sabbath.’ One of the films in the Italian horror series, ‘The Wurdulak,’ stars the legendary Boris Karloff as Gorcha, the target of a planned murder by his own two brothers. Along with the Karloff classic, ‘Black Sabbath’ also consists of the film pieces ‘The Drop of Water’ and ‘The Telephone.’ There are slight differences between the Italian and American versions of the anthology, with the two pieces showcasing different introductory scenes with Karloff as the narrator.

Black Sabbath, the band, needs no introduction. The architects of metal formed in 1969, having since sold over 70 million records worldwide, with MTV naming them the greatest metal band of all time and VH1 giving them the title of the second greatest hard rock band, after Led Zeppelin. With the band having utilized both Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio as vocalists, the band has also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame.

‘WHITE ZOMBIE’

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If you haven’t seen the film ‘White Zombie,’ you’re missing out on one of the most important classics in horror history. Widely considered to be the first full-length zombie flick, the film stars master of horror and original ‘Dracula’ star Bela Lugosi as an evil voodoo master who controls the minds of his victims through supernatural powers. Roused by an uncontrollable jealousy over a woman he cannot have, a plantation owner desperately hires Lugosi to use his mind control abilities on her, but of course, things don’t go as planned.

Inspired by the Lugosi film, Rob Zombie and his band named themselves White Zombie and quickly became one of the pioneers of industrial metal. Before embarking on a successful solo career in both music and film, Rob Zombie released four full-length albums with White Zombie, which are now considered cult classics in their own rite.

‘EVIL DEAD’

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Halloween is in season, and if you aren’t watching any of the ‘Evil Dead’ films to get in the mood, you’re wasting precious time. With a minuscule budget, legendary filmmaker Sam Raimi, who directed the insanely successful ‘Spiderman’ movies, began his feature-length film career with ‘The Evil Dead.’ When it comes to cult classic horror films, ‘The Evil Dead’ reigns supreme, dwelling deep within the hearts of fanatical devotees. ‘Evil Dead II,’ considered as the crown jewel of the trilogy, integrated comedic nuances into the horror genre and created an unparalleled masterpiece. ‘Army of Darkness’ completed the trilogy, pumping up the comedy as the film’s main focus, Bruce Campbell goes back into medieval times to annihilate the Deadites.

The same year ‘Evil Dead II’ was released, the band Evildead formed. Beginning in 1987, Evildead began a career of thrash metal that lasted on-and-off until Oct. 17, 2012. Evildead recorded two full-length albums, two EPs and one live album during the band’s career. The band went through long periods of inactivity along with two breakups after various lineup changes and difficulties writing a follow-up album to their 1991 full-length, ‘The Underworld.’

‘NOSFERATU’

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‘Nosferatu’ is German expressionist masterpiece. Released in 1922, ‘Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror’ is one of the few silent films that have proven to be timeless in a world filled with color and sound. The antagonist of ‘Nosferatu’ shares many characteristics with Count Dracula, as he gains sustenance by drinking blood and cannot be exposed to light without deadly effects. The film narrowly escaped a tragic fate after Prana Film, the company that owned ‘Nosferatu,’ was sued by the estate of ‘Dracula’ creator Bram Stoker for copyright infringement. The court ordered all prints of ‘Nosferatu’ to be destroyed, but the classic film managed to survive.

Nosferatu is also an English gothic rock band that formed in 1988. Over 65 years after the film ‘Nosferatu’ was released, the use of the title by the band is a testament to the movie’s creative success. With the band having over 100,000 copies of their cumulative releases, Nosferatu broke up shortly after their 2011 full-length album, ‘Wonderland.’

‘SUSPIRIA’

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‘Suspiria’ is a cult classic Italian horror film released in 1977. Directed by horror master Dario Argento, the film revolves around an American ballet singer who finds herself within a coven of witches. ‘Suspiria’ has been acclaimed for both its substance and visual sophistication, along with the film’s soundtrack performed by prog rock band Goblin. A remake of ‘Suspiria’ is set to be released in 2013, and if there’s one thing that makes a classic horror film even better, it’s a remake!

There are two bands who have named their projects after the movie. Suspiria, who retained the classic spelling of the film, were a darkwave / goth rock band from England, but perhaps the most notable act named after the film is Susperia, which uses an ‘e’ in place of the title’s first i’. Created by Tjodalv of Dimmu Borgir and Cyrus of Satyricon in 1998. The Norwegian black metal act have released five full-length albums since 2001, along with one EP.

‘MY BLOODY VALENTINE’

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A movie so nice, they made it twice — and one of those was in 3-D, no less. To music lovers, the name is synonymous with gazing at shoes whilst strumming over-driven guitars and bending strings, but before My Bloody Valentine the band, there was ’My Bloody Valentine’ the movie, a low-budget slasher flick released in 1981 in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of such cult horror classics as ‘Halloween’ and ‘Friday the 13th.’ The original ‘My Bloody Valentine’ is infamous for having nine minutes cut by the Motion Picture Association of America for excessive violence and gore. That version finally saw the light of day in 2009, around the time the 3-D remake, ‘My Bloody Valentine 3D,’ hit theaters.

My Bloody Valentine the band, meanwhile, formed in 1983 in Dublin, Ireland. The trio, fronted by singer-guitarist Kevin Shields, considered several names, including Burning Peacocks. Ultimately, they settled on the slasher-inspired name and set about making their mark on the underground rock scene. MBV released their debut album, ‘This Is Your Bloody Valentine,’ in 1985, and after personnel changes and a relocation to London, they finalized the lineup that would release the watershed 1991 shoegazing classic ‘Loveless.’

‘TWO THOUSAND MANIACS!’

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“None of us saw the movie, and we thought the title was ’10,000 Maniacs’” — that’s how 10,000 Maniacs bassist Steven Gustafson once explained the difference between his band’s name and the title of the 1964 splatter flick that inspired it. ‘Two Thousand Maniacs!’ directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and starring 1963 Playboy Playmate Connie Mason, was the second part of what fans have dubbed ‘The Blood Trilogy,’ a trio of classic horror films also including 1963′s ‘Blood Feast’ and 1965′s ‘Color Me Blood Red.’ ‘Two Thousand Maniacs,’ which was inspired by the 1947 Lerner and Loewe musical ‘Brigadoon,’ was remade in 2005 as ’2001 Maniacs.’

Even if the number was off, the name turned heads. “Our name really helped separate us from the lot of local bands we were competing with in those days,” singer Natalie Merchant once said. Formed in in 1981, 10,000 Maniacs enjoyed a fruitful career as a folk-tinged alt-rock act, peaking in the early ’90s, when they topped the alternative charts with the single ‘These Are Days’ and released an ‘MTV Unplugged’ album featuring a cover of the Patti Smith Group’s ‘Because the Night.’

By Loudwire.com & Diffuser.fm