Listening to Alan Palomo’s (better known as Neon Indian) discography, and especially his most recent record, VEGA INTL. NIGHT SCHOOL, you get the sense that his creative impulses hinge on the center and fringes of ’80s pop culture. He is just as likely to reference Prince as he is to reference Goblin. You can hear funk, new wave, and art-pop coursing through the circuit boards of his synths as he urges you to dance all your worries away.

But perhaps more than a historically minded musician, Palomo is a horror/slasher film buff, a true lover of the genre and all its gruesome gore. Recently the musician sat down with AMC’s Shudder streaming service, which caters to horror lover, to discuss 5 of his all time favorite films. To absolutely no one’s surprise, these films are all great. Discussing how horror movie soundtracks initially shaped his interest in making original music, Palomo points to Class Of Nuke ‘Em High, Angst, Driller Killer, and Demons as personal touchstone films that incorporate a lot of punk leaning music, gory histrionics, and psychologically jarring shots.

It’s alway really wonderful to hear musicians discuss influences outside of just music, and Palomo articulates beautifully the draw of all these films and their DIY ethos: “It’s really empowered a lot of filmmaker to be like, go out there, get a lot of ketchup, a fake knife, get your friends together, and make make a movie.” This concept has a lot in common with the punk music from which it draws, and the kind of music that Neon Indian is most fascinated by.

What do you think of Neon Indian’s favorite horror films? Don’t you think he should absolutely be scoring indie slasher flicks?

Image: Artist

Matt Grosinger is the music editor of Nerdist and thinks Neon Indian and John Carpenter need to work on a collaborative project as soon as possible.