Sematary's Movie Samples

By Jack Tellier

GOD'S LIGHT BURNS UPON MY FLESH samples Julien Donkey-Boy

'GOD'S LIGHT BURNS UPON MY FLESH' is the first song on Sematary's album Rainbow Bridge 3. I listened to this album for the first time a few years ago and immediately noticed when it sampled a scene from Harmony Korine's 'Julien Donkey-Boy' (1999). This is one of my favorite movies ever and it's pretty rare to see it referenced or used in other media. Julien Donkey-Boy has also been referenced in an episode of SpongeBob which is really odd. Those are the two most notable references I can think of right now.

MURDER RIDE samples House of 1000 Corpses

This one would be pretty hard to catch unless you've watched Rob Zombie's 'House of 1000 Corpses' (2003) a lot. The sample is at the very end of the song and is just a few seconds of evil laughter and other spooky shit from the movie. In this scene the characters are actually riding a "Murder Ride" roadside attraction. I haven't watched this movie since I was 14 but it's a pretty visceral experience. Not the best movie ever but I've always liked Rob/White Zombie and this is definitely his most iconic movie. My dad watched this with me when I was a small baby and says he was very disturbed by the slo-mo cop execution scene.

WITCHING HOUR samples The Witch & Hereditary

Woah mama! Two movie samples in one song? God I have a searing headache right now. Anyway, the entire song samples the forrest chant from the énding of Robert Eggers' 'The Witch' (2015) and it sort of becomes part of the beat throughout. This is from the final scene where you can see Anya Taylor-Joy's butt which is also sick. The last second or two from the song use the "Hail Paimon!" chant from the end of Ari Aster's 'Hereditary' (2018). I like The Witch' and over the years Haunted Mound songs have been full of references to it. In all honesty though, I think Hereditary is kind of overrated. Like I can acknowledge that it is a brilliant piece of filmmaking but it kinda just makes me more sad than scared.

TRUEY JEANS samples Trash Humpers

I'll sound like an asshole for saying this because I just lowkey dissed Hereditary but I love this movie too. If you haven't seen 'Trash Humpers' (2009), another Korine film, then it's exactly what it sounds like. There's no shortage of insufferable boneheads online who talk about this movie ad nauseam so l don't feel like adding to the digital landfill created by online "movie critics." The last minute or so of the song samples a sped-up monologue given by one of the characters in the movie. This one is pretty recognizable upon hearing if you've seen Trash Humpers.' On the real tho, YouTube movie reviewers and people who make media-centered video essays are usually remarkably stupid and add literally nothing of value to most conversation. Like peak Dunning-Kruger. Everything would probably be better without them.

It appears Sematary and I have somewhat similar taste in movies. I love recognizing references from film in underground rap, especially when it is a movie I don't see mentioned a lot. It adds another layer to the song and offers us more insight into the motivations or interests of the artist. Who is another artist you know has similar sampling tendencies? Should I cover them? (Shout out to Yung GucciSnapper on whosampled for your work!)