The 90s were a wild time for cinema, from dogs playing basketball to a man with literal scissors for hands, and whatever the f*** that genius Harmony Korine was doing.
Sometimes, though, it was the movie soundtracks that really stole the show. For every Armageddon and Bodyguard, however, there were ten more wildly underrated film soundtracks that really deserve more respect. Allow me to highlight just a few.
‘End of Days’ (1999)
I literally just re-watched End of Days like a week ago. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as former New York Police Department detective Jericho Cane. He’s left the force and is working as a security specialist when he gets caught up in the middle of an unholy conspiracy involving Satan and a young woman who may, or may not, be destined to be mother to the Antichrist.
Unsurprisingly, it’s still not that great. But, I’ll be damned if I don’t love that apocalyptic action flick.
That soundtrack though? Nothing but bangers from Guns N’ Roses, Eminem, Powerman 5000, Everlast, and so many more. I actually have this CD in my car, and I bust it out now and then because I should be much more ashamed of my Xenial status than I am.
‘Universal Soldier: The Return’ (1999)
For my 15th birthday, my dad took me up to Cleveland, Ohio, to revisit the city where I was born. We’d moved away when I was very young, so I had never really experienced it. While we were there, taking in things like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Museum of Art, we also wandered around Tower City Center and went to the movies. Since it was my birthday, I got to pick, and I chose Universal Soldier: The Return.
What’s it about? I promise that all you need to know is that it’s Jean Claude Van Damn and Michael Jai White versus WWE superstar Goldberg.
I loved the movie. While I probably couldn’t have articulated it then, it wasn’t because I thought it was a good movie; it was because the music captivated me. As soon as it was over, I asked to go to the music store (maybe it was a Sam Goody?) to look for the soundtrack. I found it, and it opened up my sheltered religious existence to a whole new world of music like Gwar, Megadeth, and Static-X.
‘Spawn’ (1997)
Spawn is based on the legendary comic book of the same name, about a man who is killed and sent to hell, only to return to Earth after agreeing to help a demon usher in Armageddon. It’s a preposterous and fantastic as it sounds, and it has a KILLER soundtrack. (Notably, Michael Jai White is in this one too, portraying Spawn.)
Standout tracks from this one include “Kick The P.A.” by Korn and The Dust Brothers and “Long Hard Road Out of Hell” by Marilyn Manson and Sneaker Pimps. Now, look, it doesn’t make me happy to call a Marilyn Manson song a “standout track” in the year of our Lord, 2025. But, back in 1997, this song was an absolute banger. It still is, but, well, you know.
All that aside, the Spawn movie was so much fun to me when I was 13, and it still is, but the soundtrack is what continues to hit. Slayer, The Crystal Method, Butthole Surfers, The Prodigy…there are so many killer collabs on this soundtrack, and you should revisit it.
‘Judgement Night’ (1993)
Some of the best tracks on this compilation include “Come and Die” by Therapy? and Fatal and “Disorder” by Slayer and Ice-T. And while none of the movies on the list are “good” (we’ve established this), if I’m being honest, Judgement Night is my favorite one. Maybe it’s because of the soundtrack. I mean, the rap-metal/rock mashups really heralded in the nu-metal era, and did so one year before Korn released their debut album.
The movie is about a group of friends who are targeted by a crime lord after their RV breaks down in a rough part of Chicago and they witness a murder. They spend the rest of the movie on the run, hoping to survive the night.
Full transparency: I didn’t actually discover Judgement Night until the late 90s. During that time, I was neck-deep in the nu-metal scene, so finding bands like Mudhoney and Helmet was revolutionary for me. Then there’s Slayer teaming up with Ice-T!?! To this day, it’s like a retro-coded fever dream of music.
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