James Gunn has mastered the use of music in movies, and The Suicide Squad was no different. In his two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Gunn used classic music to great effect in all the scenes, mostly based on Star-Lord’s love of the music, while also fitting it to the action and emotional moments.
In The Suicide Squad, Gunn used mostly current music, although he slipped in some classics as well. While a few songs just fit into scenes to set the tone, most of the music played as part of the story. They told the story through the lyrics matching what was happening on the screen, with several songs perfect combinations of action and emotions, helping the DCEU movie rise to a whole new level.
“Rain” by grandson and Jessie Reyez
In the scene where the foreign military is transferring a captured Rick Flag, Peacemaker, and Bloodsport to their general, the song “Rain” by grandson and Jessie Reyez played as the truck is driving along. When the camera moved inside, the song lowered in volume.
While it was raining outside when the scene started, there was no other connection with the action about to take place.
“Can’t Sleep” by K.Flay
The Suicide Squad made their way to a bar to try to find and capture The Thinker. The goal was to make him take them to Project Starfish so they could destroy it. To capture him, they went to a nightclub and when they entered, the K. Flay song “Can’t Sleep” played.
This song is a nice addition to the soundtrack but adds little to the story or the scene. What really makes it stand out happens visually during the scene, as it includes two special cameo appearances. The first by James Gunn’s old boss at Troma, Lloyd Kaufman, and the second by Pom Klementieff portraying a dancer. Klementieff played Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
“Point of Know Return” by Kansas
James Gunn went all the way back to the ‘70s for the Kansas song “Point of Know Return.” The song was playing on Milton’s radio when he neared the military checkpoint.
Outside of the title, which was a clear indicator of what the Suicide Squad was heading into, it was just a classic rock addition to the soundtrack and nothing more.
“Oh No!!!” by grandson
The songs over the end credits often are just a way to play people out of the theater. In The Suicide Squad, the song that began playing when the credits started rolling was “Oh No!!!” by grandson. This song, while a nice poppy tune for fans to listen to while watching the credits, still had a bit to do with the theme.
With lyrics like “First they incite the violence/Turn around and then they invite the silence/Burn it down and I think I need some guidance/The kids don’t stand a chance,” Gunn had the movie’s theme in mind when choosing the song.
“Hey” by The Pixies
When The Suicide Squad reached Jotunheim to destroy Project Starfish. The Pixies “Hey” was playing. The music then rose in volume when the team walked out of the rain and began their attack on the soldiers guarding the tower.
The music instantly ended when the Squad started killing people. The song, which repeats the words “we’re chained” throughout the chorus, was a fun song to start the battle, but nothing noteworthy for meaning.
“Sola” by Jessie Reyez
During a scene where The Suicide Squad rode to a bar in a van to capture The Thinker, the song “Sola” by Jessie Reyez plays. The only notable thing that happened here was King Shark looking out the window at people before the song lowered in volume.
The primary focus for this song was how Ratcatcher 2 never felt a connection with anyone, tying in with the song lyrics. Ratcatcher 2 delivered some of The Suicide Squad's best quotes, talking about being lost without her father, one of the main songs that tie in with the characters' backstories.
“Whistle For The Choir” by The Fratellis
Possibly the strangest subplot in the movie came when fan-favorite Suicide Squad member Harley Quinn had her romantic relationship with Silvio Luna. The dictator asked Harley to marry him and then the two had a tryst, where they destroyed the room in a passionate non-stop moment.
The song that played while this happened was “Whistle for the Choir” by The Fratellis, which had lyrics like “Oh my, you caught my eye
A girl like you’s just irresistible.” The fact it ended with Harley killing him made the lyrics even funnier, although not as effective as other scenes.
“Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash
The song that opened the movie was Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” which played over Savant playing with a ball and testing his aim, showing he could hit all his targets. He also used the ball to kill a little bird, which paid off later.
The song ended when Amanda Waller showed up to offer Savant a position with Task Force X. It was a perfect song to open a movie about men getting out of prison to carry off a mission, but not as meaningful as other tracks.
“So Busted” by Culture Abuse
The Suicide Squad's bravest characters ended with a major battle where the surviving members beat Starro and then blackmailed Amanda Waller to allow them to leave. The song that played as they got on the plane to go home was “So Busted” by Culture Abuse.
The lyrics talk about how “life is so busted” but how they will “always come through for you.” While this played, Ratcatcher 2 slept with her head on King Shark, Harley Quinn smiled to herself, and Bloodsport finally gave in to pet Ratcatcher’s main rat, as Culture Abuse sang “I just wanted to be loved by you.” It was a great last song for the group.
“People Who Died” by The Jim Carroll Band
The craziest moment in the entire The Suicide Squad movie came when the first team who went in, including Harley Quinn, Rick Flag, and Captain Boomerang, walked into a trap. All the obscure Suicide Squad villains there except for Quinn and Flag died, and the song that played after this highlighted how wild it was.
The song was “People Who Died” by The Jim Carroll Band and the lyrics describe people who died by making bad decisions or taking their own lives, a perfect song to play over all the dead Suicide Squad members, one of the best song placements in the entire movie.
“Sucker’s Prayer” by The Decemberists
The first time Bloodsport showed up in the movie, he was cleaning the prison, which was his job while serving his time. The song that played during this scene was “Sucker’s Prayer” by The Decemberists. It introduced the audience to one of the primary heroes of the movie.
The song talks about not wanting to go on the road and just wanting to give up. This is what Bloodsport had done, but he ended up giving in to his “sucker’s prayer” and taking on a suicide mission. The song tells the entire movie’s story and is one of the best-placed songs in the movie outside one.
“I Ain’t Got Nobody” by Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Sam Butera & The Witnesses
The best song placement in the movie came when Harley Quinn is hung by her arms as a prisoner, suffering great torture. This worked so well because it started with her singing the song “I Ain’t Got Nobody” as her tormenters shocked her constantly.
While it was fun hearing her sing the lyrics, when she broke free, the actual song played over the scene as she killed everyone in her path on her way to escape. The song not only fit Harley’s predicament at the time but also was one of the best crowd-pleasing moments in the movie.