Sean Wilson presents a selection of spooky film scores that make for the ideal 31st October playlist…
The scariest night of the year, Halloween, is upon us once again and, in addition to all the cosplay and trick or treating, a playlist of horror hits is also essential to the big night. Horror allows film composers off the leash like few other genres do, often unleashing an onslaught of symphonic and choral mayhem guaranteed to pull a chill down the spine. This then is a curated selection of fabulously frightening horror music that you need to complete your Halloween.
Psycho (1960) – Bernard Herrmann
Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal horror practically birthed the modern-day slasher movie, throwing audiences for a loop with its terrifying dispatch of Janet Leigh in the shower. The director would later credit “33%” of Psycho‘s impact to regular collaborator Bernard Herrmann’s chilling score, one as starkly monochrome and bleak as the film’s black and white visuals. Composed entirely for a string ensemble Herrmann wrings a remarkable amount of emotional colour from the set-up, ranging from nail-chewing pensiveness to the flat-out terror of the jabbing violins for the aforementioned shower scene. Ever composer in its wake was forced to recycle.
The Omen (1976) – Jerry Goldsmith
The only horror score to ever win an Oscar, The Omen was also Jerry Goldsmith’s sole Academy Award. It’s not hard to see why. It adds a brilliant layer of diabolical, satanic intrigue to director Richard Donner’s visuals, indicating the dark forces surrounding Gregory Peck and Lee Remick’s characters even as they remain unaware of the threat. Subsequently it’s a masterful example of how a score can heighten an audience’s emotional response to what is happening, Goldsmith’s groundbreaking use of Gregorian choir (particularly in the Oscar nominated ‘Ave Satani’ main theme) both electrifying and disturbing. Quite possibly the greatest horror score ever composed.
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) – Ennio Morricone
William Friedkin’s original Exorcist was a watershed moment in horror cinema, not only illuminating the genre’s blockbuster capabilities but also forever changing our perception of Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’. Truth be told, John Boorman’s much-maligned sequel has a far more distinctive score, Ennio Morricone throwing everything out there from sweeping choral elegies to frenzied, Penderecki-esque strings. Unashamedly eccentric, the soundtrack has taken on a life of its own even as the movie has been consigned to the grave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtlevfEi7nk
Halloween (1978) – John Carpenter
Truth be told, if anyone was asked to cite a particular Halloween theme it would most likely be this one. Writer-director John Carpenter recently claimed that his iconic synthesised main theme took only an hour to put together but what it lacks in sophistication, the piece makes up for in sheer menace. Indeed the jangly, electronic soundscapes of Carpenter’s immediately influential work are proof that minimalism is just as effective as a thunderous symphony orchestra: as intentionally dispassionate, repetitive and relentless as killer Michael Myers himself. (Just forget Trent Reznor’s retooling and stick with the original.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLFx30Ijiq0
Dracula (1979) – John Williams
The Star Wars veteran isn’t as celebrated for his horror/thriller works as he should be. This Gothic extravaganza is an early highlight from what is considered to be Williams’ golden period, encompassing Star Wars, Superman, the Indiana Jones movies and E.T. and it’s a thrill to hear him pushing the boat out into different territory. Surging and swooning with dark-hued romantic threat, the ideal accompaniment to Frank Langella’s suave and handsome Count, it’s proof there’s a lot more to Williams as a composer than meets the ear.
Poltergeist (1982) – Jerry Goldsmith
Another horror masterpiece from a composer who specialised in them, Poltergeist sees Goldsmith’s thematic and emotional complexity step up a gear. Anchored by the instantly recognisable, sweet-natured children’s lullaby ‘Carol Anne’s Theme’ it’s a score that finds its centre in the besieged Freeling family, rather than the spooks themselves. However it’s the score’s emotional core that makes the frightening moments all the more palpable when they arrive, burbling brass and disturbing percussive effectives (including a Brazilian drum giving a swallowing effect) landing Goldsmith another Oscar nomination.
The Thing (1982) – Ennio Morricone
Famously Morricone and director John Carpenter didn’t have the best working relationship on this classic creature feature. It seems Morricone’s experimental string and organ arrangements weren’t quite what Carpenter had in mind, the filmmaker ditching most of the score material while instead favouring the pulsating electronic tones that most closely mirrored his own style. Regardless Morricone’s chilly, icy strings and synths are an excellent match for the movie’s frigid landscapes and more than raise the hairs on the back of the neck.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) – Christopher Young
The first Hellraiser score put Christopher Young on the map, the composer replacing industrial band Coil for Clive Barker’s interdimensional tale of pain and pleasure. It was a wise decision, Young’s surging and elegant melodies giving the movie a classy veneer. However the composer took it to the next level with his gargantuan choral waltz for director Tony Randall’s sequel, a magnificent celebration of all things evil and twisted. And the creativity doesn’t stop there: there’s even a musical replication of ‘God’ in Morse Code – now that’s creepy.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) – Wojciech Kilar
Cinema’s most famous vampire has been treated to many sublime scores over the years, and late Polish composer Kilar’s sumptuous Gothic treat is one of the best. Clearly feeding off the visual and romantic opulence of Francis Ford Coppola’s vision Kilar’s brooding strings, tortured horror and piercingly terrifying moments of atonal choral terror nail the contradictions of author Bram Stoker’s source material. Truly this is a score where beauty and pure evil exist on a knife’s edge, with the listener never knowing when the rug is going to be pulled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqnKBVyP_2I
Interview with the Vampire (1994) – Elliot Goldenthal
Talking of vampire scores, here’s a career-defining work from Goldenthal who replace regular Neil Jordan collaborator George Fenton. The composer was required to pull together his score in three weeks, the end result a typically challenging blend of atonal brass, period instrumentation including the viola da gamba and lushly haunting themes that celebrate author Anne Rice’s bloodsuckers in all their glory. The impressive end result netted Goldenthal an Oscar nomination.
Scream (1996) – Marco Beltrami
Many horror scores throughout the eighties and early nineties were defined by electronic experimentation (the aforementioned Hellraiser duo being a notable and impressive exception). So when Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson turned the slasher movie inside out with this seminal meta- horror-comedy they demanded a score that would also change the rules. Then fledgling composer Beltrami responded with a ferociously aggressive and operatic onslaught of powerfully orchestral chase sequences and surprisingly haunting melancholy for tormented central character Sidney (Neve Campbell).
Sleepy Hollow (1999) – Danny Elfman
Although he became famous for his lavish Tim Burton fantasias Elfman had instead spent much of the mid-90s experimenting in a host of different genres, from war drama (Dead Presidents) to family friendly fare (Black Beauty) and blockbusters (Mission: Impossible). Burton’s gloriously ghoulish and gory Gothic horror therefore offered Elfman the chance to return to his roots and it didn’t disappoint: a full-on operatic barrage of darkly portentous choir, orchestral mayhem and occasional shimmering beauty. It’s also got a far nastier, more brutal musical streak than many earlier Elfman scores, befitting the story’s subject matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhjrlQYquBw
Drag Me to Hell (2009) – Christopher Young
It’s an odd thing when a horror movie can act as something of a detox for its director. But Drag Me To Hell is exactly the movie Sam Raimi needed to make after the overblown disappointment of Spider-Man 3, a rip-roaring camp fire tale of a banker tormented by a vicious demon. Raimi made the sage decision to employ the latter film’s composer (and all-round horror veteran) Young for the spectacular score, which mixes ecstatic vocal fireworks with wavering violins representing the narrative’s gypsy curse. A terror-ific score that reminds us how much fun it is to be scared.
The Wolfman (2010) – Danny Elfman
A self-confessed fan of Wojciech Kilar’s Dracula score, Elfman borrowed liberally from it for this troubled horror reboot. The film was ultimately mired in so many reshoot woes that Elfman’s original score had to be reworked extensively, but a standalone listen reveals a richly brooding and intoxicating opus that leans towards the bass-heavy end of the string and choir sections, engulfing the listener in archaic majesty. If it occasionally suffers something of an identity crisis by borrowing from Dracula too much, assuredly there are just enough Elfman-isms contained within.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dn9E-lSL_Y
It Follows (2015) – Disasterpeace
The spirit of John Carpenter’s Halloween (and indeed every other John Carpenter score) courses through this entertaining pastiche from Rich Vreeland aka Disasterpeace. David Robert Mitchell’s eerie horror about a sexually transmitted curse is an excellent facsimile of Carpenter’s prowling visual style and it gains an added measure of authenticity from Vreeland’s rippling electronic tapestries, ranging from gentle unease to splashy, explosive moments of pure horror.
It (2017) – Benjamin Wallfisch
One of the biggest success stories of 2017, IT marks an across-the-board success as a horror movie, coming-of-age story and Stephen King adaptation. Bill Skarsgard’s gleefully malevolent killer clown Pennywise gains added dimensions from composer Wallfisch’s multifaceted score, one that deploys British nursery rhyme ‘Oranges and Lemons’ as the monster’s childlike inner monologue. Yet this is a score driven more by compassion for its pre-adolescent ensemble, with an assortment of beautifully compassionate melodies measuring up against the horror. It’s a powerful reminder than in order to scare, the best horror scores also need to move us too.
Sean Wilson is a journalist, writer and soundtrack enthusiast and can be found on Twitter here.
