Top 9 Beautiful Horror Scores

A while ago I read a very interesting post on Day of Woman and I was shocked that I never thought of this myself, since I love horror soundtracks. That post was BJ-C’s most beautiful horror movie scores. Considering that a whopping 48% of my iTunes library is nothing but horror scores, I was shocked when I realized that I never did a top 10 on them. I’ve been saying to a lot of people that horror movies have some of the best and possibly the most beautiful scores in film. So, I decided to compile a list of beautiful harmonies that were used in horror movies. Some of the scores I wanted to use were already mentioned so I decided to pick scores that people wouldn’t think were beautiful, but really they were.

9) Main Title – House on Haunted Hill – Don Davis

This is really the only true horror sounding one I have. I guess the reason why this is so beautiful is simply because of the organ music. It’s very operatic and mixed with the violins and string instruments give it a Phantom of the Opera feel. It’s very somber but at the same time very catch and I can’t help but feel like I’m listening to an old silent horror flick.

8) Mae’s Theme – Tangerine Dream – Near Dark

Already sounding like it comes straight out of the 80’s, this beautiful synth piece from Near Dark is very reminiscent of old-school sounding noir romance flicks. It’s simply hypnotic with its striking composition that evokes feelings of remorseful love and passion. It’s almost cosmic in a way; the way the score is so smooth and tranquil. I could just picture myself driving on a lonely highway in the dead of night listening to this.

7) Floating Minds – The Ring – Hans Zimmer

Only available on the stand-alone Ring soundtrack.

I love Hans Zimmer and he created some of the best scores I’ve ever listening to (Driving Miss Daisy being one of them) but this track on The Ring soundtrack is different. It’s unbelievably sad but at the same time it feels touching as though it brings you and your loved ones close. Perhaps it’s the heartrending string segments that are very reminiscent of Itzhak Perlman or the saddening harmonious piano, but regardless… it certainly doesn’t sound like something from a horror movie.

6) Main Theme – Krzysztof Komeda – Rosemary’s Baby

With its haunting and almost serenading vocalization, and its surreal acoustic guitar, this theme is probably one of the creepiest tracks in my library because its meant to be a beautiful composition but comes off as being uncomfortable yet sweet. I’m sure that’s its intentions but the fact still stands. It’s a twisted lullaby that suggests surrendering yourself to the dark beauties of nightmares. It foreshadows the pain and sympathy that lies ahead of the film.

5) Theme – Pino Donaggio – Carrie

Definitely sounding like it came out of the 70’s, this is probably one of my favorite Donaggio scores. It’s absolutely beautiful and calming as it reminds me of really happy summer days back when I was younger. The way the violins and horns just stir up the senses and bring a sense of soothing peace to my ears. It’s strange that such a pleasant-sounding score comes from one of the saddest horror movies out there and you can definitely hear the sadness in the track. It’s very subtle but if you listen to the horns, it previews sad things to come.

4) Particle Magazine – Howard Shore – The Fly

This one always stood out to me because it makes me feel like I am in a quiet coffee shop in the city, watching all the people walk in and go by. Like most of the others, it still has this overwhelming feeling of sadness and sympathy but it’s very tranquil and nerve calming. You could just imagine yourself watching everybody pass by and wondering what their lives may be or where they are going. That’s exactly the type of feeling that I get when I listen to this a feeling of quiet, seldom observation of the world around me.

3) Come To Me – Brad Fiedel – Fright Night

Next to The Terminator, this is one of Fiedel’s greatest scores and probably one his most underrated compositions. I’ve mentioned this track every time I bring up the sexuality that is presented in Fright Night and how the score is almost intoxicating as you listen to it. With its low bass synth, raw guitar rifts and its wailing saxophone, it makes for a sexually arousing yet powerful track. It’s another one of those types of songs that you could listen to while you’re driving down a lonely highway in the dead of night. How the track is composed is very genius because it starts off low and gradually builds up to a climax, then when it reaches its peak you can hear that guitar wailing as the track slowly comes down. It’s almost haunting as it lures you into a state of relaxation. It’s really quite magical.

2) Carol Anne’s Theme – Jerry Goldsmith – Poltergeist

In the same vain as the theme from Rosemary’s Baby, this wonderfully yet goosebumps-giving track always makes me smile for some reason. With what sounds like an all children choir and the use of violins the track reminds me of good old days of television when shows like Leave it Beaver and Father Knows Best were on. I think that’s the main intention was to give this track an overwhelming feeling of childhood innocents but at the same time make it seem a little awkward. Midway into the song, the choir stops so that the violin solo could play and it’s one of the most beautiful sounding things I’ve ever heard. On a personal level, it reminded me of the summer days of my childhood when I use to play with my friends. It certainly doesn’t sound like something that belongs in a horror movie.

1) Main Theme – Riz Ortolani – Cannibal Holocaust

I chose this song because it had the most amount of playbacks in all my horror soundtrack collections with a total of 253 playbacks. I haven’t heard the score in a while so I was a little shocked to find out that I listened to that track that many times and when I pressed play and was suddenly reminded of why I love it. It is probably the most beautiful compositions to ever be in a horror movie for several reasons. It’s such a happy sounding track and makes you want to get up and have a good time but there’s something different about it. Though it may evoke feelings of happiness and playfulness, it also gives me this feeling of remorse and total awe. It does a wonderful job of keeping the feelings happy but you can’t shake this feeling like something awful is going to happen. The score draws me into a false sense of security as I blindly follow thinking that everything will be alright, but at the same time I want to be shocked. If there has to be a reason for me to collect horror soundtracks, let this song speak for all the rest.

Women in Horror 2

It has been a long time since I have seen my Chicago horror buddies and in fact, I don’t think I have ever seen all of them in one setting… well, almost all of them. Well that changed this Saturday when Horror Society decided to present Women in Horror 2. Yes, a horror film festival that honors the women of horror and the money went to Kreepy Lady Kristen who had an accident just recently and as a horror community we wanted to help her out. I tagged this one alone and I had a very good time.

Before the show I got to talk to the man behind Kitty Zombie and I had no idea that he was a special effects artist but I guess it makes sense because he created such a convincing character. We pretty much talked about remakes and how there are good remakes out there but there are a lot of ones that sucked and we discussed why they sucked. I also got into a long conversation between G. Edwin Taylor (who I finally got to meet) and Shu from Shu-izmz radio. There we pretty much talked about random stuff and G Taylor showed me the painting he drew of BJ-C of Day of the Woman. Which, was another thing we were waiting for… the arrival of BJ-C who got delayed because of a rally.

Prelude to the grand unveiling for BJ-C

I went into the theater where Nicki Nix from Hey Look Behind You, director Richard Diaz (Distortion) and I sat together behind the controls for the lights (She was the light girl) and that’s where I watched all the films form. So, here are my little micro-reviews for each of the films that I saw.

NOTE: I’m not going to tell the plot of each movie because the post will be too long.

Snuff
- This was a nice little thriller of a movie. I really enjoyed the fact that it was told in first person and that it did build up some suspense. The ending, however, I did not expect and I thought it was really well done.

Alice Jacobs is Dead
- I’ll be writing a review for this on Buy Zombie but I didn’t get a chance to watch it because the DVD wouldn’t play in my computer and my player but I really enjoyed it. Adrienne Barbeau really carried the story and her performance was great and I didn’t even know she was in the movie.

The Tickle Monster
- Production wise, this was a great indie sci-fi comedy flick. It’s literally an actual tickle monster and the prosthetics and the makeup was great. The lighting have the movie this surreal dream like world but the rest of the movie is just entertainment.

Q&A with Laura Szymber of Tickle Monster

Body of Work
- I enjoyed this one. It was nothing too special but I liked the concept and it really reminded me of Bucket of Blood for some reason. I thought the mood was good and I enjoyed the story but the characters were a little bland. Overall, it was decent.

I Spit on Eli Roth
- As a funny little jab at director Eli Roth this movie succeeded but I don’t think it really had anything going for it. It was funny to an extent but after I just wanted it to end.

Trippin
- Oh boy, I need to write out a review for this one but all I can say was that the first half was so boring that I fell asleep and the other half didn’t keep my attention enough to keep me awake. In other words, it sucked.

Q&A with Devi Snively and the cast of Trippin

Near Dark (35mm)
- If anyone knows me than you already know that I love this movie. However, my experience with this print was this: 10 minutes in the picture became shaky and the audio was way off. 20 minutes in the picture became out of focus and the shaking intensified. 30 minutes in, the picture cuts out and it’s black for about 5 or 6 minutes. Richard Diaz played The Gonk for us to rock out to till the movie started again. Then, the movie started up again.

The Fog (35mm)
- THIS WAS AWESOME ON THE BIG SCREEN WITH ALL THE GRAIN AND STALE COLOR OF THE PRINT!!

Well, BJ-C did come after all during Trippin’ with her boyfriend Billy and we had a blast catching up and talking about random things. She got to see the artwork that G. Taylor did for her and her expression was priceless. We talked with Shu for a while and took a picture of us to rub it in Stu’s (who runs Buy Zombie) face.

"the mighty bloggers of the Chicagoland area:
Day of the Woman- BJ-C
SHU-IZMZ- shu
Paradise of Horror- Rick Romanowski"
Photo courtesy of Bryan Schuessler.

BJ-C next to her necro counterpart.


Billy, BJ-C, me and Kristen

I also got to see Jay Hawkinson again and I finally met Scott Finn and we talked about random things, mostly why it’s important to make contacts and meet the people you exchange conversations with online. Kreepy Lady was also there and we briefly talked about how she was a ‘cyborg’ after her surgery. She then received the Goose of Honor by Svengirlie.

Svengirlie presenting the Goose to Kristen

After that, I left. Overall, it was nice to see so many people and it was a great night… even though I went this one alone.

What about Near Dark?

With the long awaited premiere of Twilight: New Moon here, I have decided to avoid the AMC’s and the Showplaces and stay home and watch another vampire love story. Twilight may be pleasing to fans, but as a vampire movie it does not hold up and it is ass, either way you look at it… But if you want a good vampire story about teen love and violence then avoid Twilight and see Near Dark. Why should you see this rather than Twilight? I can’t even begin to tell you why!

First off, this movie shows the passion that Caleb and Mae have for each other more intensely then Twilight could eve have. Mae loves Caleb so much that she was willing to die for him and risks turning him into a vampire.

Second off, this movie is way more brutal then Twilight. Now, I understand that Twilight is trying be teen friendly and they want to appeal to a larger audience but in honesty, it’s very rare for a vampire movie to pull off a PG rating and vampires themselves are NOT PG material.

Third, Near Dark is essentially the same damn thing as Twilight only difference is the genders are switched. Girl falls for boy, boy falls for girl, girl turns boy into vampire, vampire group gets pissed, boy turns back to normal, and girl turns back to human. The same damn thing.

Fourth, there are no memorable performances in Twilight but Near Dark had Severen as one of the best vampires in history.

Fifth, the action in this movie is way more appealing then Twilight. Why is this so? Because this movie is half western; there is an awesome bar fight, a truck exploding and amazing footage of the vampires burning as they hit sunlight.

Sixth, not one time is the word “vampire” ever mentioned in Near Dark whereas in Twilight I am sure it is mentioned at least once. Why does Near Dark not mention that word, because it doesn’t need to and because they want the audience to determine whether or not they are vampires or just mutants.

I will end this by stating a quote from the producer of the remake of Near Dark… which, is a blessing that they put it off but it raises a good point about Twilight and Near Dark.

“I think that Twilight was the same type of thing we were going for although Near Dark was a much darker, sexier, rated R version of that. But I’m concerned that, conceptually, that Near Dark and Twilight are too similar in terms of a vampire movie. For now, that movie is on hold.”
- Brad Fuller

Top 70 Vampire Movies

Here is a list that I found very amusing... the top 70 vampire movies of all time. Now, most of these films I have not seen and some of them I have but after looking through this list it has inspired me to make a video tribute for the top 10 vampire movies of the modern age. This would be my own personal list. 

Here is the original Top 70 Vampire Movies of All Time.

Review - Near Dark (1987)

On this post I would like to focus my topic on one of my favorite vampire movies. When I first saw it I did not know what to think but after watching it a few more times, I finally learned to love it. The movie is of course “Near Dark” and there are a number of things that I enjoyed about this movie. It veers away from your conventional vampire movie and it is a ghoulish blend of western films, road films and the vampire mythology.

Lets look at the technical aspect of this film. The tone of the films seems to only linger around contrasts of dark blue and orange, which could stand for the cold dark night vs. the hot sun of the day. Here is an example of how lighting heavily influences this movie. Whether this is lighting or not, there is a scene where Paxton’s character gets shredded with bullets and light beams are shining through the holes in his body. That was amazing.

There are numerous tributes to Western flicks: the setting, which is a small farming town; some of the costuming that the character wear; the standoff both in the bar and with the truck. It feels as though ‘Mad Max’ also heavily influenced it and since the whole movie is very dark and gloomy… you could almost think of this movie as a film noir movie. 

The score was brilliantly composed by Tangerine Dream and it retains that 80s techno sound, but at the same time it also sounds ‘epic’ in the sense of strong bass guitars, a synthesized choir, rapid beating drums and sound effects.

This movie will always be a key favorite of mine just for the technical aspect alone. As for the vampires, are they real vampires or are they just a group of mentally and physically ill people? But that is a question that will later be answered.