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.

Soundtracks - Sunshine (Adagio In D Minor)

If you are one of my followers on Twitter than you’ve obviously heard me talk about this score many times and for those of you who know how crazy I get about soundtracks will think I keep bringing it up. All of it is for good reason because I’ve stated it once before and several times after; this is one of the most beautiful compositions in soundtrack history. I’ll go further to say that it’s one of the best soundtrack cues from the past 10 years. In case you don’t know by now I am referring to John Murphy’s ‘Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor).’ I know it's not horror but it's something that I feel the need to bring up because of how brilliant it is. Since its debut during Sunshine it has been used in countless other places both in film and television and for movie folk… it is regarded as one of the more famous scores in movie trailer history.

Speaking of history, ‘Adagio in D Minor’ was actually composed by both John Murphy and the British electric band Underworld for Sunshine. The term Adagio is derived from the Italian term agio, which is a tempo indication that the music should be played softly and ‘with ease.’ It makes sense because this part of the Sunshine score starts off slowly and progresses to a more tense climax, however it still remains it’s slow sound. It’s easy to hear both John Murphy and Underworld’s influence because the score borrows elements from both cinematic and rock soundscapes. The hard-sounding piano and near the end of the cue, you’ll begin to hear electric drums beating which then ultimately caps off with a grand finale of drums, piano, synthesizers and string instruments.

In Murphy’s other rendition of the same cue called ‘Kanada’s Death Part II (Adagio in D Minor),’ the same sounds are heard only now a heavy industrial guitar solo is thrown into the mix. This sound transitions to total chaos as the guitar, once beautifully played, is played with extravagant force and distortion. It fits well with the techno sounding atmosphere of the film. It seems as though both ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Kanada’s Death Part II’ are the same thing only ‘Kanada’s Death Part II’ is more along the lines of rock ‘n roll. Either way, they are both beautifully composed tracks.

Now, I might be bias when it comes to judging this track because the first time I heard it was during a Cloverfield trailer entitled “Robert.” The trailer utilized the track to make the film seem less about the monster and more about the people that have to fight to survive. It gave it this humanly but grim tone to the film. I was so taken aback by the track they used that I sought out to find it. When I finally found it, I gave it a listen and chills ran down my spine. It’s funny that I heard the track before seeing Sunshine yet I fell in love with it right away. Since I am a huge Cloverfield fan, this track stuck out to me and as strange as it may be… I’ve always associated this track with Cloverfield.

But to prove how this one cue, which its many renditions, took off and changed things… I want to provide some evidence. Below are some trailers and a scene in which this cue is used. It goes to show that it’s considered to be one of the greatest trailer scores that was not made specifically for a trailer. One of the prime examples of this would be Hans Zimmer’s ‘Burn It All’ track from Backdraft. Like that one, I’m sure Adagio in D Minor will take off in no time.

The original clip from Sunshine. Keep in mind, this is 'Kanada's Death Part II.'

Here is the Cloverfield trailer that did it for me:

The trailer for Adjustment Bureau also used the track although they used ‘Sunshine’ and not ‘Kanada’s Death Part II.’ It’s easy to mix the two up.

John Murphy, while composing Kick-Ass, remade his signature score and many people remember it from when Hit Girl tries to save Big Daddy. It is probably one of the sadder scenes in the film. Also, Murphy used the same note during other scenes in the movie so there different renditions of ‘Sunshine’ throughout the film. In this scene, the track is renamed to 'Strobe (Adagio in D Minor).'

There are other places that the track has been used such as the season finale of “Fringe” and “V” but also it was heard, and I saw the coverage but can’t find it online, during one of the interviews of Apolo Ohno at Vancouver. What it boils down to is that this track isn’t just another soundtrack but a brilliant piece of music as well.

Soundtracks - Fright Night (1985)

The other night I decided that I wanted to do a soundtrack post and I haven’t done one in a long time. I figured that I would do a short little analysis of a score that I fell in love with when I first heard it. It was the score to Fright Night composed by Brad Fiedel. On first hearing, this score isn’t really that scary nor is it really that imposing but if you look at the movie… the movie isn’t pure horror either. However, I will say that it is definitely an 80s sounding score considering the synthesizers and the use of the saxophone, something most scores don’t really have nowadays.

The score starts off slow and builds up to the climax before it slows down again until the end. The movie is very sexual and I think the score really adds to the sexuality of the movie in it’s pacing. As it starts off slow, you can think of it as a slow build up to, or foreplay, sex. As it progresses we begin to hear wind instruments adding a more primitive tone to the movie, as though this is the point where things become more animalistic so to speak. When it climaxes it can be referencing the climactic point in having sex. Throughout the score the saxophone really adds to the eroticism.

But I still find this score, as loud as it can be, very soft and very slow. As sexual as the score is (and how close to sounding as if it was a porno soundtrack) it’s still very eerie and very foreboding. It really gives you the feeling of being stalked or lulled into a false sense of sexual ecstasy. It’s haunting and very controlling at the same time. It matches perfectly to tone of the movie.

Below, I have provided a YouTube video of the theme to Fright Night. I have the theme on my computer but Blogger video isn’t working right so I can’t give you a clearer version of the song.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 18: Soundtracks - Trick 'r Treat

For day 18 of our 31 Days of Halloween I will be doing a little review of one of the best scores that I have heard in years. That is the Trick ‘r Treat score by Douglas Pipes. You may have already seen me mention him in my Top 10 Horror Composers but now I want to review is actual score. I will be talking about the 4 distinct tracks on the soundtrack: “Opening,” “Main Titles” and “Meet Rhonda” 

“Opening:” The opening sets the tone that this is movie is like a Halloween kids movie gone horribly wrong. It uses light-hearted piano keys to make it sound childish in a scary way. The single note bass horn that makes us feel that something is approaching, something that is threatening and then… almost out of nowhere the score picks up and feel as though we are being chased by something.

“Main Titles:” This track is like the magnum opus of this movie and it really puts you in that mood. It’s tense; it’s dark and mystic. I felt like it was in a fair tale when I listened to this track… even more so, I felt like I was in a really twisted children’s variety cartoon. I can tell that this track was heavily influenced by the score of Friday the 13, because of its ear piercing string ensemble in the beginning. What I really enjoyed in this track, that most horror movie scores should have, is the use of low sounding bells and a children’s choir in the back.

“Meet Rhonda:” Ah, this track. A more seldom and soft sounding track… again using that piano to make the tone feel more innocent, childish but yet mystifying considering the piano was off key at points.

I am glad that Mike released the soundtrack on his website and every track on the soundtrack listening is a must but I just wanted to quickly go over the tracks that stood out to me when I was watching the movie. This is pretty much showing that I have way too much time on my hands but I think Douglas Pipes is establishing himself as a horror composer. 

Don't forget to check out Day 19 of our 31 Days of Halloween at Deadly Movies.

Soundtracks - C.H.U.D. (1984)

From Blogger Pictures

Yes, I am doing a soundtrack review for the 1984 b-movie C.H.U.D., because I can and because this movie has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. Ever since I saw it I became enthralled with the soundtrack of it and now I feel as though I have to communicate my obsession with it through writing. The score can be broken up into two parts; both synthesized of course, the Main Titles and the Main Theme. I don’t really care about the love theme or any of the scores in between; it’s those two that always made me smile.

The Main Titles

This is got to be one of the best main theme titles in 80s b-movie cinema. Right off the bat, as soon as the credits appear, you hear loud pulsing synthesized drums giving it that epic monster movie feel. Over the drums there is a humming sound, pretty much just providing white noise. Then there is that siren sounding electric guitar strum… and it really does sound like an short air raid siren that they would use before setting a bomb off or the kind of siren you hear in a laboratory. All the better to give the movie that threatening sound.

The Main Theme

This was an awesome main theme because like the Main Titles it starts off with a fantastic symphony of synthesized drums and piano. At points, it sounds like they are horns but there is also this sound that gives it this strange and eerie tone. If you listen to the sound it has about midway into the score, it’s almost sad and depressing… like you’re mourning somebody. It has this creepy, haunting yet sad and strange tone. If you think about it, the C.H.U.D.’s aren’t all that bad because they are mutated homeless people.. so maybe they are trying to make you feel for them. Who knows.

So, that is my little analysis of the soundtrack to the movie C.H.U.D. and I am glad I finally got that off my back. If anybody has a place that I can maybe rip the music from or can tell me where to find the soundtrack… please do. Again, this is a score that I will always remember because it’s so intoxicating. Below is a clip from the movie that has the Main Titles sequence, I could not find a video on the Main Theme. 

Soundtracks - Critters (1986)

From Blogger Pictures

It has been a very long time since I did a review on a soundtrack and this time I will do a short review on a certain track from the movie Critters. David Newman composed the score for this movie and the track is titled… “Critter Skitter.” The other tracks in the soundtrack were okay but I enjoyed “Critter Skitter” a lot more since it paralleled “Gremlin Rag” in many ways. They both are synthesized but more importantly they are both fast paced and sound as though they belong in a cartoon… but “Critter Skitter” has something that “Gremlin Rag” doesn’t have: the use of a strong guitar and bell chimes.

The track starts off with electric drums and then the electric piano begins and that’s when the guitar and the bells come in and they are all fast pace. What I also like about the “Critter Skitter” is how it sounds like it belongs in an action sci-fi movie, which is rightfully so since “Gremlin Rag” sounds like a cartoon jingle. “Critter Skitter” is more dark and gloomy… more space themed. I am not ripping on Gremlins; I am simply comparing the two. It’s funny because I can just imagine the Crites running and rolling around to this song. 

Easy Listening

I hope that I am not the only one but there are some soundtracks that I sometimes use to fall asleep. They are so mellow, calm soft. I know most people would turn on regular music or soft rock or even the TV to try to fall asleep but I listen to horror movie scores. I know I’m weird.

Here are some of my favorite tracks:

1.     The Ring Suite

2.     End Credits (The Ring)

3.     Prologue: Welcome to Creepshow

4.     The Dead Suite (Day of the Dead)

5.     The Dead Walk (Day of the Dead)

6.     Pick Up At High Noon (Near Dark)

7.     Rain in the Third House (Near Dark)

8.     H3 –Season of the Witch

9.     Main Title (Nightmare on Elm Street)

10. Intro and Main Title (Phantasm)

11. Come to Me (Fright Night)

It's easy listening for the horror sect. 

Soundtracks - Creepshow (1982)

I am really happy because I finally got my “Creepshow” soundtrack in the mail today and I uploaded the tracks to my playlist. I am a huge fan of John Harrison, especially his work on ‘Day of the Dead.’ It is interesting because “Creepshow” is one of my favorite horror movie soundtracks, although on the track listed Until Next Time there are some points where it seemed a bit corny to have la-la-laing.

This soundtrack also had specific feel to it… not so much the main themes but rather the scores to each individual stories. The sound soundtracks sounded as though they were grindhouse/exploitation soundtracks. Funny enough, the track entitled Father’s Day was used for Eli Roth’s faux trailer “Thanksgiving.”

Like I said, the main problem that I had with this soundtrack was the la-la’s and what I mean by that is… for those who have this score… on Until Next Time around 2:24 and again around 3:20. For me, it just kind of breaks the mood but it is still a good track.

Tracklist:

1.     Prologue – Welcome to Creepshow

2.     Father’s Day

3.     The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill

4.     Something To Tide You Over

5.     The Crate

6.     They’re Creeping Up On You

7.     Epilogue

8.     Until The Next Time (End Titles)

Suites from ‘Tales from the Darkside’

9.     Satanic Piano

10. Everybody Needs a Little Love

11. Sorry Right Number

12. Overture (Mansions of the Moon)

From Shoobie Doobie Moon

13. Main Title Song

14. You Make Me Feel Like A Monster

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Soundtracks - My Bloody Valentine (1981)

I figure since I am on the topic of “My Bloody Valentine” I might as well talk about the song that was in the original movie. The song is entitled The Ballad of Harry Warden, which was composed by Paul Zaza and it was song by popular Canadian singer/songwriter John McDermott. This was a song that I actually enjoyed and it was very different from most theme songs for horror movies; this one is a lot more mellow and calm. But why is this? We have to take a look into the movie’s setting.

The movie takes place in a small mining town of Valentine Bluffs (Harmony in the 2009 remake), in which everybody knows everybody, where everything is rural and rustic looking and where true American and Main Street USA can be found. This is a town that is average and very homey until the Henniger murders. This song reflects this. Every town has it’s folklore and legends and that’s what this song’s lyrics are about… the legend and curse of Harry Warden.  Like a ballad, the song is sung soft and its played in acoustics. It sounds just like a folk song and in a way it sounds just like the kind of song sung while visiting the Heartland.

This is something that I think that the remake lacked, this feeling of having a small quiet innocent town become sour after a horrific tragedy. Hell, the lyrics can be considered as a stand-alone poem about a legendary killer.

That’s what I love about the original movie. 

Soundtracks - Re-Animator (1985)

After re-watching “Re-Animator” I finally realized why the beginning theme to the movie sounds so familiar. The entire piece, which was composed by Richard Band, is identical to that of the ‘Psycho Suite’ by Bernard Herrmann. Although the only things that are identical in the “Re-Animator” theme is the beginning notes and the beginning notes of the bridge of the theme, the rest is very original but still sounds like it was taken from something else. I don’t want to say that it is a rip-off, because I don’t know what the history behind the theme but I will say that it should have been revised.

Even though the theme is similar I still enjoyed the movie and the theme really worked with the movie. It’s very tedious and a bit nerve racking, which compliments the movie. The theme is played over the opening credits in which several multicolored diagrams of the human mind are layered over each other.

Perhaps, in some way, “Re-Animator” was inspired by “Psycho” but I can’t see how. 

Soundtracks - The Terminator (1984) / The Terminator 2 (1991)

This theme, in my opinion, is one of the best sci-fi themes that have been written. Composer Brad Fiedel compliments this movies technological overtone with his electronic synthesized score, which signatures the clanking metal of the Terminator itself. It gives the audience a sense of danger and horror and forebodes an unknown menace.  It also creates the sensation and essence of science fiction, machinery and a post apocalyptic atmosphere. Overall, compared to the “Terminator 2” theme, this score is a lot more ominous and threatening.

When “Terminator 2” came out, it redefined the entire theme from the original. What we got was an orchestral theme played in D minor, which creates a very desperate, mournful and melancholy tone. It captures the sense of destiny and loss, which is exactly what the movie is – their destiny is to destroy Skynet and save the world from total destruction, yet John Connor looses the Terminator, his only father figure. It overwhelms the audience with an array of emotions; both fear and hopeful at the same time. Then, ultimately at the end, rather then just fading out, it suddenly stops with a loud metallic sound… which in the end is very dramatic.

What we can also compare is the relationship between the theme and the Terminator. The first theme was stiff, electronic and very almost monotone much like the first Terminator; he was just an emotionless mindless killing machine. When “Judgment Day” was written, the score was more orchestrated and it had personality, it changed and sounded less computerized like the T-1000; he changed from just a machine to something more and he had some understanding of human emotions and in some way, he was a lot more human. 

Soundtracks - The Fly (1986)

Howard Shore has always been a favorite of mine. He has done some truly memorable scores to such movies as “Silence of the Lambs,” “Ed Wood,” “Crash,” “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Panic Room,” “Aviator” and “The Departed.” Although he has been a long time music collaborator with David Cronenberg and he has composed several of his movies. The one in particular that I want to quickly talk about is his 1986 feature: “The Fly.”

I just think it’s interesting that both the beginning titles and the end titles of the movie are very cinematic and operatic, almost as thought the movie was an opera and a romantic love story, which it its. The movie is played out like an opera and the score is its music. You can also look at as though each stage in which Brundle becomes a fly is like a different act to the play. The score is very orchestrated and during the scenes in which you see Brundle transform into a fly its very epic, so to speak, and the other scenes have just a regular movie score.

 

Too bad the sequel ruined it. Nobody should make sequels to Cronenberg films no matter how much of a cliffhanger it leave or how much it sets up for another movie. 

Soundtracks - The Shining (1980)

So lately I have been on a huge horror movie soundtrack craze. I have downloaded the soundtracks for “Signs,” “Dreamcatcher,” “28 Weeks Later,” “Zombie,” “Suspiria,” “Candyman,” “The Fog,” “The Shining,” “The Video Dead,” “Cannibal Holocaust” and “Creepshow.”  What I find interesting is the theme to the movie “The Shining” by Wendy Carlos. The score itself was based on Hector Berlioz’ Dies Irae and Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14: Ronde du Sabbat. Its funny because Die Irae is a Latin hymn that deals with the Day of Judgment and the trumpet summoning the souls from God to deliver the good to the gates of Heaven the bad to eternal flame. Essentially, in “The Shining”  it is exactly that, the conflict between good and evil which is Danny and Jack Torrence. And in the end, Danny and his mom leave the hotel and Jack becomes part of the inferno.

The fifth movement of the Symphonie Fantastique deals with a gathering of hideous monsters and sorcerers who have come together for the characters funeral. I guess in a way, the Overlook Hotel is this gather of monsters, demons and witches considering that the hotel was built on an Indian burial ground. The bell tolls and the witches dance around a bubbly cauldron and the character joins the diabolical orgy of monsters… referencing how Jack has now become one with the Overlook and has taken his rightful place again as the caretaker. Even his reincarnation can’t escape it.

It’s funny since Kubrick has always been a fan of classical music… one can find that out by his earlier work. Although, for me, what makes this music so brilliantly done is the overlaying background chants which reinforces the notion that the Overlook is built on an Indian burial ground.

I guess, for me, I look way too deep into the scores of these movies. But its what I do. This is just my opinion on the score and out of all the other scores that I have, this one seems, to me, more influential and symbolic of the movies theme and setting. Kubrick was an amazing director.