Partytime: The Fall of the Living Dead

I want to come right out and say that I enjoyed Return of the Living Dead: Part II but not nearly as much as the original. The original had something that this one lacked, and I guess it would fit more with the original than with it’s sequel considering the plot. The original movie was a satire on a new culture that was beginning to peak in the 80s, a culture of people that were ‘rebels,’ a culture that was based off of the popular musical genre of metal, a culture where chains, baggy black jeans, piercings, dyed hair and Doc Martens were the norm. Yes, the original not only parodied this culture but it had one of the greatest horror movie soundtracks.

The original had songs from The Cramps, 45 Grave, T.S.O.L., SSQ, The Damned and a few more. Hell, the main score was written by SSQ. To the casual movie watcher these bands are probably too obscure and in turn they probably never heard of them. I’ll admit that I never heard of them either and I only know them from the movie but they are all part of the indie punk scene that was forming around the mid to late 80s. Specifically, the scene in which the zombies break out of their graves to the hard rock track of "Partytime" by 45 Grave. After being shown a multitude of scenes of these punks defiling a grave, in an ironic twist of events the dead come back to life to seek revenge on them. It’s as though the creators of this film were saying that the punks of this generation are nothing but a bunch of brain-dead zombies. Given that the film blends 50s ideology and 80s punk movements, it’s funny how the score/music sort of compliments the decade that it was made in. It’s something that I really enjoyed from this movie.

Again, I’m not bashing the sequel but I felt as though the film could have furthered the satire but instead we get a ‘zombie rise’ scene set to a typical 80s synth score. However, this was one of the biggest problems that I had with the film and although it didn’t ruin it for me… I think it would have made the movie better. The zombies weren’t rebelling against the rebels and or they weren’t given much character. I don’t want to get into a discussion about the zombies per say but rather the absence of a hard rock soundtrack. It seems like something that is minor but it’s what made the original so good. It was still made in the 80s, back when young moviegoers wanted more pazazz with their zombies, so seeing the dead rise out of the ground set to a even louder hard rock tune would have made it all the more entertaining. Even if you take out the fact that the hard rock was intentional to serve a purpose, for most horror fans rock and roll is their choice of music. Blending the two together make for a great movie.

The absence of a rock soundtrack doesn’t make the movie bad or unwatchable but it gives the film brownie points, so to speak. I am fine with hearing a electronic synth score but I feel as though it’s not truly a Return of the Living Dead movie without some hard rock in the background. Still, though, it’s a great film that pays respect to the original and has some extra gags in it that I really enjoyed.

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.

In Memoriam: Jerry Goldsmith

(1929 - 2004)

Today marks the 81st birthday of composter Jerry Goldsmith. He died at the age of 75 but his legacy would live on forever. He has composed some of the most memorable and award winning scores of our time and I think, personally, he is one of my favorite composers next to John Williams. He composed the score to the sci-fi classic Star Trek, to Polanski’s Chinatown to the creepy and childish Poltergeist. He composed the scores for actions movies such as The Mummy, Total Recall, Alien, Legend and First Blood. However, I want to briefly talk about his notable horror scores.

Goldsmith was nominated for 17 different Academy Awards; making him one of the most nominated composers but the only Oscar that he would win would be for the ’76 horror film The Omen. He scored one for the horror team! His score for The Omen is biblical and epic; chanting "Sanguis bibimus, corpus edimus, tolle corpus Satani" and "Ave Versus Christus,” both of which are synonymous with Satan, which is fitting for The Omen. The choral aspects of this score are so haunting and so heavy that it sticks out from other horror scores.

As for the Poltergeist theme, well, its almost like a lullaby done in the same style that Krzysztof Komeda did for Rosemary’s Baby. It’s soft, it’s mellow, and it’s touching but very haunting. You can even hear how it’s almost a throwback to old Hollywood scores. It fits perfectly for a movie like this.

Then, taking a turn for the more comedic horror route, Goldsmith composed the scores for the Gremlins movies. The majority of this score was synth but I think that it fits for what the film is. The score is very high speed, very active and should not be taken seriously. It’s almost like a score for a big budget cartoon, which is what Gremlins, is, a life action cartoon.

With all this said, next to John Williams, I have a lot of Jerry Goldsmith CD’s and songs and he has been a real heavy, heavy influence on my writing and on my work. By listening to his scores I have gotten some of my best ides from and if I listen with an open mind, I can put myself right there in the movie. This was a man whose work will always be remembered and to me, he will never be forgotten.

Rest In Peace Jerry Goldsmith.

My favorite scores by Goldsmith:
Patton
The Mummy
The Omen
Poltergeist
The Twilight Zone: The Movie
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Total Recall
Looney Toons: Back in Action
Gremlins
The ‘Burbs
L.A. Confidential

Old Music in Horror

I have seen The Shining well over 20 or so times and every time I see it, it freaks me out or reminds me of that time when I screamed when I saw the twin girls in the hall. However, one thing that has always given me the chills was at the end of the movie when the camera zooms in on the portrait and a specific song plays over the scene. That song was ‘Midnight, the Stars and You’ sung by Al Bowlly in 1934. It got me thinking of other movies that incorporated really old songs as part of their soundtracks and I started to wonder why these songs sound so creepy in horror movies but not in real life.



I think one of the reasons why the Al Bowlly songs was so creepy in The Shining is because of the way it was recorded. It sounds really muffled, very low key, Al Bowlly’s voice is echoing and it sounds so ominous. The intentions of the song are very chipper and very romantic, however, when it’s played… it sounds like the song is actually coming from the hotel. When I hear it, I immediately think of the tragedy that happened and how long ago it was and yet the hotel keeps replaying what happened. It’s repetition.

Another movie that does this quit well is Stephen King’s Rose Red. I will admit that this movie was pretty creepy and sometimes pretty intense. The one scene that I will always remember, among many, is the scene when ‘In The Mood’ by Glenn Miller starts playing out of the flowers. Now, the original recording wasn’t recorded like Al Bowlly’s song but what made it chilling was how the house took such a festive song and made it play out of a flower. I am sure any normal person would freak out over something like that.

Jeepers Creepers was brought up to me by somebody on Twitter as a movie that incorporates such a whimsical song into a dark and sadistic horror movie. I have to agree because the song plays over a tour of the Creeper’s lair. This chilling feeling is somewhat like that feeling of remorse, sorrow and horror in Apocalypse Now when ‘What A Wonderful World’ was playing over the bombings. It’s a They are contrasts of two vastly different feelings and seeing a dark, watery, silent, cold-feeling, eerie basement while hearing an echoing song is pretty terrifying. Plus, since you are the camera, you don’t know where you are headed and it only adds to the horror.

The other example that I have comes from a trailer for a horror themed video game called Bioshock. In the trailer we hear ‘Beyond the Sea’ (1959) sung by Bobby Darin play over while the protagonist tries shooting and destroying the Big Daddies, killing mutated monsters and blowing shit up. The reason why this song is so eerie is because of the same reason why the Al Bowlly song sounds so creepy. The editors tuned it up to make it have an echoing sound and pipe-sound. This tuning makes the song sound as if it was recorded under the ocean and it fits perfectly with the dark and threatening atmosphere.



There are plenty more that I am missing and I only talked about the more prominent ones. I know there is ‘Jazz Traditional – Charleston’ from The Evil Dead and Creepshow and a few in See No Evil. I think the reason why these horror movies are so creepy in horror movies is because of the context that they are used in. Plus, back then, they didn’t have such great audio capturing devices so a lot of times they are muffled, echoed or distorted… giving the song the perfect mood for that horror movies.

Top 10 Original Horror Songs

I was thinking, while I was listening to #6 on this list, about original songs in horror movies. I realized that there are some amazing songs out there custom made for horror flicks. I did my best to create a list of my favorite horror songs and I know I am missing a lot but these are only the ones that I have heard so far.

Note: I wanted to include audio players so that you can hear the songs but the video uploader in Blogger was giving me shit. Instead I decided to upload crappy pictures. Sorry about that.

1. Don’t Bug Me – Jimmy Buffett (Arachnophobia)
If you don’t know me, than you honestly don’t know that I am a megafan of Jimmy Buffett and after I found out that he made a custom song for Arachnophobia I almost went insane. It’s almost a novelty song and it has a great beat and it’s pretty funny. If gives you that real small town feel when you listen to it.

2. Cry Little Sister – Gerard McMann2 (The Lost Boys)
This is a very dark, very gothic and very foreboding song. It has that 80s feel and Gerard has a very brilliant voice, but what I think makes this song so chilling is the synthesizers that give it that edgy darkness. Plus, there is an organ solo and a great children choir for back up. It’s a very catch tune that also alludes to the Bible.

3. Fright Night – J. Geils Band (Fright Night)
I remember this song so fondly as a kid and I remember having this profound love for this song at the end credits at the end of Fright Night. The song is a great example of a 80s club song and the lyrics are spot on with what the movie is about. Once you hear it, it’ll only make you want to watch the real ‘Fright Night.’

4. The Ballad of Harry Warden – John McDermott (My Bloody Valentine)
With a great and very twisted laugh to kick it off, this song is a ballad. It’s very quiet and it sounds like a folk song, which it should considering its making a legend out of Harry Warden. It really gives you the feeling of a small town story turned legend and it’s a very depressing but very brilliant written song.

5. I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me – Pino Donaggio (Carrie)
This is probably one of THE best romantic songs from a horror movie I had ever heard. It’s so touching and it really emphasizes what Carrie’s emotion was like when she was asked to the prom. As you listen to it, listen to the lyrics and it really makes you shed a little tear for Carrie and her mismatched love.

6. Beast Loose in Paradise – Lordi (Dark Floors)
A lot might disagree with this, but I find this song very catchy with a great beat. Thought the lyrics have nothing to do with the movie, it’s a great hard rock song with piano (surprisingly) and the bridge of the song is pretty epic.

7. Too Bad You’re Crazy – Jerry Whitman (April Fool’s Day)
The epitome of every clown song; the lyrics are hysterical to listen to and it’s such and odd song. It’s random but it can get really catch after a while. I found myself whistling the tune after watching the movie. Listen to this song here. (Courtesy of The Horror Digest)

8. The Blob – The Five Blobs (The Blob)
Oh, what a great and very funny song this is. The lyrics are so great because it’s exactly what the blob is. It has that great acoustic guitar and with a jazzy sounding theme, it really is fun to listen to.

9. Tonight (We’ll Make Love Till We Die) – SSQ (Return of the Living Dead)
Now this is a pretty tripping sounding song. The voices are somewhat distorted, it has a great guitar rift and saxophones. The title is very appropriate and if you like good hard rock… you’ll love this.

10. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes – Lee Lewis (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes)
Having a song where a farmer sees tomatoes in his trees then end ups dying because they attacked him just spells awesome. The lyrics are hysterical and it’s catch but the song itself takes killer tomatoes to a serious level. I love it!!

Honorable Mention Songs
Killer Klowns – The Dickies (Killer Klowns from Outer Space)
The Monster Squad – The Monster Squad (The Monster Squad)
Love Song for a Vampire – Wojciech Kilar (Bram Stoker’s Dracula)
We Are Going to Eat You – Fabio Frizzi (We Are Going to Eat You)
We Accept the Challenge – Thor and the Tritonz (Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare)
After Dark – Tito & Tarantula (From Dusk Till Dawn)
Dream Warriors – Dokken (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)
He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask) - Alice Cooper (Friday the 13th Part 6)

Honorable Album mentions – Instances where all the songs are more than one song is good and the whole album is composed of different songs.
Trick or Treat (1987) – Fastway
Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare (1987) – Thor and the Tritonz

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.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 14: Halloween 2009

For today’s post of 31 Days of Halloween would have been a one of my video reviews of John Carpenter’s The Thing, however, in light of some events that have come up I was unable to use any kind of video capture program and editing program. Instead, I got a CD in the mail by Glenn Heyser… his personal compilation of Halloween themed songs including a little extra. I popped this CD right into my computer and I gave it a listen and here is what I have to say: WOW!!!!

That’s right, WOW!! The music ranged from 80’s rock, to new horror punk and even soundtracks. Personally, my favorite tracks were as follows:

Backseat of My Hears – Calabrese

Pet Sematary – The Ramones

Trick or Treat – Groovie Ghoulies

Night In The Lonesome October – Calabrese

Do The Bat – Groovie Ghoulies

Papa Jupe – The Meteors

But there was one thing about this compilation that I really enjoyed, aside from The Munsters theme… and that was the radio spots of some famous horror movies such as Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, Zombie, Astro Zombies and The Hills Have Eyes. In between each song and radio spot there is a sound effect to give the impression that you are listening to an old radio and you’re switching between channels… I LOVE THAT!! It’s so nostalgic

Overall, I love this CD and if you want one you can contact Glenn here. 

Make sure you check out Day 15 of our 31 Days of Halloween over at Deadly Movies. 

Sweet Dreams of Marilyn Manson

I have never been a fan of Marilyn Manson but I will admit to liking a few of his songs… mostly his cover songs. The one song that I really enjoyed would be the cover to the awesome song by Eurythmics called “Sweet Dreams.” That version of the song has been used countless times in several horror movies as well as thrillers. But, I think the only reason why this song makes it into the horror realm is because of Manson’s appearance and show and the way the song sounds… which is fine, but many times it just seems out of place. However, there are two movies that use this song to their advantage and they are House on Haunted Hill and Trick ‘r Treat.

 

Let’s first look at House on Haunted Hill: the song was used when Mr. Price was shredding Evelyn’s guest list to make his own and then that fades into a montage of all the black Sedan’s with everybody inside looking over their invitations. In real-time, this song doesn’t make sense but I think it foreshadows what will happen. The song itself, from how I interpreted it, is a grim look into the dream world and how anything is possible… even the most twisted and sickest of things. It is possible that you can compare the dream realm with the Vannicutt’s institute in which they are both surreal and they both had psychotic things happen inside of them. That may be looking too deep into the song and the premise of the movie but it a plausible argument, who am I to disagree?

 

Not let’s look at the scene from Trick ‘r Treat when the attractive young girls tear their skin off revealing that they are werewolves only to devour the men that they lured into their little campfire. Much like the way House on Haunted Hill used “Sweet Dreams,” Trick ‘r Treat enhanced that dream element to the song. Once the opening of the song starts playing you already know shit is coming to a boil and then when the transformations start all you, as an audience, can do is watch in awe and if you were really there, all you can say is: ‘it’s only a dream.’ You never see it coming and this is exactly what the song says… anything, no mater how horrifying or crazy it seems, can happen in dreamland

All in all, I am not complaining about the song or even some of the movies that have used the song, I just did a little post on the two movie that actually used the song to their advantage rather than using it because it sounds cool. It does get a bit tiring to hear this song in either trailers or other movies but I can manage that. I think I even heard the song in the trailer for Dark Asylum, which is too funny. It just proves that with a little imagination you can really make this song scary. 

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. 

Arachnophobia

I am currently watching one of my favorite horror movies “Arachnophobia” and what I noticed is that this movie is the perfect blend of horror and campiness and John Goodman steals the show. I have always admired this movie for what it was and someday, in the near future, I will do an extensive review on why I love this movie so much. It’s a paradox; I have a morbid fear of spiders yet I love this movie… I guess, I truly to enjoy getting pants shitting scared 

Below is the song “Don’t Bug Me,” sung by Jimmy Buffett who is my favorite artist. When I first heard it I thought it was some other guy but then when I looked on the soundtrack listing it said that it was actually Mr. Buffett himself and then I realized: so that’s why it sounded so good.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

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

1

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. 

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 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.