Horror Roundtable - Week Thirty-Eight
Name your favourite horror movie theme music.
Billy
Definately Friday the 13th. Although i’m sure there are “better” songs out there, I don’t think any is as memorable as this.
Jeff O’Brien
I’m going to stay away from the obvious choices and pick Richard Band for Re-Animator and From Beyond. John Carpenter’s early scores from Halloween and The Fog also.
Definitely the theme song from from the original Blob, “Beware of the Blob,” as written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Who woulda thought horror and bossa nova jazz could ever mix? “It creeps, and leaps, and glides and slides across the floor, and through, the door and all along the hall, a splotch, a blotch, be careful of the blob!” Perfectly captures the fun, goofy aestehtic of the film, plus it stands up as an excellent novelty track on its own.
Sean T. Collins - Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat
Oooh, good question! I’m surprised to discover that there’s quite a lot of horror movie theme music of which I’m awfully fond: Howard Shore’s subtly creepy theme for The Silence of the Lambs (a piece so nice he all but used it twice for the Ring’s theme in The Lord of the Rings); Christopher Young’s lush opening for Hellraiser ; Carter Burwell’s twinkling, swelling, churning theme for Barton Fink; Wendy Carlos’s absurdly ominous synths as we watch the Torrance Family drive through the mountains in The Shining; “Waltz No. 2″ from Shostakovich’s Jazz Suite as Nicole Kidman drops trou at the beginning of Eyes Wide Shut; Bernard Hermann’s work on everything from Psycho to Taxi Driver to (in a sense, at least) The Birds; Wayne Bell and Tobe Hooper’s proto-industrial clangings and hummings for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre; Johnny Cash’s “The Man Comes Around” during the stunning credit sequence for the Dawn of the Dead remake…and man, that’s without even really thinking about it!
Dave - Rue Morgue’s The Abbatoir
I don’t think I could ever choose a single favourite — there’s just too much good stuff out there. Lately I’ve been revisiting the Phantasm series, so I’m really enjoying the epic creepiness of that theme. Other long-running faves include the Phillip Glass/Kronos Quartet Dracula soundtrack, Halloween (of course!) and pretty much anything from the better-known Argento and Fulci films. If you were to include TV shows, it’s be a crime not to mention Twin Peaks. Oh, and if you’re looking for something with lyrics, I can’t get the hilarious and ridiculously catchy Poultrygeist theme by Calamari Safari out of my head: “You’ll be eaten alive by zombie chickens toniiiiight!”
I just love the haunting “Tubular Bells” from THE EXORCIST. Even though it wasn’t scored specifically for the film, I think it’s so perfect and unforgettable.
Very easy this one, definitely Profondo Rosso by Goblin quickly followed by Suspiria and Frizzi’s classic score for The Beyond!
That’s easy. The Goblin score for Argento’s DEEP RED. For me, that beat is just so perfectly suggestive of the giallo-esque repeated downward stab of a knife in a black-gloved fist.
For years I have been in love with Goblin’s score for Argento’s PHENOMENA (or CREEPERS, if you will). I love the way that, within the same song, it will alternate from slow, dirge-ish new wave to a synth-heavy opera score within seconds. It’s easily their best, most cohesive work (yeah, yeah, calm down SUSPIRIA purists) and I try to always find time to play a track from it on my radio show.
(If I can pick a close second, let’s go with Angelo Badalamenti’s score for TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME. No explanation needed. I’m sure you know why.)
This is easy…John Carpenter’s PRINCE OF DARKNESS! Probably the creepiest music i’d ever heard as a child. I remember Roger Ebert’s review of the film and the first thing he slammed was the music. What a cock sucker. But who’s laughing now Ebert!!!! BWAAHAHAHAH
Man, another toughie! How can I give just one answer?
I’d have to say that all in all, Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN just can’t be beat…I know that’s probably the expected answer, but what can I say. I’ve heard it a zillion times, and it STILL gives me the shivers. There’s obviously the main theme that everyone knows, but I also love that slow piano refrain, that pounding ‘chase’ music, and that…err, sparkly noise thingy in there. Watch the movie with me and I’ll point it out. It’s neck and neck with PSYCHO and JAWS for most recognizable, I think- it’s pure genius. I love the music from most of Carpenter’s films, in fact, but HALLOWEEN takes the cake.
Speaking of PSYCHO, I dig Manfredini’s PSYCHO-esque theme for FRIDAY THE 13th. Like the movie, that music really gets under my skin.
Philip Glass did a fantastic job on CANDYMAN…it’s sort of gothic and sweeping and HALLOWEEN-ish all at once.
When I’m writing, I listen to moody, orchestral scores, such as Howard Shore’s SILENCE OF THE LAMBS or David Julyan’s THE DESCENT. I wish I could find a copy of Brad Fiedel’s score for JUST BEFORE DAWN- I’d certainly put it on par with those last two.
I love love love love LOVE the music from the SILENT HILL games, which yes, are games…but the music for the movie was pulled almost exclusively from the game soundtracks. Akira Yamaoka is amazing. There’s stunningly beautiful melodies and some extremely frightening discordant sound effects in there. Awesome.
Then you’ve got your theme songs…I mean, what can top Dorsey Burnette’s “Peaceful Verde Valley” from KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS? Nothing, that’s what. Although, Dokken’s “Dream Warriors” from NoES 3 is up there, as is the song from PROM NIGHT, which cleverly includes the movie title (“Prom Night! Everything is all right!”). And man…if I could track down “Aerobicide” from KILLER WORKOUT, I’d be a happy happy girl.
I love lots of film scores so here’s a list of 5
favorites.
James Bernard - Plague of the Zombies
Great use of “voodoo” drums mixed with Bernard’s dramatic & creepy score.
Ennio Morricone - What Have You Done to Solange?
One of Morricone’s best and most experimental scores.
Piero Umiliani - Five Dolls for an August Moon
Classic groovy Umilliani and really fun to listen to. It might have the best theme ever.
Goblin - Suspiria
One of the creepiest and most disturbing scores ever recorded. It almost overshadows the movie at times.
Krzysztof Komeda - The Fearless Vampire Killers
Extremely creepy score for a rather campy, but really great vampire film.
Red Hawk - Happy Horror
My first thought here was the classic Godzilla March from the more recent Godzilla movies. However, it came to me that some might not consider Godzilla (at least, the most recent Godzilla movies) to be horror, so I thought a little more and decided on the Halloween theme. The music always seems to blend in with the action on-screen and works well overall.
It’s kinda dorky, but I always enjoyed the scores to most of Charles Band earlier films including, Puppetmaster.
Favourite horror movie theme music? Where do you even begin? I think there are a few obvious choices; Psycho and Suspiria come to mind. I loved Goblin’s work on the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack too. There really is only one choice for me though. John Carpenter created a little masterpiece in 1978 called Halloween. The theme to Halloween is instantly recognisable and chilling. It’s going to be interesting to see where Rob Zombie takes this theme in his “re-imagining” of Halloween when it hits theatres later this year. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that a lot of people are not going to be too happy with Rob Zombie’s choice of music. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Anything by Goblin, generally, but my favourite is probably their main theme for Argento’s Profondo Rosso, which I actually use as a ringtone on my cell phone (it works very well as that, as does a lot of progressive rock, with its tendency to start slow and soft and build up over time).
Coil’s soundtrack for Hellraiser, which was not actually used in the movie, get a honorable mention, and is worth checking out, too few people know of it (or of Coil, for that matter).
David Z. - Tomb It May Concern
So many choices, so many sounds that evoke memories of not only films, but the place in life you see them. I’m going to say that the opening theme music to A Virgin Among The Living Dead is my all time favorite. The CD was released late last year (available here) and is a must have for fans of Bruno Nicolai and spoooooky music alike.
Thanks to the Roundtable crew for their impassioned responses. You may have noticed that this installment was a little late. I apologize to everyone expecting to find it here yesterday. This has been one crazy week, with events that, if they come to fruition, will have a major impact on both my life and The Horror Blog. I’ll let you cats know just as soon as I do.
March 19th, 2007 at 9:21 am
My favorites:
John Carpenter’s music for “Prince of Darkness,” John Carpenter’s music for “Christine,” John Carpenter’s music for “Halloween,” John Carpenter’s music for “The Fog,” and John Carpenter’s music for “They Live.”
Also: Brad Fiedel’s music for both “Fright Night” pictures. Goblin’s “Dawn of the Dead.” Bruce Broughton’s “Monster Squad” and John Williams’ “Dracula,” which sound somewhat similar. Oh, and that TV-movie “House of Frankenstein 1997,” which wasn’t a spectacular movie, has surprisingly nice music by Don Davis.
I love my monster music.
March 19th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
[…] about getting cast by his pal Quentin Tarantino for a small role in Grindhouse. — I missed this week’s Horror Roundtable at The Horror Blog with my little space-out last week, but y’all should check it out: on the […]
March 19th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Hmm, apparently I’m way out in left field on this one. I realized afterwards I should have picked the theme from Spider Baby, as sung by Lon Chaney Jr., but I see that would have been no less out of place.
March 19th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
I read the most wonderful thing once. I can’t remember who it was or where I read it, but it was an interview with a bunch of nu-metal bands who were featured together on the soundtrack for some crappy PG-13 horror flick. The interviewer asks ‘em, “So why do you think metal goes so well with horror movies?” and everybody’s got an answer like “Cuz they both break the rules, man! Neither one’s about puppies and rainbows!”
Ten or so guys in, one of ‘em–not a front man, not that you’d know the band anyway–says something super-informed along the lines of, “I don’t think they go together at all. The best horror movies, they always use music as counterpoint. Metal kind of numbs you to what’s happening on-screen.”
The interviewer’s like, “So why take the job?”
“Because somebody’s giving me money to play music.”
And word to the first commenter. Carpenter’s scores are so good, man–between that and his shot-framing, he’s underrated even by his fans. I bet The Thing would’ve been great even if he didn’t get Morricone.
March 19th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Of course, the themes from “Psycho”, “Halloween”, and “Jaws” are iconic. Even people who claim to dislike horror flicks know this music.
The music in nearly all Carpenters’ movies is memorable.
Every real horror fan adores the Goblins.
My personal favs, though, are Phillip Glass’ theme for “Candyman” - it’s poignant and haunting, totally befitting the film; the theme from “Hellbound: Hellraiser 2″ - it imports a slightly demented, yet grandiose, feeling; and the intro theme to “LIfeforce” by, of all people, Henry Mancini.
March 20th, 2007 at 5:43 am
I’m sure your’e all just a little forgetfull, and not to blame for not mentioning the haunting music from CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST by Riz Ortolani. There one very spooky and sad pice in that soundtrack that I love above all other horror music.
The Bloodstained Shadow by Stelvio Cipriani and Goblin is very funky and weird and memorable.
Krystoff Komedas theme for Rosemary Baby!
Morricones music for Exorcist 2: the heretic , really saved that film, with it’s greatness.
And a mention goes out to The Devils Rejects. It’s a compilation, but still, it’s a GREAT compilation, that elevates the film to true greatness.
Otherwise the songs mentioned pretty much sums up the greatest music!
March 20th, 2007 at 5:50 am
(apologies for all the missing letters. A new laptop got my fingers confused!)
And while I’m here : Riz Ortolanis wild stringstabbing music for Fulci’s Don’t Torture A Duckiling is great too.
And the music for WOLF CREEK by Francois Tetaz got me mesmerized when I saw that film.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I really like the music to Torso.
I also like that song during the funeral in Psychomania, and ANYTHING Goblin is ALWAYS good!
And for what it’s worth, the disco tunes in Prom Night are waaaay boss!