HORROR TEN SPOT: My top Horror Film Scores (Part 1)

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Because film is a show me, not tell me medium, it’s easy to associate the terror of a horror flick with the visual: onscreen violence, graphic carnage, jump-scare pop-outs, brooding atmospheres, etc. What goes overlooked a lot of the time is the musical score or theme song of a horror film, an emotional avenue that, when done effectively, is driven directly to your visceral core. Horror scores hold the arduous task of accentuating the fears and uncertainty of the characters in the film, which in turn inform you how to respond…usually doing so on a subconscious level. As such, why not take a look back at some of the most spine-tingling scores found in horror films over the last 50 years. By no means is this compilation exhaustive, it’s merely one schlub’s opinion. Have a look and listen and see what you think…

#10. THE BEYOND – FABIO FRIZZI (1981)

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While I truly think the weeping trumpet in Lucio Fulci’s THE NEW YORK RIPPER is equally deserving, I’ve gone ahead and awarded the Italian splatter-king’s theme song to his 1981 horror opus THE BEYOND a coveted top spot. This song flat out f*ckin’ rules! Conducted by Fabio Frizzi (a longtime Fulci collaborator), the slammin’ bass-line and groovy choral accompaniments make you wanna go Beiber with it. You know the score has qualitative staying power when you actually look forward to playing the shite in your spare time, independent of the film itself. The marching drum roll, the eerie yet strangely uplifting refrain of the female voices, the looping flute-work, all of it come together to create something as outlandish as the film as a whole. Props to Tarantino’s Rolling Thunder company for releasing the uncut version of the film for the first time in the U.S. in 1998.

#9. THE THING – ENNIO MORRICONE (1982) 

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How could we ever assemble a legitimate litany of film scores without doffing the cap to Italian maestro Ennio Morricone? We wouldn’t dream of such an omission. And believe us folks, this ain’t no clemency call. No, Morricone’s hauntingly spare score for John Carpenter’s THE THING is pitch perfect, starting with the thud of an electric bass note that gradually builds toward something more sinister. It’s simple but momentous, and like the events in the film, starts off serene but slowly grows to chaotic extremes, especially when the unsettling organ pitches and ancient Goth sounds pick up, Phantom of the Opera style. Interestingly, Morricone’s score was nominated for a 1983 Razzie Award, which is downright hogwash. Blasphemy.  Bullshit. Let’s hope that dubious distinction isn’t the reason the film score is currently out of print.

#8. DEEP RED/SUSPIRIA – GOBLIN (1975, 1977) 

Buy DEEP RED on DVD here

Buy SUSPIRIA on DVD here

Since Italian rock band Goblin kicks so much ass, I decided to split the love and recognize not one, but two Dario Argento collaborations. And while I could have easily singled out there work on Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD, I think their work on DEEP RED and SUSPIRIA rank among their finest work. Sure, DEEP RED is partly inspired by THE EXORCIST theme, but Goblin takes the melody to new heights with a bangin’ bass-line, intrusive drum beat and a wicked organ arrangement. SUSPRIA on the other hand, has a somnolent, dreamlike quality to start, then slowly mounts to a dizzying array of creepy whispering and ritualistic drum noises. Suddenly, about halfway through, the tone changes and a full-bore rock-operatic stirs up. Moody synthesizers and hazardous sound effects become punctuated by an intensifying pace. This shit f*ckin’ rocks!

#7. THE EXORCIST – STEVE BOEDDEKER (1973) 

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Elegant, entrancing, downright mortifying – Steve Boedekker’s work on THE EXORCIST, one of our beloved genre’s seminal achievements, may seem fairly innocuous on its own, but when played against the backdrop of little Linda Blair yakking up pea soup and beating off with a crucifix, the melodic tones take on a whole new life (or death, I could say). Apparently, famed Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin was originally tasked with scoring the film, but director William Friedkin tossed the reels into the street, dubbing them “Fucking Mexican Marimba Music.” Friedkin then employed spare classical compositions from Krzysztof Penderecki and some originals by Jack Nitzsche, and it wasn’t until the year 2000 that Boedekker found most of the credit. But truth be told, most of the sumptuous and chilling sounds in the film come from Mike Oldfields’ “Tubular Bells.”

#6. ROSEMARY’S BABY – KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA (1968)

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Now this here dirge is flat out petrifying. Using the harrowing refrain of a mother’s singing voice, perhaps Krzysztof Komeda’s best feat was getting star Mia Farrow to lend her own pipes to belt out the spine-tingling lullaby. There’s an eerie intimacy in knowing the beauteous sounds come from the woman in the film, but that scrim of innocence has a hint of something far more insidious just below the surface. Those sharp high-key piano riffs quickly become highlighted by Farrow’s simplistic, childlike chorus. Ethereal on its own, when you contextualize what Farrow’s character endures throughout the picture, a whole new meaning can be ascribed to the heart-wrenching music. Props to Farrow, who not only landed a Golden Globe acting nod, so did her work with Komeda on the original score back in 1969.

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!