Nothing says spooky season like crisp fall air, pumpkin spice everything, and snuggling up under a blanket with a good horror movie on the TV. Here’s ten chilling soundtracks sure to get the blood pumping!
10. The Lost Boys by Various Artists
Joel Schumacher’s iconic vampire flick channels timeless teen angst and questionable 80s fashion into a fantastically watchable adventure as a young family relocates to the mysterious fictional Northern California town of Santa Carla, affectionately known by the locals as the “murder capital of the world.” As the body count increases an infestation of punky vampires is revealed as the cause of all the carnage, leading to a bloody final confrontation.
Oiled up muscle man Tim Cappello steals the show as he wrestles his saxophone on the soaring cheeseball track “I Still Believe,” but the soundtrack also features contributions from INXS, Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Roger Daltry (The Who), and Echo & The Bunnymen for a tidal wave of leather studded 80s nostalgia.
9. The Strange Colour Of Your Body’s Tears: Re-Score presented by Blanck Mass
French filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani crafted a loving homage to the intensely visual giallo style of horror films in The Strange Colour Of Your Body’s Tears. Not for the faint of heart, Cattet and Forzani weave an impressionistic tale of lust and loss saturated in swirling colors and occult mysticism that dares the viewer not to look away.
Originally soundtracked with existing music from giallo films of the past, composer Blanck Mass partnered with Death Waltz to re-score the film with original experimental music from a handful of leading composers in the genre. The result is a modern interpretation of psychedelic paranoia that elevates the original film and easily stands on its own as a high achievement in dark experimental music.
8. The Thing by Ennio Morricone
The Thing stands out from John Carpenter’s filmography as an underappreciated work of sci-fi horror that combines buckets of gore with a gritty and realistic setting as an otherworldly parasitic antagonist pits stir crazy researchers against one another in a showdown for survival at the edge of the world.
Composed and conducted by the incomparable Ennio Morricone, the score for The Thing deviates from many John Carpenter films by largely swapping out synthesizers for orchestral compositions. Morricone’s work brings his signature widescreen approach to Carpenter’s sci-fi nightmare, contrasting the massive scope of the music with the film’s remote, claustrophobic setting.
7. The Faculty by Various Artists
Often overshadowed by its contemporary, Scream, The Faculty saw Robert Rodriguez lend his unique vision to the standard high-school horror format by injecting a Body Snatchers style concept with a varsity grade dose of raging hormones and 90s obsession with aliens. The result is an incredibly watchable popcorn muncher with a huge cast of megastars and fresh-faced heartthrobs including Jordana Brewster, Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, and Usher.
The soundtrack is peak 90s in the best way possible. The Offspring, Oasis, Sheryl Crow, Creed, Garbage, and Soul Asylum covering classics by everyone from Alice Cooper to David Bowie share billing with a one-off supergroup credited only as Class Of ’99. Members included alt-rock kingpins Layne Staley (Alice In Chains), Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), and Tom Morrello (Rage Against The Machine) laying down a muscular cover of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall. The result is basically a scratched-up CD mix comprised of Napster deep cuts and b-sides that was too cool for school when it released and a near-perfect throwback today.
6. It Follows by Disasterpeace
A modern classic, It Follows expands on kernel-of-truth urban legends as a group of promiscuous teenagers are stalked by a supernatural terror that bleeds over from their own paranoid conscious into the real world. Hailed by critics as an allegorical tale for the destructive power of sexually transmitted diseases, It Follows juxtaposes young lust with inescapable creeping death in unsettling and impactful narrative.
Disasterpeace, née Richard Vreeland, made a name for himself composing soundtracks for several high-profile independent video games that rose above the chiptune limitations of the genre to garner high acclaim with critics. It Follows is his first stab at scoring a motion picture and Vreeland amplifies his 16-bit sensibilities with thick compositions that build from vaporous beginnings into overpowering digital avalanches that are impossible to outrun.
5. The Witch by Mark Korven
Roger Egger’s colonial slow burner may not be for everyone, but the film’s unique interpretation of puritanical paranoia will keep you on pins and needles throughout as a God-fearing family unravels in the face of unstoppable supernatural malice. Black Phillip is hands down one of the most terrifying horror movie monsters conjured to the screen.
The film’s score by Mark Korven is sparse and organic, composed in shades of black with acoustic instruments and ambient droning that sound like dry cornstalks reaching through the black towards a cold hunger moon. Even though it is at times barely noticeable, the undercurrent of noise places every scene on a razor’s edge, pregnant with anticipation for the evil that lurks beyond the tree line. Like a lot of doom and drone music, the soundtrack also works very well as a meditative piece perfect for setting a spooky vibe.
4. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night by Various Artists
In the dangerous back alleys of Bad City a vigilante killer is on the loose, targeting the town’s most notorious residents in vicious late night attacks. As the bodies pile up a young man works hard to hold his family together while dreaming of a life beyond the oil fields. A chance encounter with a mysterious young woman opens his eyes to the ugliness around him and sets in motion a series of events that will forever change his destiny.
Expertly arranging a cinematic blend of Iranian and Armenian alternative and electronic music with neo-spaghetti western compositions from Portland’s Federale, the soundtrack for A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night feels exotic and mysterious, steeped in history but removed from any one specific period to create a familiar but unsettling mood. The pivotal scene makes breathtaking use of White Lies’ neo-new wave anthem “Death” as protagonist and antagonist come together in a celebration of humanity amidst the darkness.
3. Suspiria by Goblin
Perhaps the greatest work in the filmography of Italian maestro Dario Argento’s chilling oeuvre, Suspiria is a low budget horror masterpiece that’s heavy on visual symbolism and shockingly uncompromising brutality. An underground hit when it released in 1977, Suspiria barely made it past the censors and required slashing 8 minutes of footage to qualify for an R rating to bring the supernatural tale of a sinister ballet school to American theaters.
Argento again recruited progressive rock band Goblin to compose the musical identity for Suspiria. Wildly unhinged and tangibly organic like a head-on collision between Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath, Goblin’s score leverages everything from ominous chants to funky synths, massive electric guitar solos to sparse piano to bring added layers to the film’s occult imagery.
2. Only Lovers Left Alive by SQÜRL & Jozef Van Wissem
Thickly atmospheric and shot through with a deliciously dark sense of humor, Jim Jarmusch’s 2013 vampire dramedy features killer performances from Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as star-crossed immortals coming to terms with their repressed instincts in a changing world.
Jarmusch’s band, SQÜRL, gives the soundtrack a shoegaze-y alternative edge full of droning guitars and sticky basslines while Jozef Van Wissem’s minimalist compositions add a layer of tangible aesthetic. Zola Jesus and Cults’ Madeline Follin make vocal appearances, but it’s a smoky slow burner from Lebanese singer Yasmin Hamdan that truly defines the seductive and dangerous allure of this often overlooked film.
1. Halloween by John Carpenter
This is it, the absolute O.G. of horror movies and a tour-de-force from genre master John Carpenter. The terrifying hulk of masked uber-villain Michael Myers lumbered into society’s collective nightmares one calculated step at a time and introduced the world to reigning scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis in a performance for the ages.
The film’s iconic sparse piano riff and ominous synths have inspired countless imitators, but few others have managed to capture the potent combination of creeping dread and nervous energy that make Carpenter’s score such a harrowing listen. A flat, percussive beat meant to emulate Myers’ approaching footsteps crops up throughout and is guaranteed to have you looking over your shoulder in terror.
Honorable mention: Blood Machines by Carpenter Brut
Essentially an extended music video by French director Seth Ickerman, Blood Machines is a CG heavy sci-fi horror short film that leans heavily into visual symbolism and terrifying psychedelia not far removed from the giallo style. Think of it as video game body horror for the art house set.
Electronic musician Carpenter Brut is on the leading edge of the burgeoning synthwave movement, adding a heavy metal perspective to the genre’s synth-heavy retro sound and frequently performing backed by a full band. Carpenter Brut and Ickerman previously collaborated on a similarly themed video for the musician’s track “Turbo Killer”, but their kaleidoscopic mechanical nightmare reaches full speed with Blood Machines. A brief but wild ride.
Check out a mix of these offerings here and set the mood for your next gloomy night in
