Wednesday, 28 November 2018

Top Five Horror Movie Themes


Josh’s Top Five Horror Movie Themes

By: Josh Welsh

As a horror movie film buff, I’ve seen movies where the music is quite haunting and have made an impression on me. In this post, I will be giving my personal top five favourite horror movie theme songs (from least favourite to most favourite).




#5:
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Composed by Charles Bernstein, it’s damn creepy. The movie that quotes “One, two, Freddy’s coming for you!”, this film also introduced a young Johnny Depp as Nancy’s boyfriend. You can listen to it here.


#4:

Jason’s theme. The killer in the hockey mask. One of my favourites, known for the  “chhhchhh haaa haaaaha”.
#3:
Saw (2004)
Saw (2004-2010)

The theme for the Saw franchise is a mix of rock and pop? Either way, it’s a pretty solid theme that plays as John Kramer says in an effective last line, “Game over.”

#2:
The Shining (1980)

Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind composed the theme for The Shining and is it ever haunting. The theme contains samples of the Gregorian chant “Dies Irae”, which you can compare to here.

Before unveiling my #1, honorable mentions go to:

                                                                    The Exorcist (1973) and  Psycho (1960).
Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist (1973)Psycho (1960)

And my top pick is…


#1:
Halloween (1978)
John Carpenter’s Halloween has been going strong since its debut in 1978. It also recently spawned a sequel where Jamie Lee Curtis reprised her role from 40 years ago as Laurie Strode. In my opinion, the theme for this one is most memorable and catchy. Have a listen.
Do you agree with my list? Did I miss any of your favourite horror themes? What other ones should be included on here? Let me know!


7 comments:

  1. I 100 per cent agree with your list! Halloween is such a classic. What did you think about the new one?

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    1. Thank you! I actually really enjoyed it. For a sequel/reboot, it set the bar high for more slashers. That being said, I really hope they don't plan a sequel. I liked the ending and the ambiguity to it.

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  2. Great list. I actually also really like Saw, haha. Nightmare on Elm Street is just wild though.

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    1. Thanks Tyler! Agreed. Nightmare's theme is all over the place.

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  3. Music in a horror movie either makes or breaks it for me. A good soundtrack can take any horror movie up a notch. The movie Insidious wasn't too scary looking back but the songs they used made me so uncomfortable. In particular the violins really did it for me. Creeped me out.

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    1. I can see that! You should check out Alfred Hitchcock's themes, especially for Psycho. The violins are used all over the place. There's just something about the high pitches that add an extra layer to the creep factor haha

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  4. Love a good old classic horror film, will check it out. Thanks :)

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