Suspiria's soundtrack does more than just add to the atmosphere of the film, it enhances it and feels more like a soundscape than a track to me. Plus, the band is named "Goblin." Awesome. When I first watched Suspiria, I couldn't believe the music that accompanied it--unlike anything I'd heard before in a film.
Really? I felt that the score to Day was really the weak point of the film. I've never heard anyone say that it was their favorite.
This is insanely hard. Good poll Rhett. I've had a 30+ year love affair with Carpenter's Halloween score. So I can't vote against it. But I love quite a few of the others on this list too. Suspiria and Candyman round out my top 3. I listen to selections from those soundtracks frequently. And the Jaws, Psycho, Exorcist, and Omen scores are justifiably immortal. I would definitely swap out Tenebrae for Deep Red. I have a lot of Goblin stuff on CD. But I rank Suspiria and Deep Red above their other scores. Carpenter could easily have several more spots on the list. I'd pick his H3 score over The Fog. Morricone is amazing. His score for Once Upon A Time In The West never stays out of my CD player for long. His work on Who Saw Her Die? is tremendous as well. The main killer theme is truly memorable.
What's weak about it? My favorites? 1) Killer Klowns from Outer Space - John Massari 2) Sorority House Massacre 2 & Hard to Die - Chuck Cirino 3) changes all the time, right now it's Romero's Day of the Dead The best (in my opinion) 1) Phantasm 2) Creepshow 3) Deep Red - Goblin & Georgio Gaslini (?spelling?) 4) Carnival of Souls - Gene Moore 5) Bay of Blood / Carnage / Twitch of the Death Nerve - Stelvio Cipriani 6) Piranha & The Howling - Pino Donaggio 7) Tenebre - Simonetti / Morante / Pignatelli 8) Videodrome - Howard Shore 9) Cat People (1982) - Giorgio Moroder Honorable mentions OR Underrated 0) Psycho III - Carter Burwell 0) Bad Taste - Michelle Scullion & Jay Snowfield 0) The Fog 0) Suspiria, Phenomena, & Opera 0) Killer Klowns from Outer Space 0) Day of the Dead 0) Tales from the Hood - Christopher Young (VASTLY superior to Hellraiser) Themes / pieces of music separate from the main score I think are some of the finest music moments in the genre 0) closing credits of The Initiation 0) closing credits of Brain Damage 0) closing credits of Basket Case 0) opening & closing credits of Lisa and the Devil 0) the stock music used during the surgery/operation scenes in Cronenberg's Rabid 0) Fright Night - "Come to Me" 0) Four Flies on Grey Velvet - "Come Un Madrigale" 0) Pet Sematary - "Gentle Exhuming" 0) Friday the 13th Part III - disco theme 0) American Werewolf in London "Suite" 0) closing credits of C.H.U.D. 0) Fright - "Ladybird" (both/all renditions) 0) House on Haunted Hill ('59) - the music that plays when Nora meets Annabelle on the staircase 0) City of the Living Dead / Gates of Hell - "Apoteosi Del Mistero" 0) Nekromantik theme (I've never seen the movie so I don't know where it figures into the film) Overrated (in my opinion) 0) Hellraiser 0) Christine 0) The Omen 0) Cannibal Holocaust As for why they're overrated, I would say Hellraiser and Holocaust are extremely repetitious and Christine and Omen are just dull. Scores I've yet to go through track-by-track 0) Halloween 0) The Shining 0) Maniac
Now it may not be my favorite but definitely close.I just felt it went well with the tone of the movie.Plus I suppose when you watch something 200 times the music kind of sticks with you. I'm also a fan of the WG Snuffy Walden tracks from The Stand.
I agree. Theme theme reminds me of a lullaby, and it is at once sad and creepy. As such, I the the musical theme and the theme of the movie complement each other ideally. The theme to A Nightmare on Elm Street has similar qualities. Strains of it have a nursery rhyme/children's song quality to them, but also signal something sinister. Horror, of course, is a very emotional thing, and a horror soundtrack must immediately set the required atmosphere. Since emotion is purely subjective, I think we can all say what works for us and what doesn't. But saying what is generally good film music is kinda hard without a degree in music.
Just watched Dressed To Kill tonight and while not technically a straight up horror film, that score just complements the film so well. It also reminded me of the soundtrack to The Howling, another score that just fits the film so perfectly.
I know it's not horror, but I just watched Death Wish 2 for the first time today. Good Lord, that has my vote for one of the most overbearing and grating soundtracks courtesy of the usually God-like Jimmy Page. I wonder what he was on when he did this one, his guitar playing sounds like he had broken fingers and much of the score seems so out of place.
Had to go with Phantasm.. It fit the movie perfectly and also Entombed incorporated the theme into a song on their first album which allowed for soloing opportunities!
This is such a tough one, so many iconic soundtracks here. But I'm going with Dawn Of The Dead. It is easily the most unique.
