Classics From the Crypt

     Here's my personal Spotify playlist of classic horror music, kids!

Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House

     I loved this record as a child.  I would sit up late, alone, in my bedroom with the lights out, listening to the Chilling, Thrilling, Sounds of the Haunted House.  Good times, kids.  Good times.

SOUNDS FROM THE CRYPT- April Fool's Day

   

      Okay, so today is all about "April Fool's Day".  I'm celebrating my love for it by showcasing the wonderfully creepy score Charles Bernstein did for the film.  Bernstein, who also scored the original "A Nightmare On Elm Street", offered up a sadly overlooked piece of music for a usually overlooked piece of film.  It's a downright awesome score, and although hard to find, is well worth the hunt.  It's one of those fantastic 80's synth scores, and you just can't beat that.  Here's a taste.

SOUNDS FROM THE CRYPT- John Carpenter's The Thing

     On top of being one of the best sci-fi/horror films of all time, Carpenter's classic also boasts a stunningly eerie score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone.  It's a superb and chilling piece that perfectly compliments the bleak terror of the film.  Good stuff.

SOUNDS FROM THE CRYPT- Children Of The Corn

     The Jonathan Elias score from the 1984 classic "Children Of The Corn" is a chilling and superb piece of work that owes a great deal to the scores of "The Amityville Horror" and "The Omen".  However, "Children Of The Corn" is a completely original piece of work, with its own mood and tone. It's dark, 80's synth all the way,  and it's now available in a 25th Anniversary re-issue from Varese Sarabande, and sounds better than ever.

     It's a spooky and ominous piece, and it perfectly captures the menacing mood of the film. The film, along with the score, has settled quite comfortably into cult classic status over the years.  It's a must-have for horror score lovers, and is generally easy to find.  And definitely worth the hunt.  It's honestly one of the stronger horror scores to come out of the great 80's, and probably the most known score from an 80's Stephen King production.  I'm actually listening to it now.  Creepy stuff.  Here's a sample.

More Halloween-themed movies, please!

     I  re-watched the 2007 horror comedy anthology "Trick 'r Treat" recently.  I remember thinking that even though the movie wasn't the greatest, I enjoyed the film and respected that it was paying such obvious homage to Halloween night.  I love it when a film, especially a horror film, explores the time period of October 31st.  John Carpenter did it exquisitely with "Halloween".  It perfectly evoked the magic and mystery of that special night of the year. (I still lament the decision of the powers-that-be behind the "Halloween" franchise to bring back Michael Myers in the fourth sequel, instead of following the original idea of a yearly anthology of Halloween-related stories.  Why somebody doesn't jump on this is beyond me.  The possibilities here would be endless..).  And although pretty uneven in its storytelling, "Trick 'r Treat" offers up some spectacular Halloween atmosphere and imagery.  Which makes me long for more horror films taking place on or around Halloween.  It just adds that extra-special touch, doesn't it?

     There is just something about October that lends itself so well to horror.  Maybe it's just a huge part of me that refuses to let go completely of my childhood.  All the monsters of my youth ran rampant throughout the month of October- Dracula, Frankenstein, Michael Myers and Jason. I grew up in an exact copy of Haddonfield- I related to every minute of John Carpenter's "Halloween" (well, except the sex scene- I was only ten!)  October to me meant pumpkins and black cats, witches and ghosts, overcast days and falling leaves.  It meant listening over and over to Disney's "Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House" and watching every late-night horror flick I could find.  Halloween was the most magical time of the year to me, and it signified the beginning of the holidays.  I love, love, love Halloween even more now as an adult, I think.  As a matter of a fact I'll be finishing my Halloween decorations today at the house.  So on that note, I'm going to finish decorating.  I'll leave you with some of that rad Disney record.  It's the perfect day for it.
   

SCARY SOUNDS- The Amityville Horror

     "The Amityville Horror" has one of the scariest music scores of all time! It's a score that, to me personally, rivals that of "Psycho" or "Halloween" for sheer iconic creepiness.  The infamous theme has been creeping audiences out since 1979, and it's easy to see why.  Any score with children chanting "la la la's" is disturbing anyway- no doubt about it.  And this film scared the bejesus out of many kids my age back in the hoary old 70's. 'Tis the season for anything creepy, so turn off the lights and enjoy, kiddos!

SCARY SOUNDS- Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch

   
     Once again, John Carpenter teamed up with Alan Howarth and created yet another awesome and eerie score for the vastly underrated "Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch".  It irritates the hell out of me that so many can't seem to let themselves enjoy all "Halloween 3" has to offer, and the same certainly goes for the score.  It's a perfect example of 80s-synth horror and how it could be so effective when done right.  Once again, like the previous two, there is no symphonic score whatsoever.  It's a great piece, and probably besides the first two, definitely one of the most interesting of the "Halloween" scores.  Regardless of how you feel about the film, the score evokes a great October/Halloween mood.  This is a damn good soundtrack to a very underrated movie.  Check it out.  It's well worth a purchase.

SCARY SOUNDS- Halloween 2

     "Halloween 2" is one of my all-time favorite, yet underrated slashers- and I find the score just as underrated as the film itself.  Of course everybody is familiar with John Carpenter's infamous "Halloween" score.  This time around, for "Halloween 2", Carpenter and Alan Howarth truly created, in my opinion, the most original and moody score of all the "Halloween" films.  I'm not saying it's better or worse than the original score- I'm saying that it's different and unique and rewarding in its own right.  I honestly find Carpenter's 1978 score to be slightly repetitive- it kind of just re-cycles the same pieces of music over and over again.  It's a classic score- don't get me wrong here.  But "Halloween 2" offers up much more original pieces of music, and as far as atmosphere goes, I find the second score offering much more.  Abandoning the piano here for much more heavy synth and gothic organ, it's a bit off-putting at first, but I promise you- in the dark, "Halloween 2" comes across as much more polished and darker than the previous score.

     Obviously, Carpenter and friends had more money this time around, and it shows.  They didn't try to change the "Halloween" theme- no real modifications were made to the iconic theme here.  It's all just played in different synthesizer tones, and the use of the organ here works great in creating a wonderfuly dark sense of doom and dread.  And just about every piece of music used in the film shows up on the soundtrack, which is kind of rare for film scores.  I find "Halloween 2" to be a superb horror score- it truly creates a strong and chilling atmosphere.  I honestly find this to be the best interpretation of Carpenter's "Halloween" theme, and the score is a must for any serious fan of horror scores.  It's wonderfully spooky and rich, and sounds superb, especially loud.  You cannot go wrong with this soundtrack- I promise you, play this on Halloween night, and people will love it.  I constantly get asked what cd I'm playing, and people are always surprised when I tell them it's "Halloween 2".  Even if you don't even like the "Halloween" films, you cannot go wrong with this cd! Yes, I love it that much!  I do recommend the 30th Anniversary Edition of "Halloween 2"- packed full of shocks and scares!  Here are just some of the chilling selections from "Halloween 2", which just might be the best horror score of all time...  Turn out the lights and enjoy!

SCARY SOUNDS- Friday The 13th

 
     I find it amazing that in this day and age, it's still extremely difficult to find a good copy of the classic "Friday The 13th" score on cd.  It's available on LP, and you can find bootleg versions here and there, but no official, quality release yet- at least, not to my knowledge. (I do have bootleg scores of Parts 1,2, and 3...) You can purchase the scores for all the latter films (Part 5 and up) and the dreadful remake, but not the original four films...  WTF!  Harry Manfredini's iconic score rivals that of "Halloween" as some of the scariest and most recognizable horror music ever, and deserves a proper cd release yesterday already!

SCARY SOUNDS- John Carpenter's Halloween

      Once again, the magic of October is upon us.  Yes kids, it's that time of year again.  The days of falling leaves and cool breezes.  Pumpkins on front porches and black cats lurking.  There's a faintly damp smell in the air, as the shadows grow long and days grow short.  Halloween.  The most awesome and magical holiday of the year- at least to me.  Of course I love Christmas, but Halloween is just the coolest of them all.  It was practically mythical in my eyes already as a small child, so by the time I first saw John Carpenter's "Halloween", it sealed the deal completely.  The two are so intertwined now that it's impossible to mention the month of October and not think of Laurie Strode screaming and Michael Myers stalking.

     Of course we're all familiar with the iconic score for John Carpenter's classic "Halloween".  It's one of the most instantly recognizable pieces of film music ever, and has firmly embedded itself in pop culture until the end of time.  The "Halloween" soundtrack is a must have for any serious fan of horror or film in general, for that matter, and is a perfect example of the power of music.  So lock your doors, bolt your windows, and turn out the lights... here are some chilling selections from John Carpenter's immortal and classic score for his immortal and classic slasher, "Halloween".

SCARY SOUNDS- Toccata and Fugue In D Minor- Bach

     I can't think of a better piece of music to officially kick off the Halloween season than Bach's immortal and creepy "Toccata And Fugue In D Minor".  It will always be associated with the spooky and the macabre, and it's easy to see why.  It immediately conjures up hoary old images of Dracula's castle, fog swept moors, or the Phantom's lair the instant you hear it.  I love this time of the year...

SCARY SOUNDS- The Shining

      "The Shining" offers some of the scariest music in a horror film I've ever heard.  Truly nightmarish at times, the score offers some spectacularly chilling pieces of music.  Sit and listen to this in the dark and tell me if you don't come down with a serious case of the creeps.  Why this score has not officially been released on CD is beyond me.  At least to my knowledge it hasn't been.  I know it's available online, and there are bootleg copies out there, but still.

SCARY SOUNDS- Rosemary's Baby

      Definitely one of the most overlooked and underappreciated horror scores of all time- Krystzof Komeda's powerful score for "Rosemary's Baby" is finally available!  I'm more excited than a Pointer Sister about this!  "Rosemary's Baby" is one of my all-time favorites, and the score is super spooky.  The paranoia and mounting suspense of the film shines through in the score, and like the film, it definitely gets under your skin.  A precursor to the sinister score for "The Omen", plus you get the added bonus of Mia Farrow and her thoroughly haunting "La, la, la" lullaby...  Rare, but worth it!

SCARY SOUNDS- The Fog

     I'm sure I've mentioned my absolute love for John Carpenter's awesome horror classic "The Fog".  One of my faves!  But just as entertaining as the film is the score- it's honestly one of the best soundtracks to a horror film I've ever heard.  It's hard to find, but worth the hunt, trust me.  It's moody and richly atmospheric, just like the movie. It's just as good a score as "Halloween", if you ask me.  Here's a couple of selections from the spooky score- just turn out the lights, light a candle, and lose yourself in the fog...