I do an annual podcast called DEAD AIR at my University that focus on horror film soundtracks, and it is all the more fitting to send some time as we near Halloween to put these on to get in the mood and hear some great tracks. I try and balance out the decades, there’s obviously a ton of Italian pieces from the 1970’s and 1980’s, and it would be easy to do an entire piece on Carpented or Goblin. But I also like to keep my ears open for more recent original soundtracks. Enjoy.
1. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Soundtrack – Wayne Bell & Tobe Hooper
Dir. Tobe Hooper
1974
I’m somewhat obsessed with this soundtrack, I think it is one of my favorite using toys, ice, bones and farm tools to generate something compelling and eerie. Apparently the individual tracks were misplaced so I do not anticipate a deluxe reissue of this on any format that won’t be sourced from the film.
2. Carnival of Souls
Soundtrack Gene Moore
Dir. Herk Hervey
1962
This is a classic, one of my all time favorite films and scores. Creepy organs for a film about an organist on the edge of life and death.
3. Maniac
Soundtrack by Rob
Dir. Franck Khalfoun
2012
I know it’s a remake of a slasher classic, which also has a pretty good soundtrack, but Rob, or Robin Courdet (studio and session musician for Phoenix), generated a neon sleaze synth vibe that has me returning to the score more so than the somewhat forgettable film.
4. The Witch
Soundtrack by Mark Korven
Dir. Robert Eggers
2015
Probably my favorite horror film for the past year, it just really hit all the right notes for me and a huge part of that was with Mark Korven’s score which uses Medieval instruments and a lot of dissonance.
5. Last House on Dead End Street
Soundtrack by Roger Watkins
Dir. Roger Watkins
1977
I am a huge fan of this film, it was one of the VHS nasties I could never get but everyone said they saw – and at some time in the 1980s became a real snuff film myth. The film is dirty and sleazy and somewhat charming in its surrealism but the soundtrack is absolutely terrifying. Primarily through using the British KPM sound library and mixing between multiple sound sources this found sound collage is absolutely bizarre.
6. Suspiria
Soundtrack by Goblin
Dir. Dario Argento
1977
There is something absolutely magical with Italian prog band Goblin’s score for Argento’s colorful giallo classic Suspiria. Composed before the film went into production but with continued collaboration between the director and the band after their work on Deep Red.
7. Candyman
Soundtrack by Philip Glass
Dir. Bernard Rose
1992
Based off of the Clive Barker short story “The Forbidden”, Candyman delivers gore and a dose of social concern. Set in the now demolished Cabrini-Green housing projects in Chicago, this urban legend come to life is made more powerful with Philip Glass at the helm with his choral score.
8. Christine
Soundtrack by John Carpenter & Alan Howarth
Dir. John Carpenter
1983
Kind of easy to fill this with Carpenter and Howarth scores, BUT this one is a small gem that may outshine the film. Though there’s a certain nihilism to the bullying in the film that is still really unsettling I think. Although all the actors look like they’re 30 in high school. Anyway it’s a soundtrack not getting as much attention (Halloween, The Fog, etc.) in the canon of Carpenter that absolutely deserves it.
9. City of the Living Dead
Soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi
Dir. Lucio Fulci
1980
This ominous score of synths and choirs just really hits the spot, it suits the strange and cruel film well. Some tracks have a prog/funk type of feel but the sacred music element fits the loose idea in Fulci’s “Gates of Hell” trilogy about these portals being opened. Anyway Frizzi is a master at this and like his work on The Beyond really worked within this brutal realm.
10. Maggie
Soundtrack by David Wingo
Dir. Henry Hobson
2015
David Wingo’s combinations of orchestra and synthesizers elevated this elegiac film about a zombie apocalypse kind of stretched out, the death is slow, the young fade out. I have a small soft spot for the film even with the big stars like Arnold and Breslin it kind of works and definitely carries across its message with this score.
—
http://www.terencehannum.com
*
p.s. Hey. Today the blog is very honored to have as a special Halloween guest-host the amazing musician, composer, artist, writer, and co-maestro of the great music unit Locrian, Mr. Terence Hannum who has curated a show of some of his favorite horror movie soundtracks for you. Enjoy to the max, please, and confer with Terence in your comments if you would be so inclined. Thanks! And thank you so very much, Terence! ** Armando, Hi. Okay, let me wrack my brain and try to come up with some other suggestions then. I found the MoMA thing on their site. Info is here. Scroll down the page a little. Also something here. ** Dóra Grőber, Hi, pal! Me either, on reading horror stories or novels. I guess I especially like my horror visualized. Did you get even closer to finishing your thesis? Wow, you’re working hard and diligently, that’s very cool. Did your cold finally dematerialize? NYC was really good but so fast. The film screening went very well, and we were quite happy. We didn’t have much time to do much else, but we saw some art and briefly dinnered with a few friends including d.l. Bernard Welt and walked around and watched a very good film: Kirsten Johnson’s ‘Cameraperson’. It was nice. Now it’s back to work and trying to shake off some jetlag. How were your days (and nights)? ** Jamie McMorrow, Hey, Jamie! Yeah, it’s really nice to have practical people overseeing the filmmaking ‘cos otherwise Zac and I could easily spend days getting one minute-long shot the way we want, and, oh, I wish we could, but, oh, money. My trip was real good. How was the rest of your week, pray tell? Love, me. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi, sir. Seriously, Gus needs to either get his mojo back somehow or maybe just sit cinema out for a while and shoot commercials or something until he does. I’ve never had an acid flashback in the classic sense, but I had two serious freak outs on acid as a teen, and, after the second one, every time I got more than a whiff of marijuana, it would start bringing the freak out back, so I had to quit smoking pot and hash and so on entirely. ** Ferdinand, Hi, man! Thanks for the music link. I’ll hit it. And I woke up to a seeming bounty in my email box this morning, from you, I think. I’ll be doing the Xmas morning festivities with that today, and thank you incredibly much in advance! ** Steevee, Hi, Steve. Must have been a very bad year for documentaries, but, in fact, it seems like it was quite a good year, so I can only include that whoever those awarders are, they’re greatly flattering themselves by using the word Cinema in their title. Speaking of, have you seen the aforementioned ‘Cameraperson’? We saw it at IFC one morning while we were in NYC, and I thought it was very good. Look forward to reading your reviews. Everyone, Here are some film writings by Steve that happened while the p.s. was indisposed, and all of which are, of course, highly recommended. Steevee on ‘the North Korea quasi-documentary’ UNDER THE SUN. Steevee on Andrea Arnold’s AMERICAN HONEY. Steevee on Gianfranco Rosi’s Lampedusa documentary FIRE AT SEA.** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Yeah, the Verlaine gun sale is big news over here, as you can imagine. I wonder how much it will go for. I think the estimated price is really low. You can read Steevee’s review of that film you’re set for too, if you like. We just missed the opening of the Mark Leckie retrospective at PS1 by one day when we were in NYC, sadly, although I’ll get to see it in November, I think. ** Damien Ark, Hey, Damien. Thanks about ‘MLT’, man. Whoa, Bela Tarr could make a film of that any time he wants as far as I’m concerned. Although I think he retired. You good, man? ** Grant Maierhofer, Hi, Grant! I read your Fanzine piece while I was in NYC. Excellent work, and thank you kindly for the mentions. Everyone, author and d.l. Grant Maierhofer reviewed the very interesting, Dale Peck-edited anthology THE SOHO PRESS BOOK OF 80S SHORT FICTION over on Fanzine, and you would be glad if you read it via clicking this. ** Misanthrope, Hi, G. I wonder if David saw that I reposted his post? I wonder if he still agrees with himself? Paris in April, sweet. So how did you embarrass him since that was a foregone conclusion? Big Apple was a speed ball, but it was fun. How’s it with you? ** Nicholas, Hi there, Nicholas! Really nice to see you! Thank you a lot for attending the LCTG showing, and for the really good words re: it. NYC proved to be a fine but very, very short time. More soon. You good? What’s going on with you in general? ** H, Hi, h. Thanks so much for coming to see LCTG and for your very kind words about it. And even more so for the wonderful gift! That’s so sweet and generous of you. I treasure the book, and I’ve already employed the tea to help me through and even cause delight within my jet lag. Thank you! And please give my warmest hi back to the great Mike! ** Cameron, Hi, Cameron. Thank you very much! It’s nice to have the place functioning again, for sure. And thank you too for the Erowid link. Everyone, Cameron provides a place for you to see even more LSD blotter art, if you like. Right here. Take care! ** Bill, Hi, B. It wasn’t much of a vacation, but, well, I guess it was. It was so fast. Zoom. Analog synth shopping? Ooh, please say more. That sounds like shopping-shaped heaven. ** Nemo, Hi, Joey. I think for me taking a ton of LSD in teens should probably get, like, 70% credit for whoever I ended up being, good and bad. ** B, Hi, Bear! It was so very nice to get to meet you at the screening. And thank you a lot for the kind words about the film, and I’ll pass along your your good words about the camera stuff to Zac, who gets all of that credit. Cool, I hope to get to see you during the November trip. I hope everything is going really well. ** Kyler, Hi, Kyler. Thanks a lot, man. It was cool to get to see you, albeit too briefly. I’m very happy you liked the film. And I hope you had an excellent weekend! ** Okay. Let’s get this place restarted courtesy of Terence Hannum’s lovely Halloween gig. Enjoy. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
*
hey,
thank u so so so much. remember how i told u last week i called the museum & requested information & i gave em my name & email address & they promised 2 get back 2 me? well, surprise surprise, they never did. i emailed em 2 their “special events” address some hours ago. hopefully theyll reply… not holdin my breath, tho. also, on the 2nd link u so graciously, kindly and nicely provided me with, it says tickets begin selling TODAY. i go to the museums site, enter ur and Ishmael Houston-Joness names & come up with ABSOLUTELY NOTHIN. well, in the case of Houston-Jones a lot of stuff comes up, but all of it related 2 things from years & years & years ago, nothin bout nov. 7ths event. *sigh*. & still in the “modern mondays” calendar all of the upcomin events r listed & announced, includin the 1 for nov. 14th, but again, absolutely nothin about nov 7th. i think im going 2 call again later today.
thnx a whole fuckin lot, man. i dont want 2 pressure u in any way, kind, form or shape, tho. if ure 2 busy 2 try 2 think of presses or somethin, its ok; im sorry. these past few days ive also been lookin into the whole “looking 4 & findin an agent” thing, as much as my depression, anxiety & ocd have allowed me 2. *sigh*. well see how it goes… dont really have any hopes any+. im just fuckin sick & tired. of everythin, not just of the whole cuntin book mothterfuckin thing. im so close 2 sayin: “just fuck it”. im really sorry. needed 2 vent my frustrations & shit. im sorry. i never get 2 do that. im sorry. & its just fuckin difficult 4 me, u know? just puttin all my effort & all my brain in2 my stupid “work” & tryin & tryin & not gettin anywhere & just seein everybody else havin a good time & bein “successful” & all that shit; it gets 2 me, u know? ive never accomplished anythin, no ones ever cared bout my interests & my work, everybody just sees me as a loser & a lazy-ass & an utterly useless burden. & this press that requested 2 c my entire manuscript after i submitted 2 excerpts (even tho i didnt follow the guidelines; they requested 2 chapters. i dont have “chapters”, so i just sent em 2 like 10-page excerpts that could make some kinda sense & even so they read em) & they read em & supposedly liked em & made em interested & requested i sent em my entire manuscript, which i did. they said theyd “get back 2 me in the followin weeks when they had reached a decision”. well, its been 7 months now. so im guessin the answers of course a very very very big & resoundin “NO”, but they wont say anythin. 2 weeks ago i sent em 2 emails practically beggin em 2 just tell me already theyre not interested; i just want my agony 2 fuckin end; but they bever even replied. i mean, y not just reply & say in a very short motherfuckin email theyre not interested & get rid of me 4ever & just end it all once & 4 all??? y not just do that??? i just dont understand. *sigh*. im so sorry again. again i needed 2 “let off some steam” 2 put it very, very mildly. im so sorry.
take care,
good luck; good day,
love & hugs,
ur friend,
a.
Hi Armando – I couldn’t get a ticket yet either. Are you perhaps living in NYC? You might check your eligibility for ID NYC. If you have that card, you can get a free membership for MOMA, New Museum, and some other museums. And I read Nov. 7th event is free for a MOMA member. Though I assume a seat reservation is required. Hope this helps.
@h,
hi,
no, I dont live in the usa. I emailed em bout the problem & got this reply: “Hi Armando,
I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Our digital team is working on opening sales as soon as possible. Please check back on the website tomorrow and let us know if you continue to experience any issues.
Best,
Monica Y.
The Museum of Modern Art”
hopefully itll all be resolved by tomorrow.
best regards,
good day; good luck,
armando.
Hi Armando, oh, thanks for letting me/us know — you’re most kind.
@Terence Hannum,
great post 2day, man. thank u so very much. really enjoyed it. i 2 love horror scores, of course.
im really glad u included ‘the witch’. loved the movie; loved the score. its a real killer.
how bout ‘under the skin’, tho? ever seen it? the scores by mica levi & its great & i really really recommend it; just in case ure not familiar with it.
once again, thnx a lot,
good day; good luck,
armando.
You’re welcome. ‘The Witch’ was excellent one of the best of the year I think. ‘Under the Skin’ was beautiful, I had put it on a list a did for Vice and was trying to diversify. But YES! It’s a genius score, Mica Levi is my hero.
Today post looks very special. Will listen to everything toward Halloween — Thank you, Mr. Hannum.
Dennis, re: gift. Too little, I tend to forget. Not a problem. I’m blushing as you mention it again. Really, sincerely, please don’t mention it again. Enjoy!
By the way, I’m reading Jean Epstein for something. I like the word cinema alongside Epstein’s context of it. There’s something utopian and queer about it. (It’s kind of sad to read people are using it for whatever.) Do you like Epstein’s?
@ Terence, thank you for a very worthy list of soundtracks that are these days as iconic as the actual films. Goblin are performing Suspiria live in Leeds in a couple of weeks, something I’m very tempted to go back home for.
@ Steevee, informative American Honey review! I’m seeing it tomorrow on a free ticket, something I’m now looking forward to a great deal.
@ DC, that Mark Leckey retrospective looks to be well worth catching later in the year. When he won the Turner Prize in 2008 he stated his ambition was to get his own TV sketch show like the Two Ronnies, something that’s sadly yet to happen. If only UK TV studios would take a chance, eh?
Hi!
Well, I’m almost done with my thesis. I mean, I finished the main part and now all I have to do is to deal with all the formalities such as scanning a few official papers which need to be included and printing. I hate this part the most but it’s the very end of this whole ordeal. I’m planning to hand it in on Friday.
I’m glad everything went so well in NYC! I just read about Cameraperson and it sounds truly exciting! I’ll definitely watch it too when I have the chance!
How’s your jetlag? And how’s everything going with the music video? Are you working on that now?
My cold proves to be pretty persistent as I’m still struggling with it but it’s nothing too serious. These past few days were mainly eaten whole by my thesis but I’m finally getting there and today I actually have the time to read and write some so it’s quite nice.
I hope you have a lovely day too!
Hey Dennis, your welcome, I threw in a 8bit adaption of Justine by De Sade in the links folder.
I’ve seen CAMERAPERSON and thought it was one of this year’s best documentaries. In fact, I interviewed the director.
Speaking of horror films, I saw an interesting one last night: UNDER THE SHADOW. Although it was made with British financing and shot in Jordan, it’s set in late ’80s Iran, cast entirely with Iranian expats and spoken in Farsi. It’s about a woman who either starts to go crazy or becomes haunted by djinn (Islamic ghosts) when her husband is drafted in the Iran-Iraq War and she’s left alone to raise her 5-year-old daughter. It’s somewhat derivative of THE BABADOOK and Roman Polanski films like REPULSION and THE TENANT, but the cultural context makes it feel more unique; none of those films brought up the notion of an apartment building being attacked by a haunted Iraqi missile or showed a woman getting arrested for not wearing a chador after running out of her apartment at midnight because she thinks ghosts are chasing her.
Horror soundtracks are the best. I’m totally in love or obsessed with Morricone’s horror soundtrack music. That man, is a genius. And once again, I’m kicked out of Facebook. This time for three days. Last weekend or the weekend before that, I was banned for 24 hours. Not sure if it is a real issue of an image or content – or just a robot in their system going amok. But clearly i have to re-think my position of using Facebook as a platform or canvas for my work/writing/curating. And others have been banned or force to go into their bedroom, till they’re good …. or not? It is very odd, to be abandoned by a social platform, for reasons that are not clear or not given a specific reason for one to be banned. Nevertheless, I do have my work saved, so I’m OK in that sense.
Hey Terence Hannum-Thanks very much for today’s post. Some great stuff here, some of which I know and some of which I was unaware of till now. Really want to see Last House on Dead End Street and really looking forward to hearing the Maniac soundtrack. Right on!
Ahoy there, DC! Sounds like you had a good, if fast, trip. How’s that jetlag? Did you catch any blockbusters on your flights? My week last week ended with a meeting in Newcastle about a new project I’m involved with, that’s been kind of on the backburner for a long time, but now seems to be coming to fruition. So it looks like I’m making an educational cartoon, which is funny, the best bit being that part of my remit is making sure that it doesn’t seem educational. I’m so excited about it & have spent the last few days watching cartoons, to see what’s out there. So, that’s my exciting news!
I’ve enjoyed lots on the blog whilst you were away, especially the Palimpsests day. I love the way that unfolded.
So, how’s your week looking? Hope everything’s good with you, man and you have a groovy Tuesday.
Lots of love,
Jamie
You’re welcome, “Last House on Dead End Street” is actually available in its entirety on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ0rfYXtNys) and is quite excellent.
Great! Thank you very much.
JACK CHICK IS DEAD!!!!!! Have Fun in HELL, Jack!
Beautiful music, Terence. The “Suspiria” score is mesmerizing.
Jack Chick together at last with Fred Phelps, should be quite a party.
B, Hi, Bear! It was so very nice to get to meet you at the screening. And thank you a lot for the kind words about the film, and I’ll pass along your your good words about the camera stuff to Zac, who gets all of that credit. Cool, I hope to get to see you during the November trip. I hope everything is going really well.
@terrence Thanks for the soundtrack post! It provided some very fitting background music to what was a most October New York day.
@dennis It was so nice to get to meet you too. Please do pass the words along to Zac, I didn’t get to chat with him at all but I was very impressed. Things are going well as they can. I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was doing work with an organization called Gathering of the Tribes? Well, they just published a review I wrote of Ava Duvarnay’s new film “13th”. It was my first stab at reviewing a film, but if you are curious then you can read it here.
I have a few meet ups with friends this week to talk about collaborating on some of there projects. Other than that my only plan outside of work is to spend the next few days watching through the show “Black Mirror” on netflix, which has been recommended to me so many times that it’s criminal I still haven’t done it. Have you watched yet? I’m told it’s good and very dark.
How was your flight back? Hope all is well!
Bear
Awesome list. Uh, this just came over my mind. Is that your voice in ML3 by Peter Rehberg? I listened to that track, boxes & angels, untitled 3, and line angel like 12 times today. That’s how my day is going I think.
Dennis, Hmm, I can’t see how’d he miss it. Though people get busy, you know. Weird things happen. We see texts from two weeks ago that we totally missed, etc. So easy to do in this world with all these conveniences that both save us time and make things go so fast that we have no time.
Yeah, LPS’s gf. I just remarked that the pepperoni on the pizza they got looked like nipples. She laughed at that, but he was a bit mortified (though he’s a filthy sort, believe me). But they did.
Oh, and then I did my Misadventures of Flapjack impersonation: “Am I uncomfortable enough to be an adventurer?” She thought it was funny, but he just rolled his eyes (thought he was trying to hold back a grin).
NYC! Yeah, wish I could’ve made it. (And yes, Paris in April, I’m hoping. Are you already making plans to be out of the country then? 😛 )
But yes, we’re hitting NYC in December. The 16th to the 18th. I really think my mom’s gonna go too. 74 years old and she’s never been to NYC. I think she’ll love it, though.
Glad you guys had a good time and made it back safely.
Thanks for the lovely soundtrack compendium, Terence!
Welcome back, Dennis. Good to hear the screening went well, and dinner with Bernard.
Analog synth shopping was at this “synth meet” that my neighborhood synth shop organizes every year. It was a little crowded though, so I mostly browsed and ooh-ed/aaah-ed and didn’t make any commitments.
Just started reading that Lucia Berlin collection that everyone was toting months ago. Very good so far, but her stories and work shit don’t quite add up to a cheery day, ha.
Bill