The Sound of the Scare Part 3: Hellraiser

Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" is about an obsessive, sick romance- essentially it is a love story about Julia, a cold, sado-masochistic woman who falls in love with Frank, her husband Rory's brother and has a lurid, insane love affair that is abusive and twisted. She is addicted to him, and is willing to kill men to use their blood to bring Frank back to life. Kirsty discovers that her step-mother Julia is luring men to her new home and murdering them, and then stumbles upon the horrors of Hell itself when she learns the secret of Frank's resurrection. The score of "Hellraiser" was composed by Christopher Young.

Christopher Young is a musical force to be reckoned with in the Horror genre. He has composed a long list of movie scores that includes "Hellraiser," "Hellbound: Hellraiser II," "The Fly II," "The Dark Half," "Tales from the Hood," "Species," "Urban Legend," "The Grudge," "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," "The Grudge 2," "The Uninvited," "Drag Me to Hell" and "Priest."

The Sound of the Scare Part 2: Suspiria (1977)

In the Sound of the Scare Part 2, we are going to be taking a look at the soundtrack of Dario Argento's classic horror film "Suspiria."

"Suspiria" is the first movie of The Three Mothers trilogy. It is about the eldest witch of an ancient and powerful coven, Mater Suspiriorum, who is also called the Mother of Sighs. The movie's score was composed by the progressive rock band Goblin, who also did a number of other horror movies directed by Argento in the 1970s.

The main theme song for "Suspiria" starts with a simple musical idea performed with bells. The idea is a cascade of sixteenth notes in arpeggio that evokes the sounds of a music box and a dainty ballerina deftly pirouetting across the stage. The music creates waves of high and low notes leaping through the air as though it is a stream trickling down a rocky bed.

A little further into the song, a drum and an added musical idea on a dulcimer runs counterpoint to the bells, which is held together by haunting vocals. The main musical theme then moves on to the keyboard and electric guitar mid-way through the song to transform it into a rock ballad.

The Sound of the Scare Part 1 The Thing (1982)

The soundtrack is the one subject that is the least discussed by people when talking about the horror movies. Because of this, I have decided to start an ongoing series called "The Sound of the Scare." 


Unfortunately there are a plethora of films in the genre whose potentially tense scenes are completely trampled over by an over-exuberant score. Even worse is when the film depends more on the suspense created by the music than on the acting, character development and overall plot. These cheap scares are typically signaled by a score that continuously grows louder in volume until it screams at the audience; the blaring speakers making them jump. The terror here is due to the assault on the eardrums, rather than the cerebellum. Directors that intentionally use it to provide auditory cues as to when the next “big scare” is coming up are just using it as a crutch. It is a weak attempt to cover up their inability to conjure up suspense via dialogue and action.


However, when done correctly the soundtrack adds to the sense of foreboding and dread that the story was intended to dredge up in the viewer to begin with.