What are the best, most elegant and listenable horror scores?

[GerateWohl 4,420]

I was listening to Horner's Wolfen on Spotify and thought, it is such a thing, with horror movie scores. It is often impressive, what sounds composers get out off an orchestra to underline horrifying events on screen and there are some horror scores that I really like listening to. But since by nature these scores often contain a lot of dissonant music, many scores of that kind are exhausting to listen to. And in addition often not interesting enough to justify that accoustic martyrium.

But there are some horror scores, that have a good balance of interesting orchestral music and the scary dissonant parts.

I am looking now to these well balanced horror scores, which are for me good horror scores from a pure album listening perspective.

 

Good examples in my view are Chris Young's Hellraiser scores plus The Fly II. 

Shore's The Fly comes to mind as well, same for Goldsmith's Omen trilogy, Poltergeist (the first one) and Alien of course.

James Newton Howards The Sixth Sense might count. But it is rather a ghost story with horror elements.

I would not count William's Dracula, as this is a gothic movie, but not really horror. Maybe The Fury. Great scores but not necessarily in th horror score category.

Any other examples?

 

Wolfen by the way, as score surely brillant, but exhausting listening.

Aliens, even though it is more or less just reusing all its musical ideas from Wolfen, is more listenable.

 

[Mr. Who 924]

The Ring is quite elegant while scary. 

[Bespin 8,494]

The "Horror" genre, well sure it could be subject to many interpretations...

 

Some of my personal favourites scores... from "heart-pounding" movies, let's say!

 

John Williams - Jaws (yes, of course)

John Williams - The Poseidon Adventure

John Williams - The Fury

Howard Shore - Silence of the lambs

Howard Shore - Videodrome (Expanded score)

Bernard Herrmann - Psycho (I don't dislike Danny Elfman's arrangement of it)

Elmer Bernstein/Bernard Herrmann - Cape Fear (the 1991 remake, with a rearranged score)

James Newton Howard - The Sixth Sense

Jerry Goldsmith - Alien

Jerry Goldsmith - The Omen

Jerry Goldsmith - Psycho II

Jerry Goldsmith - Poltergeist

Ennio Morricone - The Thing

Alan Silvestri - Predator

Danny Elfman - Sleepy Hollow

Wochuck Killer (his new surname) - Bram Stoker's Dracula

 

Compilation - A Nightmare On Elm Street - Horror Collection: The Best Of A Nightmare On Elm Street 1-6

Compilation - The Best Of Halloween 1-6 - Horror Collection (Original Motion Picture Soundtracks)

[JNHFan2000 2,975]

Patrick Doyle's Needful Things

Christopher Young's Drag Me To Hell

 

[GerateWohl 4,420]

18 minutes ago, Bespin said:

The "Horror" genre, well sure it could be subject to many interpretations...

 

Some of my personal favourites scores... from "heart-pounding" movies, let's say!

 

John Williams - Jaws (yes, of course)

John Williams - The Poseidon Adventure

John Williams - The Fury

Howard Shore - Silence of the lambs

Howard Shore - Videodrome

Bernard Herrmann - Psycho (I don't dislike Danny Elfman's arrangement of it)

Elmer Bernstein/Bernard Herrmann - Cape Fear (the 1991 remake, with a reimaginated score)

James Newton Howard - The Sixth Sense

Jerry Goldsmith - Alien

Jerry Goldsmith - The Omen

Jerry Goldsmith - Psycho II

Jerry Goldsmith - Poltergeist

Ennio Morricone - The Thing

Alan Silvestri - Predator

Wochuck Killer (his new surname) - Bram Stoker's Dracula

You have some in there, that I would rather call thriller than horror like Cape Fear or Silence of the Lambs.

But anyway, these scores for sure meet that well balanced criterion.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,436]

The Fury by John Williams is certainly my favourite (if one doesn't count Jaws as an horrific movie) closely followed by Images from John Williams

Alien by Jerry Goldsmith, Aliens by James Horner, Alien³ by Elliot Goldenthal, Alien: Resurrection by John Frizzell (all the Alien have such great score)

The Omen trilogy by Jerry Goldsmith

The Ring by Hans Zimmer (one of his finest score)

Silence of the Lambs by Howard Shore

Poltergeist by Jerry Goldsmith (the two, although the first one is largely superior)

 

I also really like McCreary's work on Happy Death Day and Freaky as well as Beltrami's Mimic, Scream

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,150]

Best, most elegant, and most listenable: The Phantom of the Opera by Roy Budd.

[Edmilson 7,517]

Bram Stoker's Dracula by Wojciech Kilar

[Thor 7,578]

You touch upon something I've always been very aware of, Geratewohl. I'm not generally attracted to horror scores on album. Sound design, stingers and tenuto strings don't generally make for a very comfortable listening session, although they may work like gangbusters in the film. So there needs to be something else going on -- something interesting to explore in the abstract textures, perhaps (like IMAGES or PET SEMATARY) or, better yet, a sense of what I like to call 'delicious darkness' (i.e. melody/opera/sensuality). This can be achieved through traditional orchestral landscapes, electronics or other alternative ensembles. If that's onboard, I'm interested.

 

HELLRAISER, as you mention, is a classic example of this ("Ressurection" is classic gothic opera), as are several other Youngs, like BLESS THE CHILD and HIDER IN THE HOUSE. Beltrami is also good at it, or at least used to be, with things like SCREAM or MIMIC. Daniel Licht excelled at this too, but he was taken from us much too soon.

 

Beyond that, I'm sorry to say, I'm going to provide a long list again, of (IMO) very listenable and elegant horror scores that I love, also including psychological horrors (but trying to leave thrillers and most science fiction out of it):

 

OCCHIALI NERI (Rebotini)

BLACK SWAN (Mansell)

SHE WILL (Mansell)

FULL CIRCLE (Towns)

CONDEMNED (Davies & Robertson)

NIGHTBREED (Elfman)

SLEEPY HOLLOW (Elfman)

THE WOLFMAN (Elfman)

THE ANTICHRIST (Morricone....surprisingly accesible!)

THE DEVIL DOLL (Waxman)

CAT PEOPLE (Moroder)

SUSPIRIA (Goblin)

THE WIND (Zimmer)

THE CRAFT: LEGACY (Christian)

LIFEFORCE (Mancini)

THE VILLAGE (Howard)

SECONDS (Goldsmith)

THE OMEN (Goldsmith)

THE FINAL CONFLICT (Goldsmith)
POLTERGEIST (Goldsmith)

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Söderqvist)

MANDY (Jóhannsson)

ALTERED STATES (Corigliano)

THE FURY (Williams)

VAMP (Elias)

ANGST (Schulze)

RAVE PARTY MASSACRE (Jantzen)

THE MURDER PACT (Llewelyn)

JACOB'S LADDER (Jarre)

CARRIE (Donaggio)

DRESSED TO KILL (Donaggio)

MANIAC (Rob)

THE GUEST (Moore)

THE KEEP (Tangerine Dream)

FIRESTARTER (Tangerine Dream)

NEAR DARK (Tangerine Dream)

TO TOKYO (Jones)

THE NINTH GATE (Kilar....since you don't count DRACULA, I won't mention that)

[GerateWohl 4,420]

10 minutes ago, Thor said:

SUSPIRIA (Goblin)

Reading that, what do you think of Thom Yorke's Suspiria score?

[Thor 7,578]

25 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

Reading that, what do you think of Thom Yorke's Suspiria score?

 

It's decent, but a little too experimental for my taste, compared to the prog rock fluidity of the original.

[GerateWohl 4,420]

12 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

It's decent, but a little too experimental for my taste, compared to the prog rock fluidity of the original.

So ist the movie.

 

Concerning horror movie scores I find it interesting, that besides this usual dissonant "now something really scary or frightening is happening" sound some extremely pleasant optimistic sound can be much more scary and disturbing, when it is used to accompany scary things coing on. This is an effect I seem to remember rather from italian horror movies. Goblin sometimes has a similar effect.

 

Somehow an "me the music, I am fine, I am not with you, I leave you alone with that horror" effect.

[fenrik 36]

The Newton Brother's scores to THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR are beautiful scores!

 

And if it counts as horror (not sure?), Abel Korzeniowski's PENNY DREADFUL score.

[GerateWohl 4,420]

9 minutes ago, fenrik said:

Abel Korzeniowski's PENNY DREADFUL score.

Right!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Drag .Me to Hell Christopher Young 

 

and  Brian Tyler's fantastic Darkness Falls. Terrible movie great score

 

[Bespin 8,494]

1 minute ago, JoeinAR said:

Drag Me to Hell

 

Ok but you drive

[Edmilson 7,517]

I love Penny Dreadful, not so much because of the horror but because of the tragic melodrama, like this cue:

 

 

[JNHFan2000 2,975]

Penny Dreadful is indeed incredible!

 

The Nun of Korzeniowski is also really good imo. It's a bit tougher to listen to but is very inventive with the orchestra and choir

[GerateWohl 4,420]

9 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

I love Penny Dreadful, not so much because of the horror but because of the tragic melodrama, like this cue:

 

 

An it also has these beautiful waltzes:

 

 

[A24 4,359]

[GerateWohl 4,420]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

LIFEFORCE (Mancini)

That is probably my personal contender for the most elegant horror score.

33 minutes ago, AC1 said:

If Friedkin would have used the whole album or at least more than one track, that would probably count.

[Richard Penna 3,717]

Probably the only horror score in my collection I'd recommend is Sleepy Hollow.

 

Some here might get away with Korzeniowski's The Nun, a rare departure from Joe Bishara's music for the Conjuring universe and the most accessible. Anything else I'd recommend would come with a suspense/crash/bang health warning, but then I generally really like that sort of stuff.

 

I suppose if you wanted more tragic/reflective modern horror, some bits of Wallfisch's The Invisible Man are like that, with a lot of strings. Just beware that this score's idea of jump scare/fight music is pretty much the definition of electronic nails on chalkboard, which I like in the right mood, but 99% of JWFan would throw in the bin.

[Bellosh 3,446]

this cue from IT (2017) still stands out to me. beautiful stuff.

 

 

[Romão 2,274]

I must second the recommendations for Young's first Hellraiser score and The Fly II. Both albums are fantastic listening experiences

[Naïve Old Fart 9,634]

Does anyone have any love for Henry Mancini's NIGHTWING?

[GerateWohl 4,420]

28 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Does anyone have any love for Henry Mancini's NIGHTWING?

I simply don't know it.

[Edmilson 7,517]

1 hour ago, Bellosh said:

this cue from IT (2017) still stands out to me. beautiful stuff.

 

 

The two It scores are pretty good, despite the albums being too long.

 

I really enjoy this cue, it's Wallfisch going full Christopher Young:

 

 

And this is a great emotional ending to the duology:

 

 

[Bespin 8,494]

3 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

Probably the only horror score in my collection I'd recommend is Sleepy Hollow.

 

Damn, I removed it from my list I dont know why.

[Richard Penna 3,717]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Does anyone have any love for Henry Mancini's NIGHTWING?

 

Yep, excellent score. One of my very first Varese club purchases, purely on the strength of the samples.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,634]

1 hour ago, GerateWohl said:

I simply don't know it.

You should. It's great.

 

 

 

 

 

Has anyone mentioned Denny Zeitlin's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS?

Top score!

[Mr. Who 924]

I’m surprised that nobody has mentioned Signs.

[Jurassic Shark 12,150]

Signs!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,634]

Broadcast's remarkable score for BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

6 hours ago, Bespin said:

 

Ok but you drive

I always drive, unless I am paying.

[Bellosh 3,446]

that family theme from The Conjuring.  

 

 

[eitam 365]

I'm very partial to Brian Tyler's The Killing Room (maybe not exactly horror ? I've never seen the movie), and Howard Shore's The Cell. 

[Bespin 8,494]

56 minutes ago, JoeinAR said:

I always drive, unless I am paying.

 

I just hope it's not a sexual innuendo (practising my spanish)!

[Bellosh 3,446]

The first minute of this cue is beautiful. I remember feeling a sense of comfort that this families pain was finally over! Almost relieved that it was a demon and that the family WASN'T the most unlucky, tragic family in the world (although I guess they were lol). This cue brings that sense of comfort.

 

This is an ALL-TIME GREAT CUE TO END A HORROR MOVIE, though.

 

 

 

[Romão 2,274]

Philip Sarde's Ghost Story is also pretty good

[Andy 4,173]

This is a GREAT topic.  I may have more to contribute if I look over my collection, but I just picked this one up.  This is a budget 80s slasher with a Richard Band score, but just listen to the lush main title of House on Sorority Row.   More lovely than it has a right to be. 

 

 

 

12 hours ago, Thor said:

 

CARRIE (Donaggio)

 

YES!!! I’m not as familiar with Donaggio’s Dressed to Kill or the Howling, but I recall them being very horror-romantic.  Carrie is for sure gentle, elegant, and listenable. 

[Tom Guernsey 2,301]

By some coincidence, John Ottman's Snow White: A Tale of Terror appeared on my "Up Next" list and very good it is too. Creepy, but also melodic and very listenable.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,634]

12 hours ago, Romão said:

Philip Sarde's Ghost Story is also pretty good

 

Let's face it Romāo, anything by Philip Sarde is pretty good.

[Richard Penna 3,717]

15 hours ago, Bellosh said:

that family theme from The Conjuring.  

 

I often forget about that, you're right - a beautiful theme. Annoyingly Isham did a few variations and the one that's been reused a few times in subsequent Conjuring movies is unreleased.

 

15 hours ago, Mr. Who said:

I’m surprised that nobody has mentioned Signs.

 

Signs a horror movie? Not sure about that.

[GerateWohl 4,420]

31 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

Signs a horror movie? Not sure about that.

Nah!

[Bellosh 3,446]

Signs is way more of a horror movie than Jaws (which is NOT a horror movie)

[Richard Penna 3,717]

Signs has one scene where an alien does something scary. That does not maketh a horror movie.

[GerateWohl 4,420]

11 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

Signs has one scene where an alien does something scary. That does not maketh a horror movie.

Yes. Then Close Encounters would be a horror movie, too.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

21 hours ago, Bespin said:

 

I just hope it's not a sexual innuendo (practising my spanish)!

Saturday I was paying for Breakfast and a movie, so I let David drive.  No innuendo..

5 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

Yes. Then Close Encounters would be a horror movie, too.

The screw scene in CE3K is scary as hell. 

 

Signs can be cinsidered a horror movie. It has many scares and lots of psychological terrors.

[Brónach 1,302]

2 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

Let's face it Romāo, anything by Philip Sarde is pretty good.

 

Quest for Fire

[Richard Penna 3,717]

If Signs is considered a horror movie, then JNH's score is one of the best horror scores ever written. The Hand Of Fate blew me away when I first heard it.