Film scores are designed to support and bolster the overall feelings that a film is trying to convey. This provides composers with a clear and concise goal. In pop music, the goal is often to create something pleasing to the ear, so we can expect to hear a lot of 4/4 time at a tempo of 100-130 beats per minute, along with common intervals. They are predictable, and they provide a nice baseline for hooks and melodies. Horror film scores, by contrast, seek to have the opposite effect on a listener. They are often used to support feelings of tension, unease, and shock. As a result, we end up hearing a lot of fluctuating tempos, dissonant tritones, minor seconds, cluster chords, unresolved harmonies, and gritty or jarring textures. In this article, we’ll examine four horror film scores that every composer should study, as they offer a masterclass on creating those darker moods. In short, this is an article on how NOT to write a pop song.
Jaws (1975): The Perfect Minimalistic Motif
As we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Jaws this year, it makes sense to take a look back at one of the most iconic film scores of all time and examine why it still resonates with audiences watching it for the first time, even 50 years later. John Williams has proven himself an absolute genius at composing film scores that support and enhance the mood and feelings the film itself conveys. With Jaws, he did this with two notes, offering a masterclass in how to build tension through rhythm, tempo, and repetition.
Williams’ minimalist motif of two notes repeating in certain scenes, with the tempo and volume increasing, was expertly designed as a narrative device to trigger a psychological response that something was approaching, becoming more aggressive as it neared. The steady, relentless use of the two notes also echoed something more profound, the indifferent nature of the beast that menaced the humans in the film. A natural predator that has been hunting the same way for 400 million years. Few themes are more universally recognized for tension than this ostinato, which achieves its effect with a two-note minor second. Though the full score develops beyond the ostinato, the core idea remains a model of economy and impact.
Psycho (1960): How To Make A String Scream
Bernard Herrmann‘s score for the 1960 horror film Psycho set the tone for many subsequent horror films. He chose to score the movie using only strings. String sections can often be used to a soothing effect. In this film, Herrmann employed them to create tension and evoke a strong psychological response through the use of aggressive dissonance, cluster chords, and biting, close intervals, which evoked unease and shock. The most iconic scene in the film, and perhaps one of the most iconic horror scenes of all time, the famous shower scene, is a masterclass for any aspiring composer to study. The music in that scene slashes with repeated high-register cluster chords centered on E and F, often expanded with adjacent tones, creating both rhythmic violence and acute harmonic instability that heighten the horror. The repeated motif insinuates the repeated stabbing motion of a psychopathic killer. These effects are bolstered by their contrast with the film’s periods of silence, which are used to significant effect.
The psychological triggers are something that can be said of many horror films. If we look deeper, we can infer some things about the character from how the film score was composed. While a string section has a fairly wide range, Herrmann deliberately leaned on the high register, perhaps in an attempt to heighten tension or, on a deeper level, to suggest that the film’s character, Norman Bates, was on the verge of a psychological collapse, hanging by the thinnest of wires.
Halloween (1978): The Heartbeat of Evil
John Carpenter‘s piano composition for the main theme of the 1978 classic Halloween is a simple yet effective lead-in to one of the most dreaded and relentless horror villains of all time, Michael Myers. The character has been reinvented across various timelines, but the general story remains the same, and the character himself embodies a relentless, cold, and emotionless killer. The main motif recurs throughout the franchise’s catalog.
The motif is scored in 5/4 time, which would be an unusual choice for a pop song but fits well in the horror genre, as this meter is inherently off-balance, keeping listeners unsettled and on edge. Most transcriptions place the theme in F# minor and highlight prominent tritone spans and chromatic movement inside the ten-note figure. The driving, relentless pulse and sharp staccato attack of each piano note are almost like a heartbeat, which matches the heightened alertness to danger that characters and viewers feel. The repetition fosters a sense of inescapable dread, which is precisely the menace that Michael Myers delivers to those he pursues.
The Witch (2015): Think Outside The Box, Or Make Your Own Box
Mark Korven composed the score for this gritty horror film set in 1630s England. The film’s mood was one of tension and dissonance, both designed to provoke unease. Within the film, he did a couple of things that composers should take note of. This is a lesser-known film, nowhere near the same level of reverence as the other three. It provides a strong example for a lesson we should all learn regarding instrumentation. The other three scores use more traditional instruments such as piano, brass, or strings. This film ventured into interesting territory when it comes to instrumentation.
Korven used unusual instruments, such as the nyckelharpa and the waterphone, which are not necessarily period-correct for the film but are obscure enough that the casual listener would not be able to tell the difference. If you want a soundtrack unlike anything people have heard before, you may have to use instruments that few have heard before, or, barring that, invent your own. Korven did just this when he used an instrument designed by Tony Duggan-Smith called the Apprehension Engine.
The instrument features a single guitar string and a pickup that is used with an E-bow. This is run through heavy distortion, an Eventide Harmonizer, and a reverb tank from a Fender amp (which can also be played on its own). A primitive hurdy gurdy, along with four steel rulers and rods, is also included; these can be bowed, hit, or plucked. A tray of nuts and bolts can be dragged around with a magnet. Friction mallets can be dragged across the instrument’s body to create eerie sounds. All of those sounds can be heard through three piezo pickups hidden inside, along with a single magnetic humbucking pickup.
Research shows that listeners tend to perceive dissonant musical notes and sounds as tense or unpleasant, which is why techniques and instruments like these can be so effective for horror. The Apprehension Engine is purpose-built to generate extreme dissonances and eerie textures.
