# Horror Movie Soundtrack Recommendations



## brkootnekoff (Apr 21, 2020)

I'm looking for some horror movie soundtracks consisting mainly of melodic, "creepy" orchestral tracks. 

I asked on facebook and I got a lot of recommendations for soundtracks by Benjamin Wallfisch. I listened to them, but they're not quite what I'm looking for.

I listened to the soundtrack for "The Witch" and I like the sound of the track that had the solo nyckelharpa in it. But that was only one track and I'm trying to make an entire orchestral track with that sort of tone. Does anyone know if there's a horror movie soundtrack out there with that general tone/mood throughout?

Thanks in advance!


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## José Herring (Apr 21, 2020)

For straight up orchestral scores you can start with.

Jerry Goldsmith's
Omen
Alien
Poltergeist

Christopher Young
Hellraiser

Marco Beltrami
Scream

But the list could go on and on and on....


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## LudovicVDP (Apr 21, 2020)

josejherring said:


> Jerry Goldsmith's
> Omen




Ave Satani
That's indeed a perfect horror movie track !!


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## nolotrippen (Apr 21, 2020)

Richard Band, The House on Sorority Row
Franz Waxman, Bride of Frankenstein
Henry Mancini, Hans J Salter, Herman Stein, Creature from the Black Lagoon
Bernard Herrmann, Psycho
Goblin, Suspiria
Dimitri Tiomkin, The Thing
Jerry Goldsmith, Seconds
Joseph Loduca, Evil Dead
Charles Bernstein, Nightmare on Elm Street
Basil Kirchin, The Abominable Doctor Phibes
Harry Manfredini, Friday 13th
James Bernard, Horror of Dracula
John Williams, Dracula


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 21, 2020)

Ok, so maybe I can be more specific. Horror movies within the last 5 or 6 years with little to no aleatoric content.


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## nolotrippen (Apr 21, 2020)

Nah.


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## José Herring (Apr 21, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> Ok, so maybe I can be more specific. Horror movies within the last 5 or 6 years with little to no aleatoric content.


0


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 21, 2020)

Ok, well maybe that wasn't my point. I'm not looking to create an aleatoric track is what I'm saying.

Maybe someone could give me a list of some modern day horror movie composers who compose orchestral music. Then I could look up their works and decide for myself.

I tried a google search, but it only gave me a limited list.


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## José Herring (Apr 21, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> Ok, well maybe that wasn't my point. I'm not looking to create an aleatoric track is what I'm saying.
> 
> Maybe someone could give me a list of some modern day horror movie composers who compose orchestral music. Then I could look up their works and decide for myself.
> 
> I tried a google search, but it only gave me a limited list.


Still zero. 

You'll have to go back in time.

Firstly, hardly any Genre films are being made right now perhaps a few or couple a year. The trend right now is what use to be called "cross genre" films. Films that incorporate all genres, ie., Action, Sci-Fi, Horror, Drama, Romcom, ect... "B" genre movies have been replaced by online streaming which isn't really interested in horror. 

Even the Witch score you referenced, I'd never heard of the film and it seems to be mostly sampled aleatoric fx (but mind you, I only listen to a small portion of the score).

That's why it's important to narrow down your request. Traditional melodic orchestra scores for horror films happened mostly in the late '70's and 80's. More "modern" orchestra scores were in the 90's and early 2000's, after about 2010 it's all synths and orchestra FX type horror scores.

Except for my score to The Ghostmaker (2012), but since that film didn't do as well as everybody hoped then it isn't worth mentioning.


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 21, 2020)

josejherring said:


> Still zero.
> 
> You'll have to go back in time.



Interesting. I was wondering why I was having a hard time finding an all orchestral soundtrack. Although, soundtracks like "10 cloverfield lane" are kind of what I'm looking for.


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## José Herring (Apr 21, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> Interesting. I was wondering why I was having a hard time finding an all orchestral soundtrack. Although, soundtracks like "10 cloverfield lane" are kind of what I'm looking for.


Then also look at John Williams War of the Worlds


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## Sears Poncho (Apr 21, 2020)

nolotrippen said:


> Dimitri Tiomkin, The Thing


Also, Morricone and _The Thing. _


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## patrick76 (Apr 21, 2020)

Bernard Herrmann maybe.


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## José Herring (Apr 21, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> Interesting. I was wondering why I was having a hard time finding an all orchestral soundtrack. Although, soundtracks like "10 cloverfield lane" are kind of what I'm looking for.


The reason why is that it's hard to get samples to do a proper horror score what can be demonstrated effectively are orchestra FX and synths. You can't get samples to do War of the Worlds but you can demo a synth score.

Good luck trying to get samples to sound like this 

As a matter of fact I think I'm going to try just for the hell of it because I'm so sick of the aelatoric badass synth horror scores that the next time I get a movie that is even vaguely scaring I think I'll try to go all in on the orchestra or chamber orchestra type score.

More recently Michael Abels has some good orchestral work on "Us". Though his music is more than just orchestral.


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## wilifordmusic (Apr 21, 2020)

If you want to loosen up on your rules, Charlie Clouser writes some pretty scary stuff.


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## wilifordmusic (Apr 21, 2020)

And Lalo Schifrin has done some pretty scary stuff too.
Not modern, but doesn't sound dated to me. (old guy alert)


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## Niah2 (Apr 21, 2020)

wilifordmusic said:


> And Lalo Schifrin has done some pretty scary stuff too.
> Not modern, but doesn't sound dated to me. (old guy alert)



It was my first thought when I saw this thread. I love this score by Lalo:


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## LamaRose (Apr 21, 2020)

Check out all of the scores James Newton Howard did for M. Night... consistently great.


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## Sears Poncho (Apr 21, 2020)

The Shining of course has Bartok and Penderecki, whilst The Exorcist has Tubular Bells. None of this really pertains to the OP, but there's a virus and all and we're bored.  And really, Halloween is so simple, and so effective.


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 21, 2020)

As i said in my original post, I like the sound of the solo nyckelharpa in "The Witch" soundtrack. Are there any other horror soundtracks that have folk music elements in them?


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## cuttime (Apr 21, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> As i said in my original post, I like the sound of the solo nyckelharpa in "The Witch" soundtrack. Are there any other horror soundtracks that have folk music elements in them?


I guess it's horror. Have you checked out the "Midsommar" soundtrack?


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 21, 2020)

cuttime said:


> I guess it's horror. Have you checked out the "Midsommar" soundtrack?



Yes I have. I'll have another listen.


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## Sears Poncho (Apr 21, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> Are there any other horror soundtracks that have folk music elements in them?


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## JohnG (Apr 21, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> As i said in my original post, I like the sound of the solo nyckelharpa in "The Witch" soundtrack. Are there any other horror soundtracks that have folk music elements in them?



Some of the suggestions in this thread may be "great" in their own way, but are from more than 50 years ago, guys. Come on! Dmitri Tiomkin _died_ more than 40 years ago and was born in the 19th century!

How about "The Grudge" by Christopher Young? That has cool melodic stuff with bells and harp and all that. It's 2004 but still a good one. Rather creepy movie too.

The "Get Out" soundtrack is a nice blend of weird and 'regular' score, as is "Us," both by Michael Abels.


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## wilifordmusic (Apr 22, 2020)

Mark Isham did the first Blade movie.
Marco Beltrami has done a couple of interesting scores, Blade II, Resident Evil and Carrie (2013). 
Paul Haslinger did Underworld and Resident Evil : Final Chapter.
Alan Silvestri did the 2004 version of Van Helsing.

They all served the films well.


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## JohnG (Apr 22, 2020)

Speaking of Marco Beltrami, there’s “A Quiet Place”


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## WhiteNoiz (Apr 22, 2020)

Roque Baños does some interesting stuff (The Machinist in particular, though not pure monstrous horror I guess). Also, Zimmer's The Ring comes to mind as more melodic. Dead Silence opening by Clouser is a more orchestral bit and somewhat melodic. Another one is Ash Vs Evil Dead by Joseph Loduca.

W. Kilar's work for Dracula and The Night Gate are something else too. 

Elfman's Sleepy Hollow (aside from the more cartoonish ones, though he does have quite a bit of "horror" under his belt).

Ben Frost's Dark is in the ballpark I guess.

Badalamenti's City Of Lost Children (1995).

J. Goldsmith's Alien and Jed Kurzel's Alien Covenant.

Secret Window 2004 by Philip Glass and Geoff Zanelli.

And if you expand somewhat, then maybe also have a look at Goldenthal's Interview with the Vampire and Trevor Jones' From Hell.


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## Mornats (Apr 22, 2020)

Speaking of Elfman, his score for The Girl on the Train has some sinister vibes that are worth checking out.


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## LamaRose (Apr 22, 2020)

Sears Poncho said:


> The Shining of course has Bartok and Penderecki, whilst The Exorcist has Tubular Bells. None of this really pertains to the OP, but there's a virus and all and we're bored.  And really, Halloween is so simple, and so effective.



This may be a bit off topic, but some great ideas here... click "show more" for each section:


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## MA-Simon (Apr 29, 2020)

Might already be to "adventury" but... maybe something like this?


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 29, 2020)

I'm not quite finding anything in these horror movie soundtracks. The soundtrack for 10 cloverfield lane is the closest to what I want, but again not dark enough. Maybe I'm being too picky and should just buy the "10 cloverfield land" soundtrack and use it as reference material. 

I also listened to some of the soundtrack for "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" and there were only 2 or three tracks on there that I could possibly use (not sure though).

Are there some murder-mystery films with some good sinister music in their soundtracks?


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## jcrosby (Apr 29, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> I'm looking for some horror movie soundtracks consisting mainly of melodic, "creepy" orchestral tracks.
> 
> I asked on facebook and I got a lot of recommendations for soundtracks by Benjamin Wallfisch. I listened to them, but they're not quite what I'm looking for.
> 
> ...


Which track are you referring to? I thought there was more than one track with solo nyckelharpa but I may very well be wrong.. Either way posting exactly the track you're referring to will probably get you closest..


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 29, 2020)

jcrosby said:


> Which track are you referring to? I thought there was more than one track with solo nyckelharpa but I may very well be wrong.. Either way posting exactly the track you're referring to will probably get you closest..


Stuff like this, but I'm more after this "dark tone" expanded across the entire orchestra.


I listened to the soundtrack for "10 cloverfield lane". It's almost what I'm looking for. Are there other soundtracks similar to this either in horror or any other genre?


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## zolhof (Apr 29, 2020)

I watched Under the Skin when it came out in 2013, so I had zero expectations. The music hit me like a hammer, it felt so unsettling yet provoking and fascinating. I had to pause the film and look up the composer. Mica Levi, wow, you just know when you strike gold. Been a big fan ever since!

Also, three of my favorite scores in any genre, Kilar's Dracula, Alien³ and Hellraiser.


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## jcrosby (Apr 29, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> Stuff like this, but I'm more after this "dark tone" expanded across the entire orchestra.
> 
> 
> I listened to the soundtrack for "10 cloverfield lane". It's almost what I'm looking for. Are there other soundtracks similar to this either in horror or any other genre?



I think the main reason you're having a hard time finding references is that you're thinking of the score in terms of film genre...

Even though The Witch fits into the horror category it also fits into other categories... Drama, historic, suspense, etc. Basically I don't think of this as a horror score. When I listen to this I think of melancholy more than anything else, which could tick a lot of film genre boxes.

Here's one thing that jumped out to me as similar (maybe too much so...) Basically I'd look for scores in other film genres like suspense, psychological thriller, etc...




And a classic one that's different, but still a great example of thinking outside of the genre. Ignore the instrumentation, and listen to it as if it _were_ only orchestra...


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 29, 2020)

jcrosby said:


> I think the main reason you're having a hard time finding references is that you're thinking of the score in terms of film genre...
> 
> Even though The Witch fits into the horror category it also fits into other categories... Drama, historic, suspense, etc. Basically I don't think of this as a horror score. When I listen to this I think of melancholy more than anything else, which could tick a lot of film genre boxes.
> 
> Here's one thing that jumped out to me as similar (maybe too much so...) Basically I'd look for scores in other film genres like suspense, psychological thriller, etc...



Yes! I think you know what I'm talking about. I'm after some dark, slower tempo music. Like the track you queued up for me there. Do you know of any other similar music by any chance? 

Maybe there's a Netflix or HBO exclusive movie or series? I don't have either service, so I wouldn't know what's on there. I did do a google search for Netflix original horror movies and it gave me a whole list. No clue which ones have good scores.

I'm not sure if the soundtrack for a psychological thriller would have this sort of music in it. Maybe faster tempo music and a lot of aleatoric/sound design stuff which is not what I'm after.


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## jcrosby (Apr 30, 2020)

Here's a few... (All brilliantly scored AFAIC)..













https://youtu.be/sxtPO2nDA1U?t=1526


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## MA-Simon (Apr 30, 2020)

I would add penny dreadfull to this list.


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 30, 2020)

jcrosby said:


> Here's a few... (All brilliantly scored AFAIC)..



Awesome. Thanks so much!

I believe the tracks by Max Richter will do nicely . Now to see if that soundtrack is available for purchase on Amazon.


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## jcrosby (Apr 30, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> Awesome. Thanks so much!
> 
> I believe the tracks by Max Richter will do nicely . Now to see if that soundtrack is available for purchase on Amazon.



I see it available for purchase in iTunes/Apple Music for $10 if you can't find it on Amazon.









Taboo (Music from the Original TV Series) by Max Richter


Album · 2017 · 17 Songs




music.apple.com


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## brkootnekoff (Apr 30, 2020)

jcrosby said:


> I see it available for purchase in iTunes/Apple Music for $10 if you can't find it on Amazon.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Luckily I found it on amazon. ITunes, I believe is mp3 format.


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## jcrosby (Apr 30, 2020)

brkootnekoff said:


> Luckily I found it on amazon. ITunes, I believe is mp3 format.


AAC, But yes it is compressed...


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