The incredibly talentedJohn Carpenterdoes it all. He acts, directs, writes, produces, and the list goes on. Despite all the fields he’s worked in, he’s most well-known for his musical compositions. And while he’s worked in a variety of genres, he’s most commonly associated with horror, and is dubbed one of the greatest masters of the horror genre.
Carpenter is the mind behind the sinister sounds from movies likeHalloweenandThe Fog. He has the talent to be able to up the ante in any scary scene by composing music that truly enhances the scare factor and sends chills down your spine. In most all the films he worked on, Carpenter either composed or co-composed the music. On top of his musical film career, he’s also released four solo studio albums.
Carpenter’s legacy is long-lasting and played a major role in influencing other directors, writers, composers and producers like the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things), James Wan (The Conjuring) and David F. Sandberg (Lights Out).
Most recently, Carpenter composed thesoundtrack for theFirestarterrebootwith his son Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, who also featured on Carpenter’s solo albums.
With such a long career full of hits, let’s recap some of John Carpenter’s best musical scores over the years.
7Christine (1983)
Columbia Pictures
This 1983 Stephen King adaptation is about a car with a mind of its own, and a very jealous, possessive personality over its owner.Christineis one of those instances where Carpenter directed and did the music. Not only is it agreat ’80s King adaptation— considering how many there were during the decade — but the musical score perfectly fits the film. It’s eerie, suspenseful, and even a little quizzical. It also represents the decade to a tee. The almost tinny synth compositions just feel like the 1980s.
Upon its release,Christinewas met with positive reviews overall and has become a sort of cult classic over the years. There’s currently aChristineremake in development, although there are few details on the production at the moment.
6Prince of Darkness (1987)
Another ’80s horror movie with Carpenter in the director’s chair and managing the score,Prince of Darknessis about a group of physics students who travel to a Catholic church to help a priest investigate a mysterious liquid he found in a vial, that turns out to be the liquid embodiment of Satan.Prince of Darknessis not Carpenter’s best or worst film; rather, it’s somewhere in the middle. It seems to drag on a bit, and when comparing the story and delivery to other Carpenter films, it doesn’t quite measure up. However, it comes with a great score.
The music inPrince of Darknessseems to come at you every second of the movie from start to finish. It’s moody and scary, and Carpenter manages to craft compositions around each scene that fit perfectly and really elevate the horror on screen. Even thoughPrince of Darknessmay not be Carpenter’s best film, the musical score was undeniably effective and was nominated for a Saturn Award for best music in 1988.
5Halloween (2018)
A lot of times theHalloweensequels have a hard time measuring up with the original, but David Gordon Green’s (Halloween Kills) 2018 sequel, simply titled Halloween, is one of the better ones. It features Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), Michael Myers' favorite target, as she deals with PTSD from Michael’s past killing spree and prepares to face off with him once again.
Carpenter returned to score this sequel with Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, and brought much of the haunting flair that made the originalHalloweensoundtrack so successful. It’s perfectly creepy and suspenseful and plays homage to its predecessors and the iconicHalloweentheme, while still maintaining a modern appeal.
Related:Halloween: Should the Franchise Revisit the Original Anthology Plan?
4Escape From New York (1981)
Escape From New Yorkis a sci-fi action film co-written, co-scored and directed by Carpenter in 1981.Escape From New Yorktakes place in 1997 New York, and follows ex-soldier, federal prisoner, and anti-hero Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) as he’s given 24 hours to rescue the President from anti-government rebels in order to be pardoned for his crimes. Upon its release, the film was both a commercial success and a hit with critics, and went on to become one of Carpenter’s most popular works. It was later followed up with the sequelEscape From L.A.in 1996, but that film didn’t perform as well as the original.
Carpenter co-scored the movie with Alan Howarth, who he also worked with onChristine, The Thing, Halloween II, andBig Trouble in Little China.Escape From New Yorkproved that Carpenter’s talents go beyond just horror movies and that he can put together an action-packed composition, too. Carpenter has also discussed the possibility of a third installment in the franchise,Escape From Earth.
3Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
John Carpenter did it all with 1976’sAssault on Precinct 13, handling the writing, directing, scoring, and editing. It’s an action thriller about a cop precinct that falls under attack from a local gang after the LAPD kills some of its members. The cops in the precinct end up having to band together with some of their prisoners in order to defend the station.Assault on Precinct 13was originally met with mixed reviews, but, of course, became a cult classic over time. It was later remade in 2005 starring Ethan Hawke (The Black Phone) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix).
Most recognizable from this score is the main theme. It’s groovy and infectious, yet daunting at the same time. Somehow, Carpenter manages to convey all of those emotions, along with the theme of the movie, in one instantly recognizable track. Once you hear it one time, it sticks with you.
2The Fog (1980)
The Fog, which premiered in 1980, is a big Carpenter hit about a mysterious fog that floats into a coastal California town bringing in vengeful ghosts that were killed in a shipwreck 100 years before; starring the young scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) alongside her mother, Janet Leigh (Psycho). Carpenter co-wrote, directed, and did the music forThe Fog. Critics didn’t necessarily loveThe Fogupon its release, but despite that, it performed well at the box office. Later, though — like most Carpenter films — it became a cult classic, and received an influx of more positive reviews. Today, it’scertified fresh with a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The score features a very soft, synthesized piano melody that builds tension as the film progresses, really accentuating the scarier scenes. Everything about the score just screams horror classic. Most notable here is the track “Andy on the Beach,” where Andy (Ty Mitchell) finds a gold coin and part of a shipwreck on the beach. The eerie, foreboding music draws attention to the scene and lets the viewer know something is about to happen without even saying anything.
RELATED:John Carpenter Gives His View on the Future of the Halloween Franchise
1Halloween (1978)
One of Carpenter’s most successful films isHalloween, which premiered in 1978. Starting as just an independent slasher film,Halloweensaw massive success among critics and the box office and exploded into a 12 film franchise, which the thirteenth installment,Halloween Ends, set to premiere this fall.
Halloweenbecame an instant classic, and its groundbreaking, innovative score is one of the reasons why. Carpenter uses his signature synth piano and organ tones to create some of the most haunting auras in horror movie history. Each scene just explodes with energy, as Carpenter’s compositions bring the characters and environments to life. The score itself is rather simple, and took Carpenter all of three days to put together, including the iconic, immediately recognizableHalloweentheme. But, despite how simple the score may be, it had a lasting impression. Elements of the original score, and theHalloweentheme itself, have made appearances in sequels later in the franchise. The movie’s signature theme song is a Halloween-time classic, guaranteed to still send a chill down your spine, even all these years later.
