Horror Music

 

The music used in horror films is important to add to the atmosphere of the film. Using happy, cheerful, upbeat music would essentialy ruin the tension of the film and would also not really m ake sense. Although this sort of music is sometimes used at the start of horror films or to lull the audience into a false sense of security, though in trailers this type of music is not often used as there is only a small amount of time to convey the right atmosphere.

The most notable music used in horror films are the classical scores used in films such as Jaws (1975), Halloween (1978), The Omen (1976) and even more recent film The Sixth Sense (1999). Some films even now use these classic scores yet most are alot more theatrical now and are used to get small scares by changing the volume quickly. This music used is also often catchy so the music stays in people's minds, resulting in them being scared long after seeing the film. Jaws is the most obvious use of this as you may often hear people humming the tune at the beach or even when sneaking up on people. I would like to use one of these scores however possibly not one which would be so easily recognised. For example Final Destination (2000) by Shirley Walker is a good example of a simple yet creepy tune.