Tag Archives: synthesizer

Horror Song of the Day: The Shape Returns “Halloween 2018” (by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies)

Posted on by Arleigh

Halloween

Today we see the wide release of David Gordon-Green’s sequel to John Carpenter’s Halloween. A film that’s a direct sequel to the horror classic, David Gordon-Green was able to bring in John Carpenter himself to compose the film’s score just as he did for the original film.

This time around, Carpenter is accompanied this time around by his son, Cody Carpenter, and godson, Daniel Davies. So, we have three generations with the original Halloween in their DNA attempting to improve or, at the very least, not make the score to this official sequel sound like just a copy and paste of the original score.

I would say, after listening to the full score a couple times, that these trio have succeeded where others have failed in scoring the other films in the franchise. My favorite track from this new score has to be the one titled, “The Shape Returns.”

With more modern electronic and synthesizer equipment available for use, Carpenter and his helpers were able to take the main Halloween theme and give it a more modern, angrier and menacing (if that’s even possible) sound for “The Shape Returns.”

Horror Song of the Day: Prince of Darkness Opening Credits (by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth)

Posted on by Arleigh

Prince of Darkness

John Carpenter, as most long-time readers and visitors to the site will know, is one of my favorite filmmakers. While he has been in a self-imposed retirement these last 15 or so years from directing, his works for two decades prior have to be considered some of the best genre films.

While some of his films have been critically-acclaimed from the start, others weren’t treated as well when they first released. It would only be years later when genre fans would finally come to appreciate some of his lesser works.

One such film is Prince of Darkness. The second film in his unofficial “Apocalypse Trilogy”, this one would be lambasted by most film critics upon it’s release. Even fans of his films would mostly avoid this entry.

Yet, years later it has turned out to be one of his most underappreciated films. It’s soundtrack, one Carpenter did himself with assistance from long-time collaborator Alan Howarth, would become a favorite.

The expanded “Opening Credits” section of the Prince of Darkness soundtrack is a great example of the sort of mood Carpenter can create with his preferred usage of synthesizer and electronic keyboards when it came to composing his film’s soundtracks.

Horror Song of the Day: Theme from The Fog (by John Carpenter)

Posted on by Arleigh

the-fog1

It’s that time of year again for the gang here at Through the Shattered Lens. October has become a sort of official month for the site with much of the posts and articles being related in some manner to all things horror (or close enough to it).

To start off 2014’s Horror Month here at Through the Shattered Lens I’ve chosen a wonderful and creepy piece of horror film music courtesy of the Master himself, John Carpenter.

It’s a great piece of atmospheric music that more than adds to the encroaching horror that is the film’s title. John Carpenter has done most of the soundtracks to his films and his use of electronic keyboards and synthesizers have become such a unique signature in all his films. The last couple years have seen a sort of revival for Carpenter’s type of electronic/synthesizer compositions. One recent film which made great use of this particular style was Jim Mickle’s Cold In July.

The theme to The Fog remains a favorite of horror fans and its influence on filmmakers today is a nice testament to well-earned classic status.

Song of the Day: Cosmo Black (by Dynatron)

Posted on by Arleigh

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Yesterday, Lisa Marie reviewed one of the film’s that I’ve been waiting to see in the theaters when I first saw the trailer for it a couple months ago. Lisa’s review of Cold In July has more than whetted my appetite to see this film. I mean it’s the latest from Jim Mickle who is starting to become one of my favorite genre filmmakers in the last ten years. It’s a film based on the novel of the same name by Joe R. Lansdale which is just a reason on top of the others reasons to go see this film.

While I haven’t seen the film yet I already have fallen in love with it’s soundtrack. One of the songs in the Cold In July soundtrack actually makes it into the trailer and it’s “Cosmo Black” by Dynatron. It’s a tune that evokes memories of 1980’s John Carpenter soundtracks with it’s heavy reliance on synthesizers and electronic keyboard. Any soundtrack that can make one reminisce about those classic 80’s Carpenter film scores must be doing something right.

So, until I get a chance to see the film for myself I might as well get a headstart and enjoy listening to the score to Cold In July.

Song of the Day: Escape from New York – Main Theme (by John Carpenter)

Posted on by Arleigh

Just got back from watching what one would call a revisionist historical film (though I would also call it a speculative fiction) called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Such fiction have always caught my interest. Maybe it’s the use of historical fact as the backdrop for fantastical fiction (horror, sci-fi, fantasy, etc…) that makes them fun to read and/or watch. Most tend to be average to awful, but once in awhile something great happens to come along. My latest “Song of the Day” comes from one of the great speculative fiction there is and also one of my favorite films ever: John Carpenter’s Escape from New York.

The “Main Theme” to this cult-classic is considered one of the most iconic piece of film score for a sci-fi/action film there is. The moment the synthesizer-based notes begin to play into the thumping bass line intro people know exactly what film it belongs to. It’s a testament to the creative genius that is John Carpenter that we have such a great piece of music. He didn’t just write and direct the film. He also composed the film’s score (with help from Alan Howarth) which contains the trademark synthesizer-heavy music Carpenter has made his trademark style for most of the films he’s worked on.