John Carpenter & Alan Howarth - (2012) Halloween II LP

The return of one of horror’s scariest boogeymen, as well as one of the genre’s most iconic theme tunes with John Carpenter and Alan Howarth’s score to HALLOWEEN II. Set directly after the events of the first film, Rick Rosenthal’s sequel sets itself up as the slasher equivalent of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, making a family connection between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers while getting some good kills in at the same time. Carpenter and Howarth’s score is beefier and more intense than before, using layers of electronics to drive the audience to madness.

As before, Myers aka “The Shape” is propelled by that theme, souped up with a new and more powerful arrangement from Carpenter and Howarth. HALLOWEEN II is more overtly synth and is perhaps less focused than the original score, although that certainly means it’s nastier and more schizophrenic. The score also brings back the evocative ‘Laurie’s Theme’, incorporating into a score full of harrowing musical effect, its synthesised howls and wails piercing your ears so that by the time ‘Mr. Sandman’ comes around, you’ll feel just like the final girl, delirious at having survived the aural ordeal. And that’s just when The Shape wakes up.

If that wasn't Michael Myers burning up in that car, a lot of other kids are going to be slaughtered tonight.

John Carpenter & Alan Howarth - (2012) Halloween III - Season Of The Witch LP

A true classic of horror cinema scoring, with John Carpenter and Alan Howarth’s score to HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH. Bravely dumping the character of Michael Myers, the film instead looked at the concept of Halloween itself as a subject, with a mystery involving an Irish toymaker, three gruesome masks, and a chunk of Stonehenge. Eviscerated on release, it’s now been re-evaluated as an underrated picture, not least because of Carpenter and Howarth’s score. Whilst it left the original themes at home, HALLOWEEN III still has a plentiful array of musical delights to scare the living daylights out of you. The main title has a palpable sense of dread, with low droning synths providing a backdrop for high-pitched lines representing a television signal. Edged notes along with a foreboding rhythm provide high tension along with stabbing wild synths, while a certain piece of driving music gives a sense of fate dragging you to a very bloody and nasty death. And then there’s the Silver Shamrock theme. Remember kids, it’s almost time – don’t miss HALLOWEEN III – and don’t forget to wear your masks.

 It's almost time, kids. The clock is ticking.

The National Philharmonic Orchestra - (1974) Music Excerpts From The Motion Picture The Exorcist LP

Lalo Schifrin's working score was rejected by Friedkin. Schifrin had written six minutes of music for the initial film trailer but audiences were reportedly too scared by its combination of sights and sounds. Warner Bros. executives told Friedkin to instruct Schifrin to tone it down with softer music, but Friedkin did not relay the message. Schifrin's final score was thrown out into the parking lot by Friedkin, dubbing it "fucking Mexican marimba music".
In the soundtrack liner notes for his 1977 film, Sorcerer, Friedkin said had he heard the music of Tangerine Dream earlier, he would have had them score The Exorcist. Instead, he used modern classical compositions, including portions of the 1971 Cello Concerto by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, as well as some original music by Jack Nitzsche. But the music was heard only during scene transitions. The 2000 "Version You've Never Seen" features new original music by Steve Boddacker, as well as brief source music by Les Baxter.
The original soundtrack LP has only been released once on CD, as an expensive and hard-to-find Japanese import. It is noteworthy for being the only soundtrack to include the main theme Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, which became very popular after the film's release, and the movement Night of the Electric Insects from George Crumb's string quartet Black Angels.

 

 ..as a last resort to try and save her..

Ennio Morricone - (1977) Exorcist: II The Heretic LP

The movie for which this score was composed is a relatively odd one in the first place, so it's no surprise that the music is a bit on the weird side too -- the highlight being the demented "Pazuzu," with blood-and-thunder instrumentation carrying the roaring vocal chant. Not an easy album to find, certainly, but worth it for Morricone collectors.

 Now the struggle between good & evil goes on.

Robert Tomaro - (2015) Slime City (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) LP

Slime City is the debut film by cult horror director and author Gregory Lamberson. The story follows Alex, who after moving into his new apartment is seduced by his neighbor and soon turns into a melting ghoul who is forced to kill innocent victims in order to maintain a normal human physique.

Slime City debuted in 1988 and spent months in the NY midnight movie circuit, at the tail end of the grindhouse era. Lamberson creatively made a great film with intense special effects with very limited money and a small crew of dedicated movie fans.

A huge part of what makes Slime City so fantastic is it’s wildly creative score, which was composed by the now PHD, and current Music Director of the Beloit Janesville Symphony, Robert Tomaro. Rob’s score is unlike any horror soundtrack past or present. In Robert’s own words, the music is “perhaps what you might get if you locked Igor Stravinsky, Johnny Rotten and Bernard Hermann in a hotel room and didn’t let them out until they wrote something together.” The score is most certainly slimy as the film’s title would leave you hoping for. Very much classically written, but with a serious mix of punk guitar work and weirdo avant-garde synth. A truly unique composition.