Music in Horror Movies, Essay Example

There is no doubt that the music in horror films adds to the atmosphere of terror as a combined audio/visual nightmare.  One of the best examples being the background music to the slasher film Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. The sharp staccato stabbing noises were frighteningly chilling and realistic as the psychopath stabbed the girl in the shower.  Hitchcock again used music combined with animal sounds in his film of the Birds. Here he used the piercing shrill sound of seagulls in vicious attacks against a helpless town’s people.  The sombre music and sounds of the black crows added the symbolism of death.  This film also had some of the gothic feels of Edgar Allen Poe and the thought of his work on the Raven.

The horror movie called Triangle produced in 2009, a psychological horror film based loosely on the events of the Bermuda Triangle combined chilling music to ghostly apparitions and played towards the fear of the human mind.  A different kind of musical fear was emphasised in the filming of the Exorcist containing loud shreaking noises reminiscent of the supernatural and again appealing to psychological fear of death, the afterlife and vengeful demonic powers. In the film of the Oman gothic classical music was used to capture the mood of satanic power.  The music scored by Jerry Goldsmith also cleverly introduce the use of Latin chanting by monks providing the foreboding religious overtones to the movie.  The chilling decapitation scene was accompanied by horrific musical score that included the sound of shattering glass.

One of the most memorable music scores accompanied the 1960’s film of Dracula the Prince of Darkness and the chilling scene of Dracula appearing at the top of the crypt door; the closing creaking door with the spine tingling music conveying the fear of entrapment and the hunter finding his prey.

Music is used with great effect in films to inspire the feeling of terror or fear. This was used with great effect in the film of Jaws.

The fear of the great white shark was demonised as a terror of the deep and the music inspired the heart pounding fear of the chase and the shark stalking its victims in the sea where it had no equal or fear of others. Music can be used with great precision in the psychology of fear and the apprehension of uncertainty.  One technique being the use of non-linear sounds that go up and down in the intensity of pitch, as depicted in the stabbing music that accompanied the film Psycho.  The horrors of war were also depicted with graphic details in the films of Saving Private Ryan and the Thin Red line. Here the music accompanied the sound of cannon, gunfire, and the brutal carnage of warfare on the beaches of Normandy and the bloody battle of Guadalcanal.

One of the most popular types of music used in horror movies, particularly the big budget films is that of orchestral.  This being attributed to the great range in the musical score. This genre adds to the composer’s versatility in creating the right atmosphere to meet the specific genre of the horror film.  In addition, the orchestra is very neutral and appears to a wider audience base.  The orchestra can also reach high and low volumes very quickly and therefore add to both the drama and impact of the movie.

Another type of music genre being heavy metal and rock can be used with great effect as it is somewhat gothic and broody, as illustrated in the horror movie The Blair Witch project.   The music of the 80’s was used with great effect in the making of American Psycho and this perhaps illustrates that the music needs to be paired and matched with the precise style and mood of the movie period in question.

Music is often used with great effect in the buildup of an event. We may hear a long buildup of strings or horns and this building up to a violent orchestral hit as the climax is reached and this provides the audience with a cue that something terrible is about to happen. The Omen film used this approach with devastating fearful music of a dark gothic nature.  The Priest running to the church and the buildup to the cross at the top of the church spire before it fell and impaled the priest to the ground.  The visual impact being accompanied by thunder and lightning and sensually graphic music leading to the terrible climax of the event.   This theme continued throughout this film making it one of the most disturbing psychological pieces of recent years.

It has been questioned whether horror movies and the accompanying gothic music may have a profound impact on the psychological condition of young people. There has been a wide number of research projects conducted over the concept of media influence and youth violence.  Some academics like Professor R.L. Howell at the University of Michigan believe that such prolonged exposure to media violence has a profound impact  on children’s aggressive behaviour and this is found to carry through into adulthood.  Others like J. Freedman at the University of Toronto dispute this claim and state that there is no hard evidence to support that exposure to media violence alters the behavioural characteristics of people.  Another study carried out by Andrea Martinez at the University of Ottawa concluded that  media violence is hard to measure and define.  Other researchers have been more specific pointing to the psychological effects of mind disturbance produced by scenes of horrific violence.

Despite the concerns music will continue to play an important part in the genre of horror movies and escalating these to new heights of modern terror and fear.