13 Scores of Halloween - Day 13

As this series of mine draws to a close, I can't help but lament the scores I neglected to cover, like Williams's The Fury or Elfman's Sleepy Hollow, much as I enjoy them. For today's score, we turn to a horror film produced for $300,000, ended up a smash hit and inspired scores of films and filmmakers...as well as a bunch of weak sequels (then again, name a horror franchise where every film was a classic). John Carpenter's Halloween.

It's the last day of October in Haddonfield, Illinois and high-schooler Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has to babysit. However, an unexpected visitor seeks to make the night a memorable one. This film has deservedly earned its reputation as a classic horror film, thanks to Carpenter's atmospheric direction (abetted by Dean Cundey's fine camerawork) and many startling moments.

In a surprising (and budget-conscious) move, director Carpenter composed the score for the film. The catchy-as-hell main theme is a piano and synth-driven piece, featured in "Shape Escapes", "Loomis and Shape's Car" and the "Main Titles".

The theme for Laurie starts off with two piano notes, before drawing them out on moody synths, as in "Meyers' House" and "Laurie's Theme".

Piano backing and four descending notes signal Michael Myers' childhood, as heard in "'The Haunted House'" and "Meyers' House". Acting as an offshoot of this is a melody throughout "Michael Kills Judith" that sounds like the same theme, but seems to run out of gas; like Michael going down for the count.

"The Shape Lurks" and "The Shape Stalks" utilize a fantastic, minimalist theme for low-end piano and synth droning as Michael pursues Laurie.

Granted, the score comes off as repetitive on the Varese Sarabande CD (it's pretty much the same music, over and over, with little thematic variation), but make no mistake; this is some effectively creepy music.

Thanks for reading, whoever you are, and Happy Halloween!