Favorite Halloween scores - Day 1.

Okay, funny story: as I was waiting on customers today, it hit me like a bolt out of the blue. Mini-writeups about my favorite horror scores to comprise the rest of the month's postings. As the month is running out, I guess I better get started.

Favorite score from a Stephen King adaptation:
5. Carrie (Pino Donaggio) - Not one of my favorite Donaggios, but there are some good moments. "Bucket of Blood" is a standout.

4. Needful Things (Patrick Doyle) - Furious string work and apocalyptic bombast meet for effective results.

3. Secret Window (Philip Glass) - Though dialed out for an overbearing replacement score, Glass's music is beautifully creepy, especially what he wrote for the film's final reels.

2. Misery (Marc Shaiman) - Shaiman's lone thriller score is fantastic, with a mournful main theme and driving action cues.

1. Thinner (Daniel Licht) - There are several choices that people might pick for their #1, but this is the score I come back to more than any other. By turns lush and creepy.

There are other scores for King movies that I enjoy, like Ottman's Apt Pupil (which would've made the list if the film were more of a horror film), Young's The Dark Half and Sukman's Salem's Lot.

There's a lot of ground to cover and I'm happy to be inspired to post again.