Halloween (soundtrack)

1983 film score by John Carpenter

Halloween

Film score by

John Carpenter

Released| October 1983 (USA)
Recorded| 1978
Studio| Sound Arts Studio, Los Angeles, California
Genre|

* Electronic
* film score

Length| 33:43 (1983 release)
51:51 (1998 release)
45:58 (2018 release)
Label| Columbia (1979 release)
Varèse Sarabande (1983 & 1998 releases)
Mondo Records (2018 release)
John Carpenter chronology
|  | Halloween
(1983)  | Dark Star
(1980)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]

Halloween is a soundtrack album composed and performed by John Carpenter, featuring the score to the 1978 film Halloween. It was released in Japan in 1979 by Columbia Records and in the United States in 1983 in 1983 through Varèse Sarabande. An expanded 20th Anniversary Edition was released in 1998 through Varèse Sarabande. In 2018, an LP was released by Mondo Records featuring the mono tracks taken from the original 35mm stem of the film and for the first time features the music as originally heard in theaters and on the earliest VHS releases of the film.

Lacking a symphonic soundtrack, the film's score consists of a piano melody played in a 10/8 or "complex 5/4" time signature, composed and performed by director Carpenter. He admitted that the music was inspired by Dario Argento's Suspiria (which also influenced the film's slightly surreal color scheme) and William Friedkin's The Exorcist.[2][3] Carpenter composed the entire soundtrack in just three days. Beyond the film's critical and commercial success, Carpenter's Halloween Theme became recognizable far beyond the movie itself.[4]

Critic James Berardinelli described the soundtrack as "relatively simple and unsophisticated" but acknowledged that "Halloween's music is one of its strongest assets."[5] In an interview, Carpenter confessed, "I can play just about any keyboard, but I can't read or write a note."[6] At the end of the credits, Carpenter humorously credits himself as the "Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra" for the film's soundtrack but received assistance from composer Dan Wyman, a music professor at San Jose State University.[7][8]

The soundtrack would later play a major role in influencing the synthwave music genre.

Some additional songs are featured in the film, including an untitled track performed by Carpenter and a group of friends who formed a band called The Coupe De Villes.[9] Another notable song in the film is "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by the classic rock band Blue Öyster Cult.[10]

## Track listing

[edit]

All music is composed by John Carpenter

1983 releaseNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Halloween Theme – Main Title"| 2:54
2.| "Laurie's Theme"| 2:05
3.| "Shape Escapes"| 1:42
4.| "Myers' House"| 5:35
5.| "Michael Kills Judith"| 3:11
6.| "Loomis and Shape's Car"| 3:32
7.| "The Haunted House"| 3:33
8.| "The Shape Lurks"| 1:35
9.| "Laurie Knows"| 3:01
10.| "Better Check the Kids"| 3:27
11.| "The Shape Stalks"| 3:08
Total length:| 33:43

20th Anniversary EditionNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Halloween Theme"| 2:21
2.| "Halloween 1963"| 3:11
3.| "The Evil Is Gone!"| 4:08
4.| "Halloween 1978"| 2:50
5.| "The Boogeyman Is Coming"| 0:40
6.| "The Shape"| 1:43
7.| "The Hedge"| 1:35
8.| "He Came Home"| 2:40
9.| "Trick or Treat"| 0:39
10.| "The Haunted House"| 1:43
11.| "The Devil's Eyes"| 1:39
12.| "The Boogeyman Is Outside"| 1:27
13.| "Damn You for Letting Him Go!"| 1:34
14.| "Empty Street"| 0:33
15.| "See Anything You Like?"| 2:22
16.| "Lock the Door"| 2:53
17.| "He's Here?"| 0:55
18.| "Light's Out"| 2:49
19.| "Cut It Out"| 1:19
20.| "Tombstone"| 1:19
21.| "The Shape Stalks Laurie"| 1:35
22.| "Turn Around"| 0:33
23.| "Unlock the Door"| 2:53
24.| "The Hanger"| 3:04
25.| "Call the Police"| 0:28
26.| "Last Assault"| 1:34
27.| "Was It the Boogeyman?"| 0:32
28.| "End Credits/Halloween Theme (Reprise)"| 3:36
Total length:| 51:51

40th Anniversary EditionNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Halloween Theme"| 2:21
2.| "Michael Kills Judith"| 3:38
3.| "Shape Escape"| 1:40
4.| "Myers' House"| 4:07
5.| "Shape in the Shadows"| 2:47
6.| "Laurie's Theme"| 2:31
7.| "Nightfall in Haddonfield"| 3:04
8.| "Backyard"| 1:48
9.| "Killing Spree"| 2:39
10.| "Run and Hide"| 4:43
11.| "Love Death"| 2:44
12.| "Shadowed Streets"| 2:19
13.| "The Shape Stalking"| 2:40
14.| "He's in the House"| 4:14
15.| "Was it the Boogie Man"| 1:07
16.| "Halloween Theme (Reprise)"| 3:36
Total length:| 45:58

## Personnel

[edit]

* John Carpenter – composition, performance
* Dan Wyman – synthesizer programming
* Peter Bergren – recording engineer

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Weber, Barry. "John Carpenter: Halloween [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
2. ^ Scanlon, Paul (June 28, 1979). "'The Fog': A Spook Ride on Film". TheOfficialJohnCarpenter.com. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015.
3. ^ Burnand & Mena 2004, p. 59.
4. ^ Nelson, Daniel & Set (May 2002). "Killing His Contemporaries: Dissecting The Musical Worlds Of John Carpenter". Furious.com. Perfect Sound Forever. Archived from the original on June 13, 2006.
5. ^ Berardinelli, James. "Halloween review". Reelviews.net. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018.
6. ^ Larson 1985, p. 287.
7. ^ "Behind the Scenes". HalloweenMovies.com. Trancas International Films, Inc. 2001. Archived from the original on December 20, 2006.
8. ^ "Dr. Daniel Wyman". Music.SJSU.edu. San Jose State University. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011.
9. ^ "Behind the Scenes". HalloweenMovies.com. Trancas International Films, Inc. 2001. Archived from the original on December 20, 2006.
10. ^ "Halloween - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". HalloweenMovies.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2006.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Burnand, David; Mena, Miguel (2004). "Fast and Cheap? The Film Music of John Carpenter". The Cinema of John Carpenter: The Technique of Terror. London: Wallflower Press. pp. 49–65. ISBN 978-1-904-76414-4.
* Larson, Randall D. (1985). Musique Fantastique: A Survey of Film Music in the Fantastic Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-810-81728-9.

* v
* t
* e

John Carpenter

Filmography|

| Directed|

* Captain Voyeur (1969, short)
* Dark Star (1974)
* Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
* Halloween (1978)
* Someone's Watching Me! (1978, TV)
* Elvis (1979, TV)
* The Fog (1980)
* Escape from New York (1981)
* The Thing (1982)
* Christine (1983)
* Starman (1984)
* Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
* Prince of Darkness (1987)
* They Live (1988)
* Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
* Body Bags (1993, TV)
* In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
* Village of the Damned (1995)
* Escape from L.A. (1996)
* Vampires (1998)
* Ghosts of Mars (2001)
* "Cigarette Burns" (2005, TV)
* "Pro-Life" (2006, TV)
* The Ward (2010)

|

Written only|

* The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970, short)
* Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
* Zuma Beach (1978, TV)
* Better Late Than Never (1979, TV)
* Halloween II (1981)
* Black Moon Rising (1986)
* El Diablo (1990, TV)
* Blood River (1991, TV)
* Silent Predators (1999, TV)

Produced only|

* Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
* The Fog (2005)

Discography|

| Albums|

* Lost Themes (2015)
* Lost Themes Remixed (2015)
* Lost Themes II (2016)
* Anthology: Movie Themes 1974–1998 (2017)
* Lost Themes III: Alive After Death (2021)

|

EPs|

* Classic Themes Redux EP (2016)

Scores and
soundtracks|

* Halloween (1979)
* Dark Star (1980)
* Escape from New York (1981)
* Halloween II (1981)
* Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
* The Fog (1984)
* Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
* Prince of Darkness (1987)
* They Live (1988)
* Christine (1989)
* Body Bags (1993)
* In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
* Village of the Damned (1995)
* Escape from L.A. (1996)
* Vampires (1998)
* Ghosts of Mars (2001)
* Assault on Precinct 13 (2003)
* Halloween (2018)
* Halloween Kills (2021)
* Halloween Ends (2022)

Related|

* Unrealized projects
* Cody Carpenter (son)
* Daniel Davies (godson)

* v
* t
* e

Halloween franchise

Films|

* Halloween (1978)
* Halloween II (1981)
* Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
* Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
* Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
* Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
* Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
* Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
* Halloween (2007)
* Halloween II (2009)
* Halloween (2018)
* Halloween Kills (2021)
* Halloween Ends (2022)

Music|

* Halloween
* Halloween II
* Halloween III: Season of the Witch
* Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
* Halloween
* Halloween Kills
* "Hunter's Moon"
* Halloween Ends

Characters|

* Michael Myers
* Samuel Loomis
* Laurie Strode
* Annie Brackett
* Jamie Lloyd
* Rachel Carruthers

Video game|

* Halloween

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template