"Tenebre" by Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli, and Claudio Simonetti

The score for Dario Argento's giallo masterpiece "Tenebre" is so ahead of its time that I'm sure I could fool an unwitting friend into believing it came out yesterday. The main theme was used as a sample by the Parisian electronic duo Justice for the song "Phantom" on their well regarded 2007 album "Cross"; it features an epic evil robot sounding vocoder line and driving disco drum beat. Justice did not have to do much to it to make it sound new. In my opinion they definitely did it justice!! WAKA WAKA! Get out of here, Dad.

Throughout the film there's disparate styles coming together to create an effective score: heavy breakbeats with weird choirs and vocals by synthetic operatic demon women, syncopated bass lines, amazing Giorgio Moroder-esque disco (which plays under the credits, cutting out abruptly for a few seconds and then hilariously continuing right where it's left off in the next scene), and plenty of that weird funk sound that only Italians making music for giallo horror films seem to be able to create. Warbly, unsettling jack-in-the-box music and even baroque organ, neither of which sound on paper like something that would fit the general tone the composers have set fit in perfectly.

The three composers were ex-members of the legendary Italian band the Goblins, who scored many horror films in the 70's and 80's (including the well known "Suspiria", another giallo masterpiece of Argento's), and their mastery of making music for the genre is on full display.

I love Tenebre - not only is it a great film but there's plenty of WTF moments, particularly in the dialogue overdubbing; I spent almost the entire film trying to figure out if the cast was filmed speaking Italian and was later overdubbed in English, eventually coming to the conclusion that no, they're speaking English the whole time and occasionally (or really, more than occasionally) the audio doesn't seem to be synced up correctly, though I'm still not sure about it (do you know?). In one of the countless unintentionally hilarious moments two of the main characters try to sneak around behind the house of the suspected killer while wearing brightly colored clothes and whispering and talking to each other audibly to anyone within 50 yards. "He couldn't have seen us!" says one, as the suspected killer looks out his window. Watch this movie, listen to the soundtrack - (be warned that the link to the film is going to a streaming Amazon version which is really shitty quality; however it doesn't seem to be possible to stream a higher quality version (anyone out there know of one?) and to buy it on blu-ray or DVD seems a pretty expensive proposition but it's probably worth it. Cin cin!

"Blue Ruin" by the Blair Brothers

Jeremy Saulnier's revenge thriller "Blue Ruin" is an instant classic, and the Blair Brother's score for the film augments it perfectly. The brother's atmospheric sound sculptures and pulsing synths never obstruct. They do a great job of avoiding convention; blaring brass cuts through a fog of distant strings. High pitched tones create confusion and unease. Dreamy atmospheres make the film feel almost surreal. They're not trying to grab your attention, they're working to advance the story.

The film itself is so tense it's sometimes nearly unbearable to watch. This is aided by sparse dialogue and a great performance by Macon Blair as the male lead Dwight Evans (named after the mustachioed outfielder for the Red Sox in the 70's and 80's?). Blair isn't sexy or Hollywood handsome but in a just world he'd be in the conversation for a best actor Oscar. We cringe as we watch him accrue flesh wounds and blood soaked clothing. In one scene he vomits and it's not fake, he's got to be actually vomiting. The performance, the movie and its score are top notch. It's streaming on Netflix so watch it immediately or risk living a life of regret.

"Under the Skin" by Mica Levi

Mica Levi's astounding score for Jonathan Glazer's 2014 surreal thriller "Under the Skin" is an example of how the sonic aspect of a film can be so pivotal that it informs how we perceive the images on screen. The film's atmosphere is shaped by Levi's taut, atonal string arrangements and sparse, distant drum pulses, which seem to exist in a three dimensional realm that floats around us as the film bores its way into our consciousness.

Under the Skin is a visually stunning film, and despite its other-worldy, dream-like pacing, it never risks losing you. It doesn't hurt that a considerable amount of screen time features a completely nude Scarlett Johansson, and also a fair amount of erect penises. If you think modern cinema has a dearth of erect penises, this is definitely the film for you.

It reminded me at times of Louis Malle's "Black Moon", although it's much less silly than that. This is a solid surreal thriller, and I'd also recommended it for fans of horror and sci-fi.

"The Babadook" by by Jed Kurzel

The Australian horror film "The Babadook" (dir. Jennifer Kent) is a feast for eyes and ears. The whole team involved in shaping the sound of the film does great work here; Frank Lipson's sound design is excellent and does well in avoiding stock horror effects that even good horror movies too often can't seem to avoid; the placement of music, original and otherwise, is perfect, and Jed Kurzel's score is superb. The music remains on the periphery for most of the film and sets us ill at ease while remaining eerily beautiful and also quite melodic; a quality that is often missing from modern day horror. Kurzel's sound sculptures tend to hang in the center of the stereo field while we're surrounded by unsettling yet gorgeous chimes and bells and music boxes in long reverbs.

The film itself is abundant with fresh ideas. Like any good horror movie, it is about much more than monsters. As with the score, it avoids stale gimmicks and also injects some ideas we don't see very often in modern day horror: one particularly astonishing scene features the sleep deprived lead character Amelia (very well played by Essie Davis) having a hallucination in which she sees on her TV a sequence of antique films in the style of Méliès' "La Voyage Dans La Lune" or the dream sequence from Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid" in which our monster (the Babadook) appears and reappears.  Later another TV sequence shows a newscast in which Amelia eerily leers out of a window in the background, perhaps the best shot in the film. The original music that lies under the former augments it perfectly with an ambient soundscape without ever overdoing it. A very well made film with one of the best scores I've heard all year.

"The Taking of Deborah Logan" By Haim Mazar and Logan Mader

It seems to be a mystery among horror fans that Adam Robitel's "The Taking of Deborah Logan" wasn't released in theaters when so many subpar, by-the-numbers horror movies have been in the last few years. The film is so well executed that it's hard to have a gripe with any lack of originality it might exhibit from time to time. And it's very scary. Jill Larson's performance as the seemingly possessed lead character Deborah Logan certainly should be in the conversation as one of the best performances ever in a horror movie.

Haim Mazar and Logan Mader execute the score perfectly, with an excellent sense of when to bring the music to the fore and when to lurk in the background and create an atmosphere that gives movement and atmosphere to the onscreen environment without becoming cumbersome or muddling the dialogue. There's some tried and true methods on display here as well but like the film they work to provide exactly what's needed for good scares. The music rarely completely reveals itself as a point of focus for the viewer, and this augments the movie perfectly, but there are a few times the music is more noticeable and particularly effective, especially during the end credits, where a sparse piano and an ambient backdrop lend the perfect sense of unease. Highly recommended, particularly for fans of psychological horror.