American Horror Story by James S. Levine

One can't watch FX's hit series "American Horror Story" without noticing the excellent score by James S. Levine or the alarming theme song by the increasingly more accomplished Charlie Clouser along with César Dávila-Irizarry.

In the theme song, jarring atonal synths blast their way through a spartan groove complete with scrape-y percussive noises, upright bass and a barebones drum beat along with some sort of weird repetitive ghostly whisper.

In Levine's score, a recurring theme features a fingerpicked spanish guitar while a child like voice sings "la la la"; it seems to be an homage to Komeda's theme song from "Rosemary's Baby", but it never comes close to being a direct ripoff. All sorts of familiar sounds occur during the score, cleverly referencing any number of horror classics but the addition of modern production techniques and some innovative ideas take the music into the now; it's all expertly executed. The entire music department at AHS does an enviable job; the music is such an important part of the show; it would only be half as good with your typical stock TV thriller sounds.

Though AHS treads a lot of familiar territory, even the most cynical horror fan would have a hard time denying its effectiveness, both visually and sonically, and for a basic cable TV show it's very graphic and is able to get satisfyingly freaky. And it's one of the highest rated shows on cable TV. It's silly that the same Hollywood that produces such a high quality product for television continues to churn out sub-par, tired tripe to release in theaters.

I doubt very many horror fans have managed to miss American Horror Story, but even if you're not a horror obsessive, you'll still enjoy the show; particularly the first season.

"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 Banshee Chapter" by Andreas Weidinger

Andreas Weidinger's score for Blair Erickson's riveting horror thriller "The Banshee Chapter" contains some very well executed sound design. Weidinger does an excellent job creating an unsettling atmosphere that hangs around the periphery and provides great tension for the film's numerous scares. His impacts are perfectly timed with the picture to make you jump five feet out of your seat every time a new ghoul is suddenly revealed. Despite the fact that the film uses essentially the same device repeatedly to scare us, it somehow manages, or at least it did for me, to work every time.

In my opinion, found footage has reached its saturation point and is on its way out, but The Banshee Chapter uses it sparingly without relying too heavily on it for cheap thrills.

The underrated and always great Ted Levine (also a member of the excellent cast on the absorbing and highly recommended FX serial "The Bridge") plays an over the top character based on Hunter S. Thompson who provides some comic relief, and Michael McMillan does a great job in his role, (and - shameless self promotion warning - also plays the lead character in "Jon Davis Gets A Sex Robot" which I did some of the music for in this episode. 

I saw another review of the Banshee Chapter that said "you can't have the non-found-footage part be as wobbly as the found-footage parts." I don't see how that criticism holds up to scrutiny, because, why can't you? I don't understand that rule, or why critics make up arbitrary rules for films and never explain why it's necessary for anyone to ascribe to them.

It's a tight one hour and 30 minutes; it doesn't overstay its welcome, and is intriguing until the end. As with many high tech horror movies, one is probably best advised not to overthink things and just enjoy the ride.

You can listen to the soundtrack for the film here. 

You can stream the movie on Amazon here.

"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.

"Oculus" By The Newton Brothers

The Newton Brother's sparse score for Mike Flanagan's engrossing horror film "Oculus" has a lot of ominous movement; low end synthesizers up front pulse and lose and gain tempo, while strings hang further back in the mix and glide downward in murky reverbs. This creates a perfect backdrop that never distracts or draws undue attention to itself. It calls to mind classic 70's and 80's scores without sounding trite; it's innovative enough so that everything sounds fresh and reverential at the same time. The spooky piano tune at the end is especially notable.

The film itself has plenty of good thrills, clever misdirection and psychological horror a la "The Shining"; the tension rarely relents as we watch an antique mirror manipulate a family into bloody murder. Although the mirror as a prop for good scares is a longstanding and effective device in horror films, I can't recall another film that specifically centers around a mirror itself, and the music gives it life and breath.

Highly recommended.