While John Carpenter is one of the greatest horror filmmakers of all time, he’s just as talented as a musician. Carpenter would often provide the score for the films he directed, including his breakout horror feature Halloween. The director composed the music for the next two Halloween sequels, returning to the franchise once again to score this year’s new movie from David Gordon Green. Fans just love Carpenter’s music, and Shudder has taken notice, offering him the chance to compose new theme music for the streaming service. Shudder GM Craig Engler spoke about what this means for the network’s new sound.
“We wanted to create a one-of-a-kind audio identity for Shudder and the first person we thought of was John Carpenter. We approached John and to our delight, he was enthusiastic about the idea and came up with an iconic theme that will enchant and thrill Shudder members every time they hear it.”
Carpenter provided two tunes for Shudder in the form of a two-minute song and a five-second version of it. Called “Shudder,” the two-minute tune is clearly recognizable as the work of the legendary horror icon. As a composer, Carpenter’s sound has sometimes been imitated, but simply cannot be replicated. Additionally, the five-second version will serve as the “moniker,” which will play during the Shudder animation which shows at the beginning of movies and TV shows streamed on the service. There’s certainly nothing like the sounds of John Carpenter to get you into the horror mood.
Ever since David Gordon Green’s Halloween hit theaters, fans have been debating what they like and don’t like about the film. What everyone can agree on, however, is that the score for the Halloween sequel couldn’t have been better. The music was composed by John Carpenter, who also scored the original film in addition to directing, along with son Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. Modernizing the chilling music from the 1978 film, the new score gives Green’s Halloween that added edge to make its creepiest scenes that much more terrifying. As fantastic as Jamie Lee Curtis is in the film, it benefits tremendously from having Carpenter return to the series as well.
Speaking of the new Halloween, the film is making tremendous money at the box office, all but guaranteeing another sequel. With Curtis willing to return so as long as Green comes back to direct, it seems likely Carpenter could come back to work on the score as well. The franchise created by Carpenter four decades ago is now more popular than it’s ever been, and its future looks brighter than ever.
Shudder will begin using the new John Carpenter music starting on, ironically enough, Oct. 31. That day, the service will be running Carpenter’s original Halloween marathon for 24 hours as well. Fans can watch the marathon for free by heading over to Shudder’s official website without being required to sign up for the service, but if you’re a big horror fan, Shudder is definitely worth the subscription. This information comes to us courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. You can listen to the full version of the new song, as well as see the five-second moniker, in the videos below.