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This dissertation I will explore the role of music in horror films and in what way this makes the film and the emotion come to life through the power of music.
This arises from my interest in filmmaking, where a study of music and sound has broadened my personal understanding of horror films and the emotions and feelings being conveyed in them. Music and sound enables the film maker to convey horror more intensely and gives greater power to the storyline. It is arguable that music can convey emotion more powerfully than sound effects or visuals do on their own. This can be measured by a simple experiment- if you were to watch a horror film without the musical backing it would undoubtedly be less frightening.

Psycho, the music was essential to the mood, and some extended scenes... like Marion's long drive to the Bates Motel... were entirely dependent upon the soundtrack. The music goes far beyond the famous screeching violins, and sets the unbalanced, trembling tone for the whole film.( http://benefitofthedoubt.miksimum.com/2008/09/hitchcock-theories-on-birds-and-psycho.html)
Most horror films have a wide range of music from any thing to actual song or an orchestra. Often people assume horror film soundtracks are fairly low brow
Are some sounds worthier than others eg classical rather than pop, symphony rather than a horror film sound track (Lastra, J. in Altman R, p74)

but many use highly complicated classical pieces of music for example if you take the new Omen that is a really good example of orchestra music, mainly Christian orchestra though as this makes it a lot more horrific as it is do with the child of Satan. The fact that they are using Christian music to portray the sheer horror makes it even worse because it could be argued that the devil and Christians don’t exactly go hand in hand .Also it could be seen as blasphemy as well using the music of Christians that is sung in “god’s house” to make the child of Satan look even more terrifying than he already is.

Another side of music in horror films are actual songs by recognised bands, using the construction of the song- verse, chorus, verse, pre chorus etc. It is rare that the whole song would be used but parts of the song will be selected to fit to the emotion that is being shown. For example the film Planet Terror which is a collaboration and dedication- a tribute- to all the other horror film that have been so influential to all other director. Music is used, for example when they come out of the police station and the zombie’s start attacking the station. The heavy metal riff comes in, which is more to add to the action part but still works with the horror aspect as kind of drives the horror into with this fast paced song.

This study will look at pieces of music as opposed to songs. Not all horror films use song. If you take Texas Chainsaw Massacre, at the beginning you see that a lot of the horror sound music is more a long droning sound but at the same time it has a structure to it and it is made into a piece of music.

In almost every horror film there is a musical motif for a character and this is probably one of the strongest points to be made about music in the film, as this gives you the idea of what is going to happen. You don’t exactly know its going to happened but you know it’s going to be some thing bad. For example when leather face kills the manger of the slaughterhouse and then picks up the chainsaw his motif kicks in to play and this you know this it the start of the Texas chainsaw massacre, and that does send a shiver down your spine as you that the worse is yet to come, and also in Dracula when Jonathon Haker goes into the room with the bed and starts to hear women’s voices and the motif for Dracula comes in, you know again something dreadful is going to happen. As he sits down there is a build of this music and then soon as they are about it bite him and feed on him Dracula comes in and that’s when the full horror of his music come in.

This study will present analysis of how horror is brought to life by music in 3 horror films by using audio visual methods.