Favorites: HORROR MOVIE SCORES

While great films are generally multi-faceted in their effectiveness, taking a solid screenplay and talented actors to craft an enjoyable cinematic experience, the best films also incorporate strong musical scores in order to set the overall mood. While some of the most iconic orchestral scores spawn from dramatic (i.e., The Godfather) or action (i.e., Star Wars) films, the horror genre has presented a plethora of memorable themes that continue to haunt viewers years past their original release dates. So, to start my "6 Days of Halloween," I've compiled my thirteen favorite horror film scores in order to set the mood for the days leading up to All Hallow's Eve. These are the scores that have stuck with me personally, haunting my dreams and reminding me of the horror that their films conveyed. Mind you: for this particular list, I ordered them in terms of their ability to scare me. Essentially, on a list of my favorite scores of all time, some of these might be ordered in a different way. So without any further delay, here's the list of my favorite horror movie scores. Don't let them keep you up too late tonight...

13. Child's Play
1988
Composed by: Joe Renzetti


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12. An American Werewolf in London
1981
Composed by: Elmer Bernstein


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11. Rosemary's Baby
1968
Composed by: Krzysztof Komeda


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10. It
1990
Composed by: Richard Bellis


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9. King Kong
1933
Composed by: Max Steiner


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8. Poltergeist
1982
Composed by: Jerry Goldsmith


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7. A Nightmare on Elm Street
1984
Composed by: Charles Bernstein


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6. Saw
2004
Composed by: Charlie Clouser


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5. ThanksKilling
2009
Composed by: Kajmir Royale


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4. Jaws
1975
Composed by: John Williams


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3. The Exorcist
1973
Composed by: Mike Oldfield


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2. Halloween
1978
Composed by: John Carpenter


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1. Psycho
1960
Composed by: Bernard Herrmann

Movie Review: THANKSKILLING

THANKSKILLING

2009
Not Rated


You can watch the trailer here
(Disclaimer: the trailer is uncensored)

The basic definition of a B-horror movie is to make a bad film that's so ridiculous that it's entertaining. The creators of ThanksKilling have done this to perfection.

Let's be honest: if you're actually watching a movie called ThanksKilling, you're not really looking for a Casablanca or a Citizen Kane. You're ready for some poorly-made, ridiculously entertaining fun. If you still want to watch ThanksKilling even after you hear the basics of the plot, then you're definitely going to enjoy it.

In this Jordan Downey-directed venture, we've basically got a group of five college co-eds who encompass the necessary horror film stereotypes: the jock, the whore, the fat guy, the nerd and the good girl. These five apparently all live in the same town, so they decide to drive home for Thanksgiving break together. Along the way, they stumble upon an talking, undead turkey (yes, I said turkey) whose sole purpose is to kill white people (you can't make this stuff up). From there, you can let your imagination run wild about where the film is going to go, but I can tell you this: it's one heck of a ride.

I could go on and on about how poor the screenplay is, or how horrendous the actors are, but I won't. Yes, it's all bad, but in a way, it's brilliant. The actors play their roles so ridiculously that they're almost presenting a caricature of your standard horror stereotypes. In a way, the entire film is taking a stab at horror conventions. And the turkey is one of the most hilariously twisted and amazing characters to ever be brought to life on-screen. I'll be saying his one-liners for weeks.

Honestly, the grade and all-time rank below really mean little. I simply have a strict code for grading movies, and that's how ThanksKilling's grade had to come out. However, this is arguably one of the most entertaining movies I've ever seen, and my pure gut feeling says to give it an "A." It's just one of those films that's so bad, it's good, and it's a purely semantic reason that it receives such a low grade from my system. It's movies like these that make me want to discard the system, or at least tamper with it to make it more fair for films like this. You should definitely watch ThanksKilling if you're into schlock like this. If not, then avoid it at all costs, but you'll definitely be missing out.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: F
Current All-Time Rank: Worst - #86
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