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Horror… Is there a more satisfying canvas for a film composer? Editing of course plays a large part in what makes Horror films so scary, not to mention the special effects. But what would a Horror film be without music? Whether it gets under your skin, or makes you jump out of it, Horror film scores represent some of the most thrilling music written for the screen. But who does it best?<\/p>
There are plenty of big names who have dabbled, but aren\u2019t on the list. The hugely influential Bernard Herrmann<\/a> (Psycho<\/em>,\u00a0Sisters<\/em>,\u00a0It\u2019s Alive<\/em>) and Lalo Schifrin (The Manitou, The Amityville Horror<\/em>,\u00a0Abominable<\/em>) dipped their toes into the genre and created cult classics. Composers like James Horner<\/a> and Carter Burwell cut their teeth in horror; Horner scored\u00a0The Hand<\/em>,\u00a0Humanoids from the Deep<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Wolfen<\/em>\u00a0before he hit the big time, while one of Burwell\u2019s earliest scores was for\u00a0Psycho III<\/em>.<\/p> Even the likes of Hans Zimmer<\/a> and John Williams<\/a> have delved \u2013 Zimmer with\u00a0Hannibal\u00a0<\/em>(2001) and\u00a0The Ring<\/em>\u00a0(2002), Williams with\u00a0The Fury<\/em>\u00a0(1978) and\u00a0Dracula<\/em>\u00a0(1979). Then there\u2019s Philip Glass<\/a>, whose 1992 score for\u00a0Candyman<\/em>\u00a0remains a fan favourite, while Danny Elfman<\/a> thrilled us with\u00a0Nightbreed<\/em>\u00a0(1990),\u00a0The Frighteners\u00a0<\/em>(1996) and\u00a0Sleepy Hollow<\/em>\u00a0(1999).<\/p> There are composers, though, who have made their name with horror, or set its benchmarks. Here\u2019s our top 13\u2026<\/p> The American reeds maestro might be a go-to instrumentalist for the likes of Bon Iver and Arcade Fire, but he\u2019s also great at scaring the pants off of film audiences. It was his unsettlingly atmospheric soundscape forHereditary<\/em>\u00a0(2018) that brought him acclaim \u2013 indeed we named it as one of our 13 most terrifying horror film scores<\/a>. Music from his score for\u00a0The Menu<\/em>\u00a0(2022) was performed at the 2024 BBC Proms<\/a>, while the likes of\u00a0Texas Chainsaw Massacre<\/em>\u00a0(2022) and\u00a0Hold Your Breath<\/em>\u00a0(2024) have only proven that Stetson really knows how to make us shudder.<\/p> While Canadian composer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Korven has been scoring film and television since the 1980s, it\u2019s only in the last decade that he has had a more prominent voice. His earliest forays into horror included an episode of the late \u201980s reboot of\u00a0The Twilight Zone<\/em>\u00a0and the sci-fi horror\u00a0The Cube<\/em>\u00a0(1997), but it was the 2015 folk-horror film\u00a0The Witch<\/em>\u00a0that caught listeners\u2019 attention. That score (also in our top 13 horror scores) is an inspired mix of clawing strings and howling vocals, and it led onto further striking scores from Korven.\u00a0Our House<\/em>\u00a0(2018),\u00a0In the Tall Grass<\/em>\u00a0(2018),\u00a0The Lighthouse\u00a0<\/em>(2019),\u00a0The Black Phone<\/em>\u00a0(2021) and\u00a0The First Omen<\/em>\u00a0(2024), are just a sample of the other chilling soundtracks he has penned.<\/p>
13. Colin Stetson<\/strong>\u00a0(b1975)<\/h3>
12. Mark Korven<\/strong><\/h3>