Halloween: The Scores of Michael Myers, Part 1

by Michael Mays

In the Fall of 1978, a small independent horror film about a babysitter being stalked by a masked killer opened in theaters. The film was a box office powerhouse, jump-starting the careers of many people involved, including its young star, its director/composer, its producer, and its cinematographer. The film was John Carpenter's Halloween, the low-budget movie shot for $300,000 that went on to become (until recently) the most profitable independent film ever made.

Many elements came together to create its success, not the least of which was Carpenter's memorable soundtrack. The director himself recalled, in the liner notes of the 1988 CD release of the score, that a studio executive he screened a rough cut of the film for was unimpressed. "She wasn't scared at all," he said. "I then became determined to 'save it with the music.'" Six months later, he ran into the same executive, and she absolutely loved the film. Carpenter's plan to "save it with the music" had paid off.

Although the first soundtrack sold tremendously well and went on to become very popular, a lot of people don't think much of the sequel scores. It's a shame, really, because those scores (like the films they accompany) are very good. In fact, they're actually better than Carpenter's scores, in terms of variation and structure.

But we film score fans have seen this happen before. Because of a film's bad box office performance, a good score goes unnoticed and is forgotten. While nearly all of the Halloween sequels have, in reality, done very well in the theaters, their scores (for some strange reason) never clicked with the movie-going public, or even (oddly enough) film music fans.

This is because of, I think, their experiences with the original. Everybody knows how memorable and influential Carpenter's "Halloween Theme" is, but when they listen to the score away from the film, they find that it's actually rather repetitive. So they figure, "Well, if the first is like that, I won't bother with the rest." And they certainly won't take the time to rent and watch the sequels, thinking they're bad when they really aren't, to give the scores the chance they deserve. They just assume that since they're sequels, and therefore "sucked" (in their opinion), their scores must suck, too. This is quite the contrary. The scores steadily get better with each installment in the series, especially once we get past the Carpenter-made ones.

With Halloween approaching in just a week, a figured what better way to musically celebrate the holiday that music from the Halloween films? As if you couldn't tell by now, I am really passionate about this series (filmwise and scorewise), so I take every opportunity possible to recommend this wonderful set of music. As opposed to some series where they get so old the films and scores just seem to be going through the same old routine, the Halloween scores end up being consistently varied and surprisingly good. I think that if you were to listen to the score for, say, the original film, and then the score for Halloween 5, you probably couldn't tell they were from the same series. Of course, the theme would tip you off, but I'm sure you know what I'm saying.

In Part 1 of this article, I will look at the first three scores in the series, those composed or co-composed by Carpenter. In Part 2, we'll take a look at the scores for the fourth, fifth and sixth films in the franchise, and in Part 3, I'll close with a review of the most recent score, Halloween H20.

Without a doubt, this is the most well-known score of the series. It features John Carpenter's most famous theme, a theme instantly identified with the imposing figure of Michael Myers and the horror genre in general. Carpenter composed the score in a short amount of time. In only an impressive two weeks, he had composed and recorded what was to become his most famous score for his most famous movie.

Taking inspiration from Bernard Herrmann's ability to create a powerful score with limited orchestral means, Carpenter began the score for the film in late June of 1978. The music was composed and performed in the studio, on the spot, without any reference or synchronization to the finished film. The "Halloween Theme" was the first to be composed and recorded, based on a rhythm exercise Carpenter's father had taught him on the bongos in the early '60s.

Next came themes for the main players in the film, Laurie Strode and Dr. Sam Loomis, followed by the "stingers," short, percussive sounds placed at certain moments to startle the audience. (Carpenter later said he was ashamed to admit he had recorded so many stingers for one film.)

Using the limitations of early synthesizers to his advantage, he based the score on several themes: the main title, with its mix of piano, rattle, and pounding; the suspenseful stalking cue; the delicate theme for Laurie Strode; and the subtle motif of Dr. Loomis. The simplicity of the themes created a very effective score.

But due to the short time allotted to the music, Carpenter was very restrained in creating a fully-developed score. He definitely got the building blocks of a great score in the themes and motifs, but because of the time constraints, didn't have enough time to build on them.

I think that if a little more time had been allowed, Carpenter could have come up with a more thought-out score, like he would later on in his career, when he was able to spend more time on them. Only eight tracks of music were used for this film. That's nothing compared to the 24 tracks that Howarth used on the sequel scores.

Overall, though much of the music is the same, the short running time of the original 1988 CD release makes the album a satisfying soundtrack.

Since Carpenter was busy with other film projects at the time the sequel was being made, he brought in Alan Howarth (with whom he had worked on the score to Escape From New York) to help with the scoring duties. Though comprised mostly of the same music as the first film, there are some standout tracks and noticeable improvements.

"Laurie's Theme" reappears as a more fragile-sounding piece, and actually sounds better than the one from the previous score. The "Myers' House" theme reappears in "Laurie and Jimmy," this time with an organ added in, giving it a bit more eerieness. Even the "Halloween Theme" is slightly different, with the piano replaced by a sort of mild, early-80s techno keyboard. (Believe me, though, it's not as bad as the disco Star Wars).

"Still He Kills (Murder Montage)" is a suite featuring music from different killings in the film, and there is one fascinating sequence in the track of pulsating music that underscores the death of one of the nurses. "The Shape Enters Laurie's Room" is a departure for the album, as Carpenter and Howarth leave the themes and motifs behind and use a pounding drum beat as Michael Myers finds Laurie has escaped him. This track is actually a bit of foreshadowing on Howarth's part, as it's close to the type of music he would do for the later pictures, music that doesn't always involve the well-known themes.

"Flats In The Parking Lot" is a strange track that sounds almost like air leaking out of a tire. To relay Laurie Strode's desire to have a boyfriend, Carpenter (a long-time fan of Oldies) included in the film The Chordette's "Mr. Sandman." It may seem oddly out of place on the soundtrack upon first glance, but it fits right in with everything else.

With this Michael Myers-less film, Carpenter (just as he was planning to do with the series) decided to start over from scratch in creating his score. Gone are all the themes and material from the previous two films (though the "Halloween Theme" does appear very briefly as a scene from the original film is shown on a television set). Carpenter and Howarth again teamed up to use the same precision and creativity to create a score that is eerie and perfectly captures the on-screen sense of horror, suspense, and urgency.

The "Main Title" is very subtly-creepy, with its excellent blending of sustains, rhythm track, electronic patterns, and beeping tonalities as a grinning jack-o'-lantern is slowly revealed through computer graphics. The standout track on the album is the crushingly-exhilarating end credits music, "Chariots of Pumpkins," a variation on the opening title track with a driving synth piece placed over it. It's possible that this track is even better than the original "Halloween Theme."

"First Chase" is a fast-paced piece that is relentless in conveying the suspense of the scene, and "Drive To Santa Mira" is self-explanatory, a low-key track that implies mystery as the heroes travel to and arrive in the small Northern California town. "The Rock" is an eerie track as the far-reaching implications of the villain's plans are revealed, and just how devastating they could be.

To a degree, the first Halloween score is basically a building block of themes and motifs, as if Carpenter was simply testing his ideas. In the second outing, he and Howarth built onto them, giving them a bit more substance and structure. And then in the third one, they built entirely new ideas and padded them up to make a completely different score.

But it's with the next set of soundtracks that Carpenter's original material is greatly improved on, with the building blocks being turned into full-blown, fully-developed pieces of music.

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