Changes of Music in Horror Films

·         Classis Horror FIlms

·         Classic horror films use orchestral music to portray emotions and to create an atmosphere. Orchestral music is one of the most powerful forms of music and is very dynamic. It’s range of emotions that can be portrayed is so vast, from a build up of tension with high pitched strings, to fast up beat chases, it’s music fits in well with the genre of horror.

 E.g. Friday the 13^th uses orchestral music throughout.

E.g. The Bride of Frankenstein, 1935, was one of the first horror films to include a full orchestra. Even Frankenstein, 1931, only used music for the opening credits.

·         Modern Horror Films

·         Modern horror films use more electronic instruments and industrial music. The use of technology within the music of films had expanded and using synthesizers had become popular in the horror genre as it could create unfamiliar and surreal sounds to create fear.

E.g. Hitchcock’s Psycho, still mainly used strings but also used an amplifier to create a sound of bird screeching. The amplifier replaced using microphones to record the violins, so it produced a much harsher sound.