Horror Scorecard: Rating the Music in the Big Three Slasher Franchises

The “Big Three” slasher franchises of Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street are known for their iconic villains, gory death scenes, and distinctive backdrops. But music also plays an essential role for each of these franchises, too, holding together the characters, kills, and settings. Each franchise dwells in a unique sonic space that draws the viewer into a specific kind of nightmare via the minds’ ear. That said, the soundtracks of Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street are not created equally. And so, in this essay, I’m going to grade the music for each film franchise in attempt to determine which slasher series has the best score.

Halloween seems like the best starting point, as it’s the first slasher movie and arguably has the soundtrack most integral to the plot. The film’s opening theme is immediately recognizable, consisting primarily of a piano melody played in a complex 5/4-time signature. It was created on a keyboard by the film’s multitalented director, John Carpenter. According to Carpenter, it took him no more than an hour to hammer out the theme, an impressive feat for someone who claims to be music illiterate. While it may have been written in a flash, the Halloween theme endures.

And with good cause. The main theme is intense, insistent, and brooding, its pacing urgent and unrelenting. The piano delves within you, exploring dark contours all the while. Halfway into its two-minute runtime, it proves itself to…