Happy Halloween! Last night, we were thrilled to host virtuoso organist Alessandro Pittorino’s second Halloween Silent Film Spectacular at Perth Concert Hall, in which Alessandro masterfully improvised the film score to the sci-fi cult classic Metropolis (1927) in front of a live audience. 

To help you get into the spooky spirit, we’ve come up with a list of five of the most iconic, spine-chilling horror movie scores and soundtracks that have stood the test of time. 

Jaws (1975)

The main track from Steven Spielberg’s Jaws consists of just two notes (only a semi-tone apart) played by the tuba, but its simplicity is partially what makes it so memorable. Composer John Williams said the ‘Shark Attack’ theme “grind[s] away at you, just as a shark would do. Instinctual, relentless, unstoppable…”

Psycho (1960)

Even if you’ve never watched Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, you’ll no doubt recognise the hair-raising violin stabs in its most famous score, ‘The Murder’ by legendary film composer Bernard Herrmann. More than six decades after its release, Psycho still has one of the most recognisable scores in the history of cinema.

The Shining (1980)

The feeling of impending doom felt by viewers of Stanley Kubrick’s cult classic The Shining is heightened by the film’s suspenseful soundtrack, which features a combination of original scores by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind and pre-existing music by Krzysztof Penderecki, György Ligeti, and Béla Bartók.

Halloween (1978)

Horror master John Carpenter wrote, directed and composed the score to his 1979 teen horror favourite Halloween. Its title theme, featuring a chilling piano motif underpinned by brass, winds and percussion, remains one of the creepiest horror movie themes of all time. 

Fun fact: It took Carpenter only three days to compose and record the entire film score for Halloween!

Suspiria (1977) 

Italian progressive rock band Goblin created the perfectly eerie soundtrack to Dario Argento’s gory, supernatural horror film Suspiria, using instruments that are not commonly associated with horror movies such as the Moog synthesizer, tablas and bouzoukis.

Missed out on Metropolis: A Halloween Silent Film Spectacular? If you’re a movie buff, keep an eye on our Pop Culture events calendar throughout the year for more exciting events inspired by film, television, books and more!