John5’s Top Five horror soundtracks

John5’s Top Five horror soundtracks

With Halloween right around the corner, Rob Zombie guitarist John5 shared his top five picks for horror-film music to get you through creepy season.

1. “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954, music by Henry Mancini, Hans J. Salter and Herman Stein): “Whenever you see the creature, you hear this three-note theme. It’s such an iconic theme, and it goes on in the movie so many times.”

2. “The Exorcist” (1973, music by Mike Oldfield): “You could just sit and listen to that score on your iPod and enjoy the mood of it. It’s just so well-done, and it creates such a scary mood.”

3. “The Omen” (1976, music by Jerry Goldsmith): “With the aggressive choir that is in that movie, it’s like, oh my God, is it frightening. I’ve always thought that choirs were just frightening, even if it’s Mozart or a beautiful suite.”

4. “Halloween” (1978, music by director John Carpenter): “It’s such a simple theme and it’s known around the world. When you think of ‘Halloween,’ you think of that theme. And just to think of (Carpenter) going, ‘Hey, I’ve got an idea.’ And there you go. It’s just perfect.”

5. “The Shining” (1980, music by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind): “I just loved the lonely French horn that would go throughout the movie, like when they’re driving to the Overlook Hotel and you just hear this solo French horn. Oh my God, it’s just so good.”