For horror films, the soundtrack can turn a movie from slightly scary to god damn creepy. Many horror movies have done an excellent job at producing scores and soundtracks that are meant to scare the bejesus out of you. My current favorite sinister soundtrack is definitely Sinister.
If the deaths in Sinister weren’t disturbing enough and the kids not creepy enough, I’m sure at least the music made one or two hairs stand up on end. It did mine and my hairs usually only stand up for the cold.
Sinister was made so effective by the super 8 ‘home movie’ videos, which would play silently but had this dark, demonic music added. The ethereal quality made them eerily dreamy creating an unnerving atmosphere which is what you want in a horror film. Director Scott Derrickson did well with choosing the right man for the sound as well as making a good, creepy movie.
The Sinister soundtrack is by composer Christopher Young, who has over 100 soundtracks to his credit. In the movie soundtrack CD liner notes he explains that he usually uses an orchestra, but with Sinister he composed his first all-synth/sound-design-based score. Well, he definitely scored with that.
BBQ ’79 (Silence teaches you how) and Sleepy Time ’98 (Sacrifice) are my favorites and songs I will play to the grandkids someday.
The soundtrack to this movie totally breaks the mold when it comes to horror films and the music used is one of the many parts of Sinister that I will not forget.
Like the tagline “once you see him, nothing can save you”, when you take the time to appreciate the music added, you’ll never forget him either.
