A horror film without a good musical score is like a sports car without an engine; it just won’t run. Though a musical score is important through the various genres of filmmaking, it’s essential in horror. Without atmospheric tension, the visuals will not have the same impact. Don’t believe me? Try watching a scary film on mute.

Over the years, as films have evolved, so has the soundscape that goes with it. Modern day filmmakers have realized a theme song placed at the entry of a villain is not enough. If they truly aim at terrifying the audience, they need more. They need to find a way to get under the skin of the viewer. These nine modern film scores do just that.

9 Hereditary (2018)

     A24

Hereditary is Ari Aster’s debut film that turned heads when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018. Touted as one of the best horror films of recent times, Hereditary’s multilayered narrative was complimented by its quiet yet persistent soundscape. Hereditary’s sound teams includes MPSE award-winning supervising sound editor Lewis Goldstein and his team at Parabolic NY, along with composer Colin Stetson. While it’s easy to get lost in Aster’s visual style with abrupt cuts and unforeseen twists, it’s the element of sound design that subconsciously maintains room-tone tension.

8 Dark (2017-2020)

     Netflix

Netflix’s Dark is a series based on the disappearance of two children in a small town in Germany. Upon its release, the aspect that stood out the most was its aural world. Composed by Ben Frost, the show consists of songs from the ’80s by indie and contemporary artists. Despite not being an out-and-out horror show, Dark’s score creates moments of unease as Ben Frost uses tense audio motifs to punctuate the narrative.

7 Nope (2022)

     Universal Pictures

Jordan Peele has carved out somewhat of a niche within the minds of horror fanatics. His films do not majorly rely on jump scares; they are rather psychological with an overall message of morality. In Nope, Jordan Peele staple Daniel Kaluuya plays a horse rancher who finds himself facing a foe in the form of a UFO. Peele, along with composer Micheal Abels, creates a soundscape that supplements the world of Nope. Almost as an homage to the spaghetti westerns, Nope’s soundscape marries horror, with a tinge of western music, creating an edge-of-the-seat experience.

6 Midsommar (2019)

Fresh off the success of Hereditary, all eyes were on Ari Aster during the release of his follow-up feature. And Midsommar did not disappoint in the least. The film’s plot revolves around a group of friends who visit a commune in Sweden only to find things are not as they seem. Entrenched in Pagan rituals and occult-like practices, the group of friends slowly begin experiencing surreal hallucinations, finding it difficult to differentiate reality and their imagination.

Perfecting the craft of daylight horror, Ari Aster masterfully creates tense sequences that don’t scare you for a moment but terrify you for life. Add to this mix Bobby Krill’s (The Haxan Cloak) mind-blowing music direction with elements of Swedish folklore along with various string instruments, and you find yourself with an unforgettable horror experience.

5 Prey (2022)

     Hulu

If there’s one standout horror/action film of 2022, it’s Prey. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, Prey is the fifth film in the Predator Franchise and serves as a prequel to the first four films.

The plot centers around Naru, a skilled Comanche warrior who’s desperate to prove herself as a hunter. Her wish eventually comes true, but at a steep cost. Tasked with protecting her people from a supernatural foe, Naru feels all the weight of the world on her shoulders as she tries to outsmart another worldly force…

Apart from being a visual treat, Prey’s soundscape perfectly compliments the world the story is set in. In an interview with Variety, composer Sarah Schachner reveals her process that led her to discover the unique sound of the film, keeping in mind the genre of the film as well as the nature of the characters.

4 The Lighthouse (2019)

     Regency Enterprises

In recent times, it’s impossible to talk about horror as a genre without mentioning Robert Egger’s name. After the success of his medieval horror tale, Eggers delivered one of his best films to date — The Lighthouse. Arguably extracting career-best performances from both Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, Robert Egger’s film is a deep dive into man’s descent into madness. The film revolves around two lighthouse keepers, stuck on a remote island in the early part of the nineteenth century. Having nobody else on the island, the two men begin experiencing weird hallucinations and psychological turmoil. Having already worked with composer Mark Korven on The Witch, Eggers and Korven went to extreme lengths of aural experiments to find the right sound, accurately punctuating the narrative of the film.

3 Candyman (2021)

Candyman is a horror film directed by Nia Dacosta and starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The film’s plot revolves around a visual artist, Anthony McCoy’s obsession with the legend of the Candyman. This initial obsession quickly transforms into full-blown insanity, resulting in Anthony losing his mind. Candyman’s sound is composed by veteran composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. The soundscape heavily exudes synth-based compositions and electronic elements.

2 Pearl (2022)

Serving as a prequel to X, Pearl is set in 1918 and explores the early years of Pearl before the events of X. Living with a needy, wheelchair-bound father and a strict, dominating mother, Pearl has a whirlpool of sinister thoughts brewing within her. Realizing she has more to offer the world than what she currently is, Pearl starts devising unsettling ways to change her surroundings. Director Ti West’s audiovisual treatment of the film puts it in the category of a period piece, with rich Technicolor imagery along with an orchestral musical score by composer Tyler Bates.

1 Halloween (2018)

Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green, is an extension of John Carpenter’s 1978 slasher film of the same name. The plot revolves around Micheal Myers (Nick Castle), a serial killer who has escaped from captivity. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), barely managed to escape with her life in her last encounter with Myers, but upon hearing of his escape, it’s Strode who wants his blood on her hands. The legendary John Carpenter scored the music for the film, with its choppy synths, layered with eerie chord progressions.