Five occult soundtracks
Our favourite horror soundtracks, featuring Manhunter, Sorcerer and Cannibal Holocaust
Manhunter
(dir. Michael Mann) – Various Artists
One of the finest soundtracks of the 80s, including some total cornball pop from the likes of Red 7 to the brooding keys of Klaus Schulze and Michel Rubini – and of course the monstrously rocking ‘In a Gadda Da Vida’ by Iron Butterfly. A riff that never ends.
Sorcerer
(dir. William Friedkin) – Tangerine Dream
Alongside The Keep, this Tangerine Dream score is one of their darkest releases to date. A perfect accompaniment to Friedkin’s intense trucking/heist film, with sweeping arpeggios and heavy low end, verging on full-on industrial territory.
A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin
(dir. Lucio Fulci) – Ennio Morricone
A wickedly warped soundtrack by Morricone for Lucio Fulci’s mind-bending classic, with touches of acid rock, noise, prog and jazz flute thrown into the mix. It’s a crying shame that most of Morricone’s finest scores are often his most overlooked.
Cannibal Holocaust
(dir. Rugerro Deodato) – Riz Ortolani
Despite the film’s notoriety, Ortolani’s score is beautiful – opening with the delicate acoustic picking of the main title, which works as a total divergence to the inherent nastiness of the movie. But when the jungle synth drones kick in mid-flick, it’s time to start to start running to the hills.
The Beyond
(dir. Lucio Fulci) – Fabio Frizzi
Alongside Frizzi’s score for Zombie Flesh Eaters and City of The Living Dead, his work on The Beyond will go down as his pinnacle. A creepy as hell piano break which just oozes pus out of the screen – it’s just been beautifully reissued by Mondo on 180g vinyl too. Essential.
Zombie Flesh Eaters, screening on Sun 26 Aug, at the GFT, Glasgow, followed by a Q&A by Fabio Frizzi.