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Horror Film Music Composers

1960's - present

By , About.com Guide

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  • John Carpenter (January 16, 1948) - Often referred to as "the master of terror," Carpenter is a composer, director, producer and screenwriter. He graduated from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema. His earlier films were of low-budget but where box-office hits. The movie "Halloween" grossed $75 million worldwide having a budget of only $300,000. Some of his other films; where he also did the film score, are "The Fog," "Prince of Darkness," "Christine," "Village of the Damned," "Halloween 1 & 2" and "John Carpenter's Vampires." Listen to soundclips from the movie "Halloween".

  • Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975) - He studied the violin as a child and won a prize for one of his compositions when he was in high school. Two of the composers who influenced Herrmann were Charles Ives and Percy Grainger. He went to the Julliard Graduate School of Music on a scholarship to study composition and conducting. Herrmann founded the New Chamber Orchestra in 1930. In 1940, he was appointed chief conductor of the CBS Symphony Orchestra where he composed music for various programs. He also created film scores such as for the movie "All That Money Can Buy" for which Herrmann won an Academy Award. He is also known for the music he created for the shower scene in the movie "Psycho". Listen to music samples from the movie "Psycho".

    Know of other composers who should be included on this list? Email it to musiced.guide@about.com

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