Halloween Kills (soundtrack)
Halloween Kills (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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Film score by | ||||
Released | October 14, 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2019–2021 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 43:51 | |||
Label | Sacred Bones | |||
Halloween soundtrack chronology | ||||
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John Carpenter chronology | ||||
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Cody Carpenter chronology | ||||
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Daniel Davies chronology | ||||
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Singles from Halloween Kils (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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Halloween Kills (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2021 film Halloween Kills, directed by David Gordon Green; a sequel to Green's Halloween (2018) and the twelfth instalment in the Halloween franchise. John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, who previously scored for the first film, returned for the sequel. As similar to the predecessor, John had reused the original theme from the 1978 film using modern interpretations.
Halloween Kills soundtrack featured 20-tracks, mostly consisting of John, Cody and Davies' score, and was led by three singles: "Unkillable", "Rampage" and "Michael's Legend". A non-album single titled "Hunter's Moon" performed by Ghost, was also released, that feature in the end credits. The album, distributed by Sacred Bones Records, had a limited release in ITunes on October 14, 2021, and later released through multiple music platforms, the following day, on October 15, which coincides the film's release.[1] It was also distributed in CD, LP and cassettes. John's score received generally positive response from critics, and the score album debuted at number 9 in Billboard Top Album Sales for the week beginning October 23.[2]
Development
"We started on the Halloween movies with two things. One, we have the midi from the original score; by that I mean, we have the original score I did years ago – the various songs with that. Then we tend to update them, adapt them, and use parts of them there and there. Once we’re dealing with the movie and we’re watching it, then we can work with new material – that’s all improvised."
— John Carpenter, on scoring the new Halloween instalments.[3]
John who also scored for the 1978 film, had modernised the original theme from the film, with different sounds and approaches, as he did for the soundtrack of the 2018 reboot,[4] as he felt that "[There] are brand new sounds that are constantly being updated. That’s where the inspiration comes from",[3] appreciating the modern innovations applied in this generation.[3] He, along with Cody and Davies, had worked on the score before 2019, as the film was shot back-to-back with Halloween Ends (2022), and scoring was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
As with all of his ventures, John had begun scoring the film, only after watching the final cut as "I generally know what I want to do in terms of atmosphere [coming into a film], but we score to the movie. It’s exact; I want the final cut in my computer and then we start scoring to it. I don’t think about [particular musical ideas] ahead of time."[3] Like the first film's soundtrack, the music of Kills rely on the sonic and electronic music, with gentle compositions turning into adrenaline rushes in the latter half.[3][6] According to Green, "his [John] music does both of those things, too. You'll see sometimes it's very methodical and slow-paced and pulsating. Other times, it's just a frenzy of synthesizers."[7]
Release
Halloween Kills' soundtrack, containing the original score, is led by two singles. Coinciding the album's announcement, the first song "Unkillable" was released on August 19, 2021,[8][9] which was followed by the second song "Rampage" was released on September 7,[10][11][12] and the third track "Michael's Legend" released on September 25.[13] A single titled "Hunter's Moon" performed by the Swedish rock band Ghost, was released on September 30; although the track was not featured in the soundtrack, it would play in the film's end credits.[14][15]
Sacred Bones Records released the soundtrack exclusively through
- Sacred Bones Record Society Flame Flicker
- Sacred Bones Records Art Edition (Mail-order Exclusive)
- Sacred Bones Records Molten Vinyl (Mail-order Exclusive)
- Orange Vinyl
- Black Vinyl (Charred Pumpkin)
- Orange and black splatter (UK Exclusive)
- Orange, black and white swirl (Waxworks exclusive)
- Orange and white (Cargo Germany exclusive)
- Swamp Green (Bull Moose Exclusive)
- Orange/Red Split With Black Splatter (Newbury Comics Exclusive)
- Orange and Black (BrooklynVegan Exclusive)
- Clear With Black & Orange Splatter (Shout! FactoryExclusive)
Track listing
All music is composed by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Logos Kill" | 1:21 |
2. | "Halloween Kills (Main Title)" | 1:46 |
3. | "The Myers'House" | 0:41 |
4. | "First Attack" | 0:57 |
5. | "Stand Off" | 1:41 |
6. | "Let It Burn" | 1:13 |
7. | "He Appears" | 0:59 |
8. | "From the Fire" | 1:18 |
9. | "Strodes at the Hospital" | 2:25 |
10. | "Cruel Intentions" | 2:37 |
11. | "Gather the Mob" | 1:11 |
12. | "Rampage" | 4:58 |
13. | "Frank and Laurie" | 1:49 |
14. | "Hallway Madness" | 1:37 |
15. | "It Needs to Die" | 6:52 |
16. | "Reflection" | 1:27 |
17. | "Unkillable" | 3:44 |
18. | "Payback" | 2:31 |
19. | "Michael's Legend" | 2:36 |
20. | "Halloween Kills (End Titles)" | 3:08 |
Total length: | 43:00 |
Reception
The review aggregator
Hanna Collins of
Chart performance
Chart (2021) | Peak
position |
---|---|
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[27] | 33 |
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[2] | 9 |
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[28] | 15 |
References
- ^ Brown, Paul 'Browny' (October 7, 2021). "John Carpenter's Halloween Kills Soundtrack Will Have Horror Fans Screaming For More". Wall Of Sound. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (October 26, 2021). "'Halloween Kills' Soundtrack Scares Up Top 10 Debut on This Chart". Billboard. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Pementel, Michael (October 14, 2021). "Behind the Music That Kills: An Interview With the Master of Horror, John Carpenter". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Barna, Ben (October 12, 2021). "John Carpenter and David Gordon Green Discuss Making Murder Music". Interview Magazine. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Collis, Clark. "John Carpenter talks new album, 'Halloween Kills,' and why he loves pretending he's a Viking". EW.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Talking To John Carpenter About 'Halloween Kills' Is An Experience". UPROXX. October 12, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Edwards, Molly (October 12, 2021). "Halloween Kills director reveals how John Carpenter shaped the movie and teases the threequel". Gamesradar. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "John Carpenter Announces Halloween Kills Soundtrack, Shares New Song "Unkillable"". Pitchfork. August 19, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (August 19, 2021). "John Carpenter Previews New 'Halloween Kills' Soundtrack With Sinister 'Unkillable'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Legaspi, Althea (September 7, 2021). "John Carpenter Drops Menacing 'Rampage' From 'Halloween Kills'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Graves, Wren (September 7, 2021). "John Carpenter goes on a "Rampage" in new song from Halloween Kills: Stream". Consequence. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Squires, John (September 7, 2021). "Killer New Track from John Carpenter's 'Halloween Kills' Soundtrack Previews Michael's Brutal "Rampage"". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (September 25, 2021). "John Carpenter Crafts an Unsettling Requiem for Michael Myers on New 'Halloween Kills' Song". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Listen to 'Hunter's Moon', the first new Ghost song in two years". NME. October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Titus, Christa (October 28, 2021). "Behind The Hit: How Ghost's 'Hunter's Moon' Became a Killer End-Credits Soundtrack for 'Halloween Kills'". Billboard. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ a b Squires, John (August 19, 2021). "John Carpenter's 'Halloween Kills' Soundtrack Releasing in October; Listen to the Track "Unkillable" Now!". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Pearis, Bill (September 13, 2022). "John Carpenter composed the 'Halloween Ends' soundtrack (exclusive Blood Splatter vinyl)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ a b "Halloween Kills (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Sacred Bones Records. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter And Daniel Davies - Halloween Kills (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), retrieved November 5, 2022
- ^ "Halloween Kills OST Trick or Treat tote bag". Sacred Bones Records. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Reviews for Halloween Kills (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by John Carpenter". Metacritic. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies: Halloween Kills OST". Spectrum Culture. October 15, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "John Carpenter - Halloween Kills OST". Clash Magazine. October 18, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, Daniel Davies - Halloween Kills Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved November 5, 2022
- ^ Gardner, Noel (October 15, 2021). "THIS WEEK'S NEW ALBUMS REVIEWED | FEATURE". Buzz Magazine. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Filmtracks: Halloween Kills (John Carpenter/Various)". www.filmtracks.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2022.