John Carpenter’s synth-based approach to horror and sci-fi film scores is as important as his uniquely dread-filled style of directing (Escape from New York wouldn’t be that languidly-paced if it were made now, nor would it have a theme this good). He gave us the Halloween theme song, an inspiration for trap beats everywhere, so the man’s music is still absolutely relevant today. Respect the legend. Fittingly, he’s celebrating that legacy with a new album of re-recorded old themes entitled Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998, due out on October 20 via Sacred Bones Recordings.
According to a press release, the album “is a near-comprehensive survey of John Carpenter’s greatest themes, from his very first movie (the no-budget sci-fi film Dark Star) to 1998’s supernatural Western, Vampires.” It also features the theme from The Thing, which was composed by spaghetti western god Ennio Morricone and not Carpenter. Carpenter has shared the opening track from the album, a rework of the theme from 1994’s Lovecraftian mindfuck In the Mouth of Madness featuring the players (Carpenter’s son Cody and Daniel Davies) from his ace Lost Themes albums.
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Carpenter says via press release that the original theme was inspired by Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and that it’s one of his favourite compositions. You can listen to “In the Mouth of Madness” above.
Phil firmly believes the special effects in ‘The Thing’ are the greatest in film history. He’s on Twitter.
