Halloween Music: Soundtrack Edition

I've decided to highlight some great Halloween music in soundtracks, whether it be for film or the theatre.

Film:

1) The original Halloween film has one of the greatest film soundtracks ever. The themes are so simple and minimalist, but they really create almost all of the tension and suspense in the film. John Carpenter, the director, composed and played almost all the music on the score. This particular theme is very recognizable and engaging despite its repetitive nature.

2) Ravenous is a great film about cannibals during the Mexican-American War. It exhibits a twisted sense of humor that is also conveyed through the music, composed by Damon Albern and Michael Nyman. This certain track is placed at the end credits and combines two themes in the film: Boyd's Journey and Cannibal Fantasy. The twangy, uneven pulsing banjo gives the piece an uncomfortable feeling and remains throughout the first theme as more and more melodies and countermelodies are added on top of it. Cannibal Fantasy is actually a very beautiful theme, but when heard during the film is accompanied by the main character Boyd's impromptu visual fantasy of eating another person.

Theatre:

1) I love the musical Jekyll and Hyde, but I've never seen it. This song was my first introduction to it and I was amazed by the singer's uncanny ability to sound like two separate people. I ended up finding out that the singer is Anthony Warlow and I specifically bought the concept album he sang on because I was so moved by his singing. I heard others sing it, but it didn't capture the internal struggle and anguish to me like this talented singer. This song is the final battle between Jekyll and Hyde.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM1uMuJviLo

2) Sweeney Todd is a great musical, but I never got into any of the stage productions. They just seemed way to unnecessarily operatic for my taste (and I love opera!). Anyway, when the film came out, I was a little wary, but I think Johnny Depp did a great job giving the character a little bit of an edge. I actually liked that most of the characters weren't perfect because it seemed more organic to me. This scene is where Mrs. Lovett gives Sweeney Todd his knives after he had been wrongfully locked up in jail for years. He seeks revenge on the corrupt judge who put him there. The music is so lyrical; it's almost a love song from Todd to his knives. The cinematography is excellent, giving a variety of shots during the song instead of just shooting the singer from one angle like some films do. The use of the knives to reflect their faces just looks awesome.