Iconic Sounds of Psychological Thriller Films

Films, connected with the genre of psychological thriller, tend to use the same techniques when it comes to sound and music. When watching a thriller movie, music and sounds are an important aspect of the movie in order to feel scared or uneasy. 

Music is generally used in thriller movies to build tension to make the audience jump when a sudden event occurs, or in some cases, when the music builds tension for nothing to then happen. This keeps the audience feeling uneasy.

The Exorcist theme song is a prime example of how music can be used in a horror film. This music has a gothic style to it, it has an organ come into it which backs up its apparent gothic origins. Its slow pace creates uncertainty and anxiety - confirming its horror genre.

The piece composed by Michael Myers for the horror film Halloween uses the same concepts. Its gothic sound keeps the listener on their toes. The piece uses high pitched piano accompanied along side a deeper bass produced its frightening product which becomes and iconic feature of its film.

(Although this is not a horror film the principle still applies when using contrapuntal music/sound)

This is a famous scene from reservoir dogs. Mr Blonde turns on the radio in-front of his hostage and plays a cheerful, fun song. This then contrasts the extreme violence that revolves around the hostage; for after Mr Blonde dances a bit his actions after dramatically juxtapose this, he cuts off the policeman's ear.

by Harry Crotty