10 Grisly Horror Movies With Surprisingly Beautiful Music Scores

1. The Divide (2012)

The Midnight Meat Train
Anchor Bay

Composer: Jean-Pierre Taieb

Listen To: "Running After My Fate" and "Intro"

Explaining The Divide to someone is like trying to explain a gut punch that you'd want to receive. It's the definition of horror, in that, it's about what people do to one another when mankind's nature kicks into the ugliest parts of survival. And yet, there's a harrowing beauty to the film's depiction of decent people trying to maintain their humanity amidst ever-escalating cruelty and aberrance.

Working once again with director Xavier Gens (their previous collaboration being Frontier(s)), French composer Jean-Pierre Taieb delivered a powerhouse of a score with The Divide.

There's a consistent theme of lost innocence that pervades the movie from the outset and continues even until the end bitter end. During the prologue "Intro" is played to establish the hopelessness of each character. Each reprisal following this pertains to each character and their unfortunate fall from grace. It's revised version "Haircut" that plays during a mutual head-shaving between brotherly antagonists is genuinely affecting and symbolizes an interior change even more so than the physical.

When things go full disaster and the line between friend and foe no longer exists, The Divide peaks with its most impressive song, "Running After My Fate". It's a visceral, emotionally-wrecking smorgasbord of hard-edged doom, gloom and orchestral longing.

Much like its anti-heroine by the end of her tumultuous journey herein, this display of aural craftsmanship will leave you shaken and stirred.

Contributor

Greetings from The Yentz! The Warrior of the Wasteland! The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla! I live, eat and breathe film... And videogames... And comics... And, well... Anything that might be considered "nerd related". I consider myself the voice against that of mainstream cinema. While critics might praise the ostentatious drivel supplied by Oscar-pandering films, I enjoy directing attention to less popular gems in hopes of educating people on incredible film experiences that may not be backed by massive studios, nominations and a star-studded cast. Outside of WhatCulture!, I write for Movieweb, assisted BlueCat as a script analyst, have worked on films from the east coast to the west and continue to write, critique and direct here in the lovable land of ol' LA. I hope you enjoy reading my diatribes as much as I enjoy writing them.