10 Horror Movie Soundtracks You Need To Listen To
6. Color Out Of Space
Based on H.P Lovecraft's short story The Colour Out Of Space, Color Out Of Space is a hyper-stylish and ultra-violent visual spectacle of dazzling neon and repulsive body horror.
Helmed by cult filmmaker Richard Stanley, the film sees the Gardener family - led by Nicholas Cage - get thrown into a cosmic nightmare when a meteor emblazoned with dazzling colours lands on their farm, warping the world around them as it spreads.
Making this beautifully shot film even more jaw-dropping is a score by experimental composer and saxophonist Colin Stetson. Blending a core ensemble of strings, brass, and woodwind instruments combined with eerie drones and sounds, Stetson crafts a deeply rich and provocative soundtrack that amplifies the grandeur and unknowable nature of Lovecraft's work to an otherworldly effect.
While some tracks deploy more traditional (but nonetheless breathtaking) film music conventions such as The Gardeners, it's his more experimental pieces that give Color Out Of Space its distinctive character. Filtered through electronics and layered with bass drones, tracks including West Of Arkham and Drawing The Lightning are where Stetson's brilliance comes through the most.
Hitting euphoric highs and unsettling lows, Color Out Of Space's soundtrack is the definition of phantasmagorical.