10 Things You Learn Rewatching Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter is a multi-talented dude.

Not only did Carpenter co-write and direct Halloween, he also did all of the music. Working off of a minimalist array of synthesizers, Carpenter crafted the theme's recurring motif off of an old pair of bongos initially, using the only two notes the instruments offered, of A and E. In translating the melody to the piano, he spiced it up a bit and added some truly terrifying backbone in the form of those monolithic synth chords, and the results still manage to induce nightmares.

In Carpenter's own words;

"[The repetition] is putting you on your nerves."

And it doesn't stop there. Every track on the soundtrack is great, with each feeling like they were cut from the same symphonic cloth. Tracks like Laurie's Theme and The Shape Stalks are great compositions in their own right and are used incredibly effectively in the film.

Laurie's Theme perfectly captures the wandering thoughts and earnestness of Jamie Lee Curtis' character in its simplicity, all while still maintaining an air of suspense. The Shape Stalks, used during the final act of the film, is propulsive in all the right ways. Hearing it cue up as Michael chases after Laurie imbues the entire sequence with an immediacy it would otherwise be lacking.

The whole score is ridiculously effective and elevates the film to another level, which is all the more insnae considering that Carpenter wrote and recorded the whole thing over the span of three days.