Ranking Every John Carpenter Theme Worst To Best

Is ranking this tune up high a generic choice? Well, there are two ways you can look at it. The first is to take it completely out of the context of the movie and pretend this is the first time you've ever heard it. Or you can keep it in context and remind yourself why this is such a renowned vintage movie theme in the first place.

Either way, the brilliance of this piece of music is striking. As with not all, but most, of Carpenter's themes, the quality lies in the subtlety. That unrelenting piano melody is the foundation on which all the other booming sounds reside, and the whole tune serves as an exercise in musical suspense. It gives away nothing of the movie it proceeds, and there are no generic traits on which it relies.

In its day, it was a revolution in horror movie composition, and has lost none of its clout forty-plus years later. For its relevance and importance alone, it's one of Carpenter's finest works. As a stand alone piece, the Halloween theme is just great, full stop.