Ranking Every John Carpenter Theme Worst To Best

Ghosts of Mars is not exactly a high ranking John Carpenter film, which probably begs the question, why is it this far up on the list?

Having tried his hand at many different musical genres, this was Carpenter's attempt at composing something a little more industrial, and it’s a very cool transition. Working on a dancey drumbeat, the Ghosts of Mars theme takes some relatively simple layers and creates something wonderfully atmospheric.

Over the funky baseline and steady tempo comes an electric lead consisting of cascading noises, all of which are delightfully creepy. Once it starts, there aren't a great deal of changes throughout the piece, but its eerie relentless pulse is part of the magic. Carpenter shows once more that he can try his hand at more than the expected conventions, so much so that it's almost unrecognisable as a John Carpenter theme. That's a good thing.

Like all of Carpenters good themes, it's a worthy match to the film. Even though Ghosts of Mars ain't that great, the theme exudes a space horror vibe, and does a nice job of it.