Ranking Every John Carpenter Theme Worst To Best

This is another of Carpenter's many collaborations with Alan Howarth. They Live needed a theme that was creepy, adventurous and mysterious. Cue this work of genius. For all the ups and downs, John Carpenter never contributed to a boring piece of music in his life. This theme is the perfect reminder of that fact.

As in the previous example, this clever composition operates on one simple bass-line and drum beat, upon which comes a steady rise of sounds, ranging from keys to harmonicas and saxophones. There is a a lot of variety, but it all fits, and the overall gloss gives it a real ominous Twin Peaks kind of vibe. Over the decades, it has grown steadily retro, but never less pleasurable for it. Those subtle key changes midway in are the mere icing on the cake.

Working on jazzier conventions was Carpenter's forte, and as the They Live theme proves, he had a great deal of fun with it. Throwing all the ideas at the wall and letting them stick can sometimes be a good thing. The result in this case, was a genuinely inventive tune.