11 Of The Best Music Moments In Horror Movie History

Because of their heavy reliance on sound to elicit a specific type of atmosphere, horror movies have provided some of the most recognizable songs in soundtrack history.


In honor of today’s Friday the 13th, we put together a series of the most memorable music moments in horror movie history, ranging from specific scenes (Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs) to entire scores (Hereditary), all of which prove just how much music can elevate a film. Scroll on!

1. Hereditary - Score by Colin Stetson

Touted as the scariest horror release in years, Hereditary’s mastery of sound lies in its deft exploration of minimalism. Heavy on low hums and tempered strings, Colin Stetson’s score is as subtle as the film itself, which relies on restrained dread to terrify its audiences into baited-breath silence. 

Soft yet tense, the score — all deep basslines and barely-there thrumming — ups the ante on every low-lit scene, building suspense in a way that amplifies the action onscreen to a sickening degree.

2. It Follows - Score by Disasterpeace

Electronic artist Disasterpeace composed one of the more memorable, compelling horror movie scores in recent memory with his work for the methodical slow burn It Follows. 

With its jarring, staccato build and sinister synths, every reintroduction of the film’s main theme offers viewers a Pavlovian response: Something wicked this way undoubtedly comes.

3. A Clockwork Orange - Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9” 

Sadistic leader Alex DeLarge has an affinity for Beethoven, who he listens to with ecstasy after a night of brutality, referred to by the film’s fictional language, Nadsat, as “ultraviolence.” 

Director Stanley Kubrick’s decision to juxtapose a highly regarded classical piece with jump cut images of violence and sex is as jarring as the scenes of savage cruelty that precede it. The track later plays a major role in Alex’s elective (but ultimately reversed) rehabilitation, serving as a form of torture: The one thing he loves most in the world is, deservedly, ruined for him.

4. Insidious - Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe Through The Tulips"

Tiny Tim’s bright, vibrato-heavy version of “Tiptoe Through The Tulips" acts as an unexpected horror device, blaring long and loud on a gramophone that belongs to a demon who has an affinity for hunting humans. The scene offers one of the film’s tensest scares, when young Dalton and his father realize the demon that’s been haunting them spotted them trying to escape from his lair. 

5. Get Out - Michael Abels’ “Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga” 

With lyrics like, “Brother, listen to the ancestry / Run! You need to run far,” (translated from the original Swahili) the track “Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga” acts as a warning to protagonist Chris — going so far as to echo the meaning behind the movie’s title. 

The track returns throughout the film, its plucky guitars and haunting, whisper-chant indicative of real, deep-seated evil and an excellent use of recurrence that makes every scene it appears in more ominous than the last. 

6. The Exorcist - Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells”

The Exorcist offers one of the most recognizable themes in horror history with Mike Oldfield’s prog-rock epic Tubular Bells. A sinister compilation of bells, timpani, glockenspiel, and more, Tubular Bells gained worldwide popularity when it served as the main theme for The Exorcist, inextricably tying it to the movie forever.

7. The Purge: Election Year - David Bowie's "I’m Afraid of Americans"

The aggressive, electro-rock “I’m Afraid of Americans” — David Bowie’s searing critique of America’s homogenous, worldwide influence — serves as a fitting finale to the politically-charged The Purge: Election Year, a movie with a premise that at one point in time seemed laughably absurd. Nowadays? Not so much.

8. American Psycho - Huey Lewis and the News' "Hip to be Square”

Patrick Bateman’s obsession with pop culture is brought to a head when he invites his coworker, Paul Allen, back to his place after a night of heavy drinking. As "Hip to Be Square" blares from Bateman's stereo, he delivers an in-depth monologue on the artistic merits of Huey Lewis and the News’ later work right before he murders Paul with an axe. 

The brutal attack — Bateman’s face and raincoat, drenched in blood, both get decent screen time, post-kill – paired with an '80s pop staple makes for one of the most unforgettable moments in movie history.

9. Scream - “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ dark alt-rock track appears on the first three soundtracks of the Scream film franchise, a surefire way for fans to forever associate the song — which offers listeners a warning served with a wink — with the beloved movies. 

10. Zodiac - Donovan’s “Hurdy Gury Man”

David Fincher’s Zodiac has been criticized for its lugubrious pacing, but the film’s opener offers viewers a disturbing, action-packed intro. Suspense erupts into a shower of bullets as victims Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau are mercilessly gunned down in their car by an unknown assailant. 

As the attack escalates, so does the track blaring from the victims' car radio: Donovan’s psychedelic pop release “Hurdy Gurdy Man.” The track quickly became synonymous with the film, which effectively used it to intensify an already violent scene.

11. Silence of the Lambs - Q Lazzarus’s “Goodbye Horses”

Serial killer and skin-suit tailor Buffalo Bill makes a case for himself as creepiest villain ever when he dances to Q Lazzarus’ new wave hit “Goodbye Horses,” mere feet away from an underground pit where his victim, Catherine, tries relentlessly to break free. 

Scenes of Bill’s lanky, languid movements — paired with his persistent whispering of “Would you f**k me? I’d f**k me,” — are interspersed with Catherine’s desperate attempts to flee, making for one of the eeriest moments in modern day horror.

Photo: Dimension Films/PalmStar Media/Warner Bros.