John Carpenter Shares First Tease of New ‘Halloween’ Score

The Halloween franchise has caused countless nightmares for audiences over the years, thanks to the horrifying killer Michael Myers. Even just hearing the film’s theme will send chills down the spines of anyone who hears it, reminding them of the terror of the film. John Carpenter, who co-wrote, directed, and composed the score for the original film, has created the music for the upcoming sequel, the first tease of which you can hear in the video above.

In the new film, “A British documentary crew comes to the States to visit Michael in prison for a retrospective of the maniac’s night of terror — but their project becomes way more interesting when Myers escapes custody, retrieves his signature mask and seeks revenge on Laurie, with others naturally being part of his impressive career body count along the way. In the decades following the fateful Halloween night that forever altered the former babysitter’s life, Laurie has armed and prepped herself for Michael’s inevitable return — to the detriment of her family, including daughter Karen and granddaughter Allyson.”

The above tease doesn’t entirely reveal Carpenter’s intentions with this new score, as he will have to find the balance between honoring the series’ origins while also breathing new life into a familiar soundscape.

Earlier this year, director and co-writer David Gordon Green shared with ComicBook.com how the new score will work for the sequel.

“It’s certainly the foundation of this movie, is John’s original theme. He’s composing the music with his son, Cody [Carpenter], and Daniel Davies, so the three of them are working together,” Green detailed. “It’s fun to be able to say, ‘When do you want iconic and when do you want to be fresh and inventive?’ So that’s kind of the balance we’re exploring right now. Hopefully he’s doing that today.”

Carpenter is widely known as one of the best horror filmmakers of all time, though not all audiences are aware of how often he lent his musical talents to his films. In addition to Halloween, Carpenter also composed the scores for his films The Fog, Christine, Prince of Darkness, They Live, and many more.

While Carpenter has been away from the director’s chair since 2010’s The Ward, the filmmaker has been incredibly active in the music world, having released three albums and having gone on multiple world tours.

The soundtrack for the new Halloween lands on October 19th, the same day the film hits theaters.

What do you think of this first tease of the score? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T YouTube, Sacred Bones Records]