By Travis Johnson
All other considerations about David Gordon Green and Danny McBride’s impending Halloween sequel, the fact that original director John Carpenter is composing the score is cause for celebration.
Although retired from directing since 2010’s The Ward, Carpo has thrown himself into his music over the last several years, releasing three albums of atmospheric instrumental tunes. He’s toured the world to no small acclaim, playing a mix of his new tracks and cuts from the scores to his filmic back catalogue. Along the way he’s become hugely influential – the current synthwave vogue basically exists because of Carpenter’s soundtrack work and sonic aesthetic being repurposed by a bunch of European electro artists.
Which means that Carpenter’s soundtrack for the new Halloween is a hot ticket item, and now we can confirm an October 22 release date – the same day the film hits US theatres (Australian audiences get the movie on the 25th).
“When the new Halloween movie hits theaters in October 2018, it will have the distinction of being the first film in the canon with creator John Carpenter’s direct involvement since 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Carpenter serves on the new David Gordon Green-directed installment as an executive producer, a creative consultant, and, thrillingly, as a soundtrack composer, alongside his collaborators from his three recent solo albums, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.
“The new soundtrack pays homage to the classic Halloween score that Carpenter composed and recorded in 1978, when he forever changed the course of horror cinema and synthesizer music with his low-budget masterpiece. Several new versions of the iconic main theme serve as the pulse of Green’s film, its familiar 5/4 refrain stabbing through the soundtrack like the Shape’s knife. The rest of the soundtrack is just as enthralling, incorporating everything from atmospheric synth whooshes to eerie piano-driven pieces to skittering electronic percussion. While the new score was made with a few more resources than Carpenter’s famously shoestring original, its musical spirit was preserved.”
You can pre-order the album from Sacred Bones Records here (sadly, the limited “art edition” went in a heartbeat), or else wait for Spotify/iTunes/ Google Plaay, etc. In the meantime, here’s another JC deep cut…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D03E9kUTTtQ
