The Importance of Music and Background Score in Horror Films

Each movie, according to its story and screenplay, demands a different kind of soundtrack and sound effects. Music and sound effects has significant role in horror films. Music incites many emotions in our subconscious mind; images are blank without music or dialogue and they become more effective with the right kind of music. It is important to have good soundtrack in horror films which will add to the tension on screen. There is more to horror films than just scary visuals and good make-up. The pace of action in horror films can be increased with fast paced music. When visuals start to affirm things in front of your eyes, it is music which suggests the possible result. Even before introducing any character which cause fear in you, the suggestive music will give you a picture of how scary that being can be therefore increasing the fear. Sound effects can be used to give additional effect to the soundtrack which heightens the drama.

Many films, such as jaws, demand on the music to make the film scary. The flat score adds to the tension of the film, and without this music the clip would not be as effective. Many pieces of music act as signifiers in the film; in jaws, you know there will be an attack when you hear the score beginning. Some films now though have realised that this theory can limit the effective tension that a film could achieve. Such new films, like the women in black, uses this principle of using no music when the actual scary clip happens, it uses the music to build up the tension before the scene and uses sound effects to create the fear in the audience, this means the audience least expect when they will be scared because the music they are relying on to tell them misleads them.