Horror Movie Soundtracks

Recently I saw 28 Weeks Later (the sequel to 28 Days Later) and was impressed by the music. It’s an extremely decile movie set in a Britain where the population has been whipped out with the rebuilding in process. The main theme song is a lonely track that emphasises doom, fear and remoteness. It fits in perfectly with the main theme, survival. This theme song creeps up a few times during the movie during long sequences of action among the main characters (typically when they are travelling), it is used well here to inject the mood of the film and current situation into the viewer.

What makes it stand out is the fact that the music is different to other zombie/survival horror stories. It does not use music to add suspense, only to add mood. The music is also not your typical heavy metal soundtrack, ala Resident Evil, but rather more emotionally charged softer and more sombre instrumentals. The soundtrack is also not overused which happens in a lot of horror films when the visuals get lazy and music is all that’s left to add emotion during the edit. I think 28 Weeks Later’s soundtrack is a prime example on how a soundtrack should function within the holistic nature of film.