Soundtracks of Fear – Music in the Horror Film

One of humans’ most natural reaction to gruesome moments of a horror film is to cover their eyes in fear. American musicologist Robynn Stilwell has pointed out about film sound in general, "We can’t cover our ears with the same certainty of muting the unwanted sounds as we can avert our gaze to stop seeing something". Whereas music in form of score, soundtrack, special sound effects, noises, soundscapes, and audible silence can generally be defined as a mental framework that guides the way we watch and how we experience the image on screen, horror deserves an even closer recognition as you know it’s a horror film not by watching, but by listening to the audio track only. Neil Lerner observes that horror, more than any other genre, gives music a heightened responsibility for triggering "feelings of horror, fear, rage"– an observation that critics have downplayed and scholars have left undertheorized for a long time.

The seminar will throw a critical ear on vital examples of music from horror film history, explore how specific patterns undermine viewers’ sense of security, discover why sounds consciously cause physical arousal, or how specific soundscapes subconsciously help to make a film reception become an almost visceral experience. Since the course is part of the ISP program, we will put on our transatlantic glasses to investigate how horror made in Hollywood has taught us different lessons than horror made in UK, Germany or France. The seminar requires a considerable amount of engagement and initiative as we will continue with my ongoing FEARacademy project that includes the production of a student podcast on Spotify as well as the maintenance of the social media account on Instagram.

Neil Lerner. Music in the Horror Film: Listening to Fear (2009) (available as e-book via UB)