John Carpenter’s Halloween Ends Soundtrack Initiates The Final Curtain for The Horror Franchise’s Epic Climax
As we gear up for October, the spookiest month of the year, we’re continuing our coverage into horror world with the announcement of the Halloween Ends official soundtrack – spearheaded by the iconic composer and director of the original 1978 Halloween outing, the legendary John Carpenter – who once again teams up with Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies for a final bloodbath of music that sets the tone for the final encounter between Laurie Strode (Jame Lee Curtis) and The Shape himself, Michael Myers (played by both James Jude Courtney and the OG Michael Nick Castle).
Set for release digitally on October 14th (physical editions to follow on January 20th, 2023) via Sacred Bones, the soundtrack’s announcement is lead by the suspense-driven track ‘The Procession‘ – a haunting instrumental assortment taken direct from the final film, complete with alluring undertones that set the franchise up as one of the quintessential additions to the slasher flick empire that’s now spanned over 40 years since the first movie’s premiere.
On Halloween Ends‘ score, Carpenter revealed the themes and sounds you’ll hear throughout the movie were recorded scene-by-scene; some hark back to the 1978 original’s music, but there are also new sounds reflective of the storyline in the flick:
“The main themes have all been passed down from the original Halloween. We have refined them and created new themes for new characters.”
Fans may remember how melodic-metal band Ghost supplied their song ‘Hunter’s Moon’ for the second outing in the rebooted series, Halloween Kills, but this time, there’ll also be original music from dark dance act Boy Harsher – who will release a maxi-single for ‘Burn It Down‘ alongside the soundtrack’s initial drop on October 14th.
When asked about how their collaborative input came about, the group revealed:
“During an extremely brief period of rest between tours, we got this call from the music supervisor of Halloween Ends. The director, David Gordon Green, had listened to our music and wanted to use something for this final instalment in the trilogy… We flew to New York the next day to meet the team and discuss the possibilities. It was totally surreal.
The real kicker is that Halloween Ends was shot in Savannah, GA – the birthplace of Boy Harsher and where we met. Unbelievable. It all felt too synchronous… We flew home to Massachusetts, dug through old demos, and found “Burn It Down”. In the end it was the perfect energy for the bittersweet love affair between the film characters Allyson and Corey, so during a couple days off – we cleaned it up and made it come alive.”
Whether you’re a horror buff like me, or you’re just keen to see how the final climax plays on the big screen, Halloween Ends is shaping up to be one of the biggest cinematic releases in the horror movie calendar and the soundtrack will supply frightfully good vibes for all of your upcoming Halloween celebrations.
Words by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul
Pre-Order Halloween Ends OST here
Halloween Ends – OST tracklisting
1. Where Is Jeremy?
2. Halloween Ends (Main Title)
3. Laureis Theme Ends
4. The Cave
5. Drags To The Cave
6. Evil Eyes
7. Transformation
8. Because of You
9. Requiem For Jeremy
10. Kill The Cop
11. Corey and Michael
12. Corey’s Requiem
13. The Junk Yard
14. Where Are You?
15. Bye Bye Corey
16. The Fight
17. Before Her Eyes
18. The Procession
19. Cherry Blossoms
20. Halloween Ends (End Titles)
