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'Sinister' is made even spookier with its unnerving soundtrack

'Sinister' stars Ethan Hawke as a novelist who discovers a box of disturbing home movies.

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Varése Sarabande
The soundtrack for 'Sinister' was composed by Christopher Young, who also handled music duties on the horror film 'Drag Me to Hell.'
  • By Rich Clabaugh Staff

As a huge fan and collector of movie soundtrack and scores, I know what I am going to hear instrumentally: a finely tuned orchestra performing (hopefully) memorable music that conveys the mood and actions of the movie it's accompanying. However, the soundtrack to the movie "Sinister" totally breaks the mold, and I mean that in the best possible way.

The film, which stars Ethan Hawke and is currently in theaters, is about a true crime novelist (Hawke) who discovers a box of mysterious, disturbing home movies that plunge his family into a supernatural nightmare. The soundtrack is by composer Christopher Young, who has over 100 soundtracks to his credit, including "Spider-Man 3" and the horror film "Drag Me to Hell." Young explains in the CD’s liner notes that he usually uses an orchestra, but with "Sinister," he composes his first all-synth/sound-design-based score.

His score hits all the right notes (pun intended), creating a tense, unnerving atmosphere which is perfect for a horror film. The mood is struck immediately by the first track, "Portrait Of Mr. Boogie," and carries through to the end of the CD. Strange synthesizer noises combined with loud percussion and abrupt stops and starts means that one doesn’t know what to expect next. Track three, "Leventation," is my favorite – with its distorted voices and whispers, it is some of the scariest music I have ever heard.

The CD, released by Varése Sarabande, is out just in time for Halloween. This is a must-have for any horror fan and the perfect music to have playing in the background as you pass out candy to the costumed kids. 

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