Interviews
Behind the Music That Kills: An Interview With the Master of Horror, John Carpenter
For over 40 years, Michael Myers has existed as one of the greatest icons in horror. Coming into existence in 1978’s Halloween, Michael’s violence and terror have only been rivaled by few slashers in the genre. “He is supposed to be the boogeyman, a force of evil,” says director, writer, and music composer John Carpenter. Carpenter, alongside film producer Debra Hill, shaped Michael – creating a being that represents the darkness like no other. Carpenter continues, “The Shape, Michael Myers, is an all-purpose boogeyman. In other words – Godzilla was an all-purpose monster […] You think about Michael Myers, he is really flexible.”
Since that of the 1978 film, its 1981 sequel, and the non-conical Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Carpenter has remained distant from the Halloween franchise; that is until the 2018 entry directed by David Gordon Green, written by Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride. The 2018 film stands as a canonical sequel to the 1978 film – disregarding all the other films. Green set out to create a new trilogy within the franchise, the next chapter being this year’s Halloween Kills. Though Carpenter is not acting as director or taking part in the writing of these films, his creative contributions take form in each of the film’s musical scores.
While Carpenter is acknowledged so often for his filmmaking, the impact of his music cannot go ignored. There’s an interesting story where, upon sharing the original Halloween with an executive – where no music or sound was present – said producer did not like the film. It wasn’t until the executive saw Halloween with its score that it captivated them.
Throughout so many of his films Carpenter has created his own scores; his passion for electronic music coming to him early in life, partially thanks to his father’s musical work and discovering the synthesizer through the science fiction film Forbidden Planet (1956). This latter point has been of great influence on him throughout his career, electronic music making for the overwhelming musical presence in his films. Even in his personal material the synthesizer is a strong component within his craft. It’s an instrument heavily used throughout the horror genre – its sounds straddling auras tranquil, unsettling, ethereal. Speaking to the synthesizer’s prominence and relationship to horror, Carpenter says, “It’s [used because it’s] cheap, that’s why. I don’t know why that connection is there, but the synthesizer has a unique sound. It’s like none other; I knew that early on.”
Whether making his own music or scoring Halloween Kills, Carpenter works alongside his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies. In starting work on the soundtrack for this film, Carpenter expresses what he and the team brought into the scoring process. “We started on the Halloween movies with two things. One, we have the midi from the original score; by that I mean, we have the original score I did years ago – the various songs with that. Then we tend to update them, adapt them, and use parts of them there and there. Once we’re dealing with the movie and we’re watching it, then we can work with new material – that’s all improvised.”
Part of this updating comes in the form of the revamped Halloween theme – perhaps one of the most iconic songs in horror next to The Exorcist theme. This time around, the song kicks with an added industrial tinged bass, an added choir-like singing section sprinkled there and there. Compared to the late ‘70s, there’s so much more musicians can do today with audio equipment – with such new innovations inspiring Carpenter’s reinterpretation on the classic tune. “[There] are brand new sounds that are constantly being updated,” he says in discussing the restyled take on the Halloween theme. “That’s where the inspiration comes from. Brand new sounds, it’s unbelievable. We’ve come a long way since 1978.”
When working on the music for Halloween Kills, Carpenter tends to approach the material knowing that a tone will be involved, while primarily relying on having the visuals present before him. “I generally know what I want to do in terms of atmosphere [coming into a film], but we score to the movie. It’s exact; I want the final cut in my computer and then we start scoring to it. I don’t think about [particular musical ideas] ahead of time.” In further discussing how he translates image/action to music, he shares, “There is no one rule for all of it. Depends on where we are in the story, or what the characters are involved in or generally the thematic material going on. There are a lot of things taken into account. But there are no rules. Sometimes you can counterintuitively score something; go in the other direction, go soft, quiet – sometimes that works.”
Much like the previous soundtrack, the material on the Halloween Kills soundtrack displays an array of sonic intrigue; from gently flowing compositions stirring with mystique, to the most riveting of adrenaline rushes, eliciting the feel of a stalker in pursuit of his prey. One such track that reflects the latter is the record’s first single, “Unkillable.” “It was fun to see it take shape,” Carpenter states regarding the origin of the song. “We just went with the scene; the scene guided us.”
While most of Carpenter’s time with Halloween is now predominantly based around music, the passion for his and Hill’s character is still ever present. Yet though Michael tends to get a lot of the attention from fans, Green’s films aim to elevate that of 1978’s final girl – Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Curtis has appeared in other Halloween films since the first two, however, the Laurie in this new trilogy displays new depth – a woman hurt by horrific trauma, yet also strengthened, ready to face her demon head on. Given that progression and all Curtis has done in her career, Carpenter is beyond proud of her. “Jamie’s awesome. She well deserved the [Golden Lion for Lifetime] Achievement award at the Venice Film Festival. She has developed into such a fine actress – she is a force of nature. Her character [Laurie] – she is a person.”
Whereas other iconic slashers have had their fair share of reboots/remakes over the years, Halloween by far has been among one of the more adapted works (for good and bad). But for Carpenter, these tributes and interpretations bring a great joy. “It’s fabulous. All of this is fabulous. Never expected this. It comes out of nowhere; it’s great, it’s a gift. Everything about the movie business is surreal. There’s nothing normal about it.” He expresses added praise for Green’s vision and what he has done with Halloween’s story and its characters. “[David] is a really talented director. He took Halloween by the throat. I’m very impressed with him as a director.” And these aren’t just nice words, for Carpenter is thrilled for Halloween Kills. “[The film] kicks ass. It’s the ultimate slasher movie. This is a horror film times ten. That’s what I love!”
Though its sometime away, Carpenter waits with equal excitement and patience in scoring Green’s final entry in this new Halloween trilogy, Halloween Ends. As far as potential musical ideas, Carpenter stands by his practice. “We are going to wait and see. The tone of the movie is the most important thing, where the characters go is the most important thing. We’ll wait and see. It’ll be great I tell you.”
I and Bloody Disgusting would like to thank John Carpenter for his time in partaking with this interview. You can catch Halloween Kills in theatres and on Peacock this weekend.
Of all the places to find a coven of witches, the attic above a Christian youth camp is probably the last place you’d think to look. But that’s just what we find in Camp, a surrealist nightmare of feminist empowerment from Canadian filmmaker Avalon Fast.
Emily (Zola Grimmer) is still reckoning with her involvement in a horrific tragedy when she accidentally contributes to the death of her best friend, Charlie (Giselle Morison). Unable to move on, the traumatized teen takes a job at a rural summer camp, hoping to forget her own sorrows by looking after at-risk kids. She quickly connects with a counselor named Clara (Alice Wordsworth) and finds comfort in her close-knit group of female friends. But a mysterious whisper from deep in the woods warns that they may be leading her down a darker path.
Fast burst onto the scene in 2022 with Honeycomb, a psychological horror film that follows a burgeoning matriarchy. Known for their focus on “Girl Horror” stories, the talented young filmmaker tackles similar themes in Camp as Emily leaves the modern world behind to embrace a dark vision of self-discovery through magic.
Ahead of the film’s U.S. release on June 26, Bloody Disgusting sat down with Fast to chat about the nebulous nature of good vs. evil and the intoxicating power of female-driven horror.
Bloody Disgusting: What inspired this unique story? Did you go to religious summer camps when you were young?
Avalon Fast: I did. I went to lots of different summer camps, but all of them were primarily Bible camps. The memory I have of camp is kind of strange. I was very homesick as a kid, and I didn’t necessarily enjoy all my time there. I definitely remember meeting some interesting girls at camp and having that presence of religion hovering around the whole experience.
BD: I really love the film’s gorgeous natural setting. Camp is the kind of surrealist nightmare that you don’t just watch. You feel it too. How did you approach creating this world?
AF: Well, a huge part of it was working with my cinematographer Eily Sprungman, who’s a very close friend. We spent years prepping, shot listing, storyboarding, and mood boarding. She’d had a similar experience to mine. We grew up around the same place, and so we understood each other’s visions from the get-go. But there are so many other pieces that came together. The costuming, the art, and the animated sequences were done by Sofiya Iurkevych. One of our producers, Taylor Nodrick, was obsessed with shooting on Super 8 film. I’ve always wanted to as well, so all the memory sequences were shot on Super 8. It was just a lot of people with an understanding and a vision for what this project was. I’m really happy with the way it turned out.
To the extent that you’re comfortable sharing, what’s your relationship to witchcraft, and what does Camp have to say about modern witches?
Well, that’s the question of Camp. It’s not that I don’t resonate with any of these things, but I specifically wanted Camp to be a little bit ambiguous around what witchcraft looks like. Is this witchcraft? Are these girls witches? Emily explicitly asks if that’s what’s happening here, and the answer isn’t yes. The film isn’t going to answer that question for you. My relationship to magic and witchcraft? It’s tough. I feel like there’s so much magic, connection, and spirituality that comes from these friendships, the closeness of these women, and what’s happening around them. A lot of what Camp is trying to say or show is just that magic can come out of friendship.
I loved watching these female friendships develop. And you’re right. No one ever says the word “coven,” but you can feel that connection, and you can see a change in Emily as those relationships grow. I’m also really fascinated with the way Camp plays with the idea of good and evil. At one point, Clara says, “Maybe God drew us to the devil,” which stopped me in my tracks. How do you view witchcraft or the magic these girls are experiencing in regard to good and evil?
That was such a huge part of the script’s construction. The story is really trying to keep a balance between those two things. I like asking people if they think these girls are good or bad, because I feel like a lot of people come out of the film thinking one or the other. They’ll say things like “thank God Emily found her people” or “God, I really wish she’d gone home.” I just don’t think there’s ever an answer. I wanted to explore the idea of going down the wrong path, especially coming out of grief. What makes you a bad person, and does healing mean you’re looking to become a better person? I don’t have an answer, but I do feel like that’s a huge part of what Camp is asking. What is good? What is bad? Why did God bring me to the devil?
Yes, because this is all happening at “God camp” in Emily’s words. So how can both of those things exist at the same time? Along those lines, I’m also fascinated by the voice Emily hears in the woods. Without spoiling too much, what is this voice asking, and what is required in return?
Emily comes to camp with a shout into the void, asking can anyone hear me? Does anyone want to? And it’s answered so clearly by these girls, specifically responding only with love, care, support, and trust. It’s like her prayers were answered. It doesn’t mean that everything is going to be alright, but Emily is looking for peace. She’s looking for a moment where she feels pure good. And I think, even at its surface level, she does get that experience.
Personally, I don’t really think people are good or bad. I think we all exist somewhere in the middle. Camp centers traditionally villainized characters, but that’s where Emily seems to find her peace, however you choose to define it.
I also wanted to show the experience of having decided that you are a bad person, you’ve made mistakes, and you feel cursed. Then when you meet other people who have done things that you would consider worse, you can actually feel good in their presence. You feel like less of a bad person. I think that’s a huge part of the story as well. Emily’s finding her version of other fucked up people, and she feels less fucked up around them. I’ve found that in my own life. It’s a cool thing. I don’t think it’s bad.
I don’t think it’s bad either. It’s finding your home, your people. We meet Emily in the aftermath of unthinkable trauma. Is this a story about mental health and healing?
Witnessing it myself. witnessing other people experience tragedy and then move through grief, you hear a lot of talk about healing or coming out the other side. There’s so much conversation around what that looks like, with self-care and showing up for yourself. I always felt really averse to it. It annoyed me. I think the beginning of the film speaks to that. The therapeutic version of what getting help looks like is obviously very different from what Camp is showing. And again, I don’t have an answer for what you’re supposed to do. But I think that’s another question I was asking: how do you heal? Do you heal at all? Is that the end goal, or are we just trying to get better? It’s something I experienced in my own grief. And the answer, for me, at least now, is just that I’m not looking to get better. So I felt like I hadn’t. I found it hard to find people to have those conversations with. And I think that’s what I ultimately wanted to make a film about.
I love that unanswered question. In my own experience, I’ve had to reframe what healing actually looks like. There’s not really an endpoint. It’s just finding a way to keep going. There’s also an element of sacrifice in this story, particularly regarding another counselor named Jo (Sophie Bawks-Smith). What role does she play in Emily’s journey?
For me, Jo is this human embodiment of Charlie, Emily’s friend. As Jo, she had a life at this camp before meeting Emily, and then was kind of taken over by Charlie’s spirit. I think a lot of people view Emily’s final choice as horrendous and tragic. In a way it is, but for me, if Jo becomes her angel, it’s almost like a self-sacrifice. Jo knows that by sacrificing herself, she’ll be giving Emily power to move forward. In the original script, the girls were supposed to bring out another counselor, JB (Aidan Laudersmith), and burn his body. But I just thought, there’s no way sacrificing this guy could give the girls enough power. There’s just no way, right? Logically, that just didn’t line up for me.
I’m glad you mentioned JB, because he has his own tragic arc. How do men factor into the world of Camp?
The way men factor into my world is so bizarre. I have such little respect for them in my films, which is something I’ve been called on. I think I have to challenge myself in the future to make a movie about a boy because, these boys … It’s not that the men in my films aren’t redeemable, but there’s no depth to these characters. They’re just treated with such disrespect. I don’t know why I do that, actually. That’s something for me to look into. It was the same with Honeycomb. They’re just such peripheral characters. I’ve had people ask about Kayne (Henri Gillespi), the scary guy at the fire, what happens to him? I just think, I don’t know. I don’t care. That’s not the point of the story.
Well, I can say after a lifetime of watching women on the periphery of the story, the course correction feels nice. In a similar vein, I’m in love with your homepage, avalonfast.com. There’s an image of girls on a film set and then a still from Honeycomb in which a blood-covered girl is screaming at the sky. And in the middle, it just says Girl Horror. It’s a really powerful statement that gives me chills. How do you define Girl Horror, and what draws you to these types of stories?
I was obsessed with the term when I started making my movies. It was something I’d come up with to kind of brand myself and describe what I was doing. Then I went through a period where I felt like it was a bit gender exclusive and didn’t interest me as much. But now I’ve come full circle on the term. I think it’s a bit of a commentary on youth and the horror of growing up female. But I think everybody can relate to that experience. I don’t want it to feel like this exclusive thing, that I make movies exclusively for girls, because I don’t think I do. I’m interested in exploring what Girl Horror means. Originally, it was just a title, something I came up with, and now it’s become something that resonates with people. You said it gave you chills. That’s cool for me to hear because there’s obviously some depth there.
Are you working on anything new?
Yes. I am actually making a movie about a boy. That’s the next thing.
That’s exciting! The more I think about feminism, the more I end up coming back to men and boys, because they have a place in the world of Girl Horror too.
Absolutely. It’s all just part of being human.
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