Why Horror Films Have Horrifying Music

A horror film is not horrifying if the music does not give you the creeps. As part of the whole process, the music plays a massive role in making the film scary. If you take the horror film and play some sweet plain music, it stops being scary. Therefore, we can say that the music plays a significant role in adding the scare to the video. For this reason, professional filmmakers ensure that the music rhymes with what is playing on the screen. The combination of what you hear and what you see gives a terrifying movie. Here is why producers include scary music in horror films.

To Provoke Fear

Hearing affects our emotions significantly. What goes through the ears can quickly evoke emotion, especially when coupled with sight. For example, when watching a dangerous scene, the background music plays a big role in provoking your fear even before the danger itself manifests. When you hear low cords and eerie sounds, you begin to fear the outcome and stay at the edge of your seat. You may even feel like you are the one in danger. By the time the danger or threat shows up on the screen, you react almost like the actor.

Scary sounds have a way of reaching into our deepest fears and bringing them to the surface. Low or deep sounds usually represent something enormous and dangerous coming your way. This arises from fears of packs of large animals, thunderstorms, and even earthquakes. Without these sounds, we may not even get the movie’s perspective. Therefore, a good horror film will use low chords, prolonged sounds, and tunes that will naturally bring out your fear.

To Keep You On the Lookout

For every human and animal, whenever we hear an uncommon sound, we tend to be alert to know what is producing it. In natural life, squeaking stairs, a thud in the basement or roof, and footsteps in the dark cause you to be on the lookout for the coming danger. When incorporated with music, these sounds cause our instincts of responding to danger to come alive. An experienced film producer will bring together low background music and these sounds to ensure you feel the sense of danger like the person you are watching. Even if something does not happen at that instance, you will always be expectant of the incoming threat and therefore enjoy the whole ride.

A good example is when you see a shadow passing at night, you may assume it’s just a shadow if the background music creates a joyful environment. However, if the accompanying music is dark and scary, you start being watchful and looking at the surroundings to know what is coming at you. The music makes a big difference.

To Bring Out the Natural Instincts

Our human mind reacts in a similar way to specific circumstances. All you need is the perfect setting, and all people will think of the same thing. A horror film will make good use of suitable sad or scary songs and tones that may be common to capture the viewers’ attention and cause them to think of a specific thing. Horror films bring out a rollercoaster of emotions in the viewers. This happens by provoking a different reaction every time horror music plays in each scene. For example, playing a lullaby song brings comfort and security to every person. Adding that to a baby crying for help will provoke everyone to want to protect the baby. The mixture of highs and lows makes the film exciting and captivates the audience. The same case happens when you hear low tones and see something that may pose a danger. This triggers your instincts to defend yourself or flee.

Music is a quick gate to people’s emotions. You can easily change a person’s mood by the kind of music you play around them. That is why film producers use this science to develop the type of music fit for provoking terror in their viewers. The images alone cannot do the trick. To create the perfect setting, you need to add suitable low, prolonged tones and other high-pitched noises. Some of the music played in scary videos may be familiar songs altered to fit the exact situation. The alterations also make those who know the song uncomfortable and on edge. You have to play around with the music properly to get the audience into the movie’s mood and capture their attention to the very end.