John Carpenter’s Lost Themes
John Carpenter
(Sacred Bones)
Two stars
John Carpenter will always be best known as a giant in the world of horror movies. His 1978 classic Halloween pretty much invented the slasher genre, while his 1983 adaptation of Stephen King's Christine made cars into an evil conduit no one previously thought possible, and 1982's The Thing is a textbook on isolated terror.
It’s sad that this is what the 67-year-old American filmmaker will largely be remembered for, given the glut of poor-quality, straight-to-video variations released following his success, ultimately leading to him being dubbed the creator of an increasingly awful genre.
Another facet of Carpenter’s career destined to be perpetually overlooked is that he also provided the soundtrack for most his films. Of his 28 directorial credits (according to IMDb), 22 feature him as composer.
Carpenter, whose The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970), won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, isn't the first horror legend to dabble with album releases. The English actor Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man) is perhaps Carpenter's most famous peer on that front. But while the playful Lee released compilations of heavy-metal covers of Christmas songs and outrageous rock operas, Carpenter's solo debut, Lost Themes, has him playing it straight.
The opening track Vortex drags the listener in with its spooky 1980s-sounding synths and rifftastic guitars – exactly what you'd hope for from a vortex.
The rest of the album continues in a similar vein. Every track has a title seemingly lifted from a B-list 1980s goth band's forgotten second album (Abyss, Wraith, Mystery).
Purgatory is the standout. Its gentle classical strings give way to disconcerting broken beats before violent piano stabs arrive and conclude in a relentless repetition suggesting the title's place of suffering.
While it's all competent, Lost Themes lives up to its name: it eventually sounds like nine horror themes in search of a film. Make that an 80s horror film.
Also, it's hard to tell who Lost Themes is aimed at. It would be great as a backing track for, let's say, a night-time drive through your local haunted forest, or an 80s horror-themed party. Beyond that, it seems safe to assume that most fans of horror would rather listen to Carpenter's album accompanied by images of a teenager being chased down a dark corridor, while fans of bombastic 1980s synth rock are probably already satiated with shelves full of Rush and Yes albums.
Lost Themes is available on Amazon.
