Halloween Kills (Expanded Edition)

When Halloween Kills appeared in the midst of John Carpenters renaissance in the 2010s and 2020s, it was clear that the creative juices between him, his son Cody Carpenter, and godson Daniel Davies were in full flow. As with their soundtrack to Halloween [2018], which kicked off a new trilogy of films in the venerable horror movie franchise, the music for the second installment is classic Carpenter, albeit fuller and richer-sounding than it was on 1978s original Halloween. Carpenter and his team find even more ways to reinterpret Halloweens classic theme, whether piling mountains of synths on it (Halloween Kills Main Title), setting it to a four-on-the-floor beat (Halloween Kills End Titles), and even inverting it (as on the clever Reflection). Aside from these cues, Gather the Mob, which features the pulsing synth that launched a thousand Carpenter imitators, is one of the most iconic-sounding tracks here. Halloween Kills enhanced sonic palette is still remarkably economical, especially when compared to the glorious excesses of the Lost Themes albums. Carpenter and company make the most of their electronics and guitars on From the Fire, where infernally heavy chords and creeping synths chase ever-quickening percussion, and on Cruel Intentions, a fittingly slashing and stalking piece that feels traditional but never predictable. That goes for the rest of Halloween Kills, which expertly balances jump scares like He Appears, twisted sound design collages like Let It Burn, and a few pensive moments that let the audience catch its breath like Strodes at the Hospital. It all goes to show that Carpenters knack for composing scores that are entertaining in their own right is alive and well, and just as engrossing nearly half a century after the first Halloween slashed its way onto the silver screen. ~ Heather Phares