Halloween Kills (soundtrack)

"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."

— John Carpenter, on scoring the new Halloween instalments.[3]

John who also scored for the 1978 film, had modernised the original theme from the film, with different sounds and approaches, as he did for the soundtrack of the 2018 reboot,[4] as he felt that "[There] are brand new sounds that are constantly being updated. That’s where the inspiration comes from",[3] appreciating the modern innovations applied in this generation.[3] He, along with Cody and Davies, had worked on the score before 2019, as the film was shot back-to-back with Halloween Ends (2022), and scoring was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

As with all of his ventures, John had begun scoring the film, only after watching the final cut as "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."[3] Like the first film's soundtrack, the music of Kills rely on the sonic and electronic music, with gentle compositions turning into adrenaline rushes in the latter half.[3][6] According to Green, "his [John] music does both of those things, too. You'll see sometimes it's very methodical and slow-paced and pulsating. Other times, it's just a frenzy of synthesizers."[7]

Halloween Kills' soundtrack, containing the original score, is led by two singles. Coinciding the album's announcement, the first song "Unkillable" was released on August 19, 2021,[8][9] which was followed by the second song "Rampage" was released on September 7,[10][11][12] and the third track "Michael's Legend" released on September 25.[13] A single titled "Hunter's Moon" performed by the Swedish rock band Ghost, was released on September 30; although the track was not featured in the soundtrack, it would play in the film's end credits.[14][15]

Sacred Bones Records released the soundtrack exclusively through ITunes on October 14, 2021,[16] and expanded widely through digital media services, the following day.[16][17] The album was later released in CD, LP and cassettes.[18] Sacred Bones and Waxwork Records collaborated for releasing the soundtrack in vinyl, under the catalog code SBR-263. The copies consisted on 13 editions, with multi-color variants, available in different stores, packaging and titles in several regions. These editions are priced from £150 (US$205.48) to £2,000 (US$2,739.73).[19] In conjunction with the album release, Sacred Bones marketed the album in a "Trick or Treat" tote bag, priced at £15 (US$20.55), featuring an artwork of Michael Myers character.[20] The following are the vinyl variants released in multiple formats:[18]

The review aggregator Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned Halloween (Original 2018 Motion Picture Soundtrack) a score of 72 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21] Spectrum Culture's Will Pinfold gave 77/100 to the score and wrote "John Carpenter’s soundtrack to the latest Halloween movie is all that one would expect – entirely predictable, but it nevertheless effortlessly rises above mere pastiche."[22] David Weaver of Clash wrote "While casual listeners might find the overall listen a bit sparse, there’s no doubt it’s the perfect soundtrack to a Halloween party, or indeed a Halloween Movie. It might not be re-writing the rulebook, but when the rulebook you wrote is so simply effective in the first place, why change it?"[23] Heather Phares of Allmusic wrote "It all goes to show that Carpenter's 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."[24]

Hanna Collins of Buzz Magazine, gave 3/5 to the album and wrote "Part of the umpteenth attempt to reboot the slow-walking series, Kills’ music keeps it in the family: Carpenter is joined by son Cody and godson Daniel Davies. The result is a nostalgic blend of twinkling synth, brooding soundscapes and punchy drumbeats that’ll sneak up on you between tracks. Not something to kick back and relax with – unless you’re Michael Myers – but full of the thrills and chills you’d want to wile away a cold, dark night from an artist who remains at the peak of his craft, 40 years on."[25] Filmtracks.com wrote "Overall, the score hits all the right basic notes but sounds incredibly cheap given the filmmakers' intent to instill a greater sense of gravity in this score. The impact simply isn't there, most cues neglecting to generate even moderate doses of dread, and only the most avid franchise enthusiasts will appreciate the continued variations on the main theme and its rhythm [...] None of these modes of presentation will convince you that anything's new or scary in this sequel, however, the music and its creator potentially running out of inspiration even if the body count mercilessly continues to climb."[26]