An aural history of scary movies, and the Foley art and design that make them great.
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Horror movies are a tennis match between the haunting absence of sound and the maximalist assault of big noise.
Flesh emits a powerful constellation of gooey noises in aHostelmovie, and leather tightening is positively stentorian.
Watch enough scary movies, and you start to recognize the acoustic pattern.
Elsewhere in their office is an old chamois responsible for a shocking array of gushy sounds.
(And by sounds, we mean anything but scripted conversation and score.)
Body Trauma
These are the throw-up sounds.
The bone breaks and the gut stabs and the amputations that make you dry heave.
Or the rib crack, if you want.
People are big gooey sacks of meat, after all.
There are vegetarian options, too.
Vivisection is all about getting someones insides on the outside.
Deadly Vocals
A violation of the body isnt the only way to unnerve a horror fan.
you could create an entire claustrophobic universe of fear with one simple sound: heavy breathing.
Its the sound of human panic, of animalistic exertion, and a body under stress.
He recorded in and out of the mask for a variety of effects.
What is so awful about that throaty croak some demons and ghosts and little kids let loose?
Is it the sound of the devil himself?
The call of some prehistoric predator we are genetically determined to fear?
Its an indescribable death rattle, the croak that lets you know hell is near.
Shimizus parents hated it, but the actual human guttural moan made cinematic history anyway.
The Kaiju Bellow
Example: the Godzilla shrieks inGodzilla(1954 and 2014).
If any creature deserves its own category, its the kaiju.
Jump ahead 60 years and the sound pros on 2014Godzillatook a more composite approach.
That was enhanced with the low-end sounds of rocks crunching.
What do dinosaurs, Predators, and cenobites all have in common?
But in world far removed fromDistant Drums, primal screams sound a little different.
To create the foundation for the otherworldly scream of the pod people, Burtt used the squealing of pigs.
You recruit several people to do the job.
Malevolent Notifications
Its not that technology is evil.
Its that the things people do with technology are evil.
The Apocalypse Is Nigh!
Siren
Examples: the siren inSilent Hill,the commencement horn inThe Purge.
A pastime of horror filmmakers must be creating novel phobias.
Who among us would drive behind a timber lorry after watchingFinal Destination 2?
And is there anyone willing to reach down their hand to unstick a garbage disposal?
It is the wood chipper of kitchen tools.
Freddy Kruegers Knives
Examples: Freddy Kreugers knives scraping a pipe inNightmare on Elm Street.
A machete produced the ringing blade sound, while surgical steel blades imparted a sharper pitch.
Foley artist Marilee Yorston mixed her own version of azhingbelow.
In terms of jump scares in horror movies, the originalCat Peoplereally was that bitch.
A Lewton Bus is whenever you have an interjecting fake-out scare.
Its the valve release, but its not the main event.
Its just a diversion.
Stalker Steps
Examples: Irena inCat People,Brad Dourif following the diner-goer inNight School.
This results in its constant, stable sound.
In a less technical sense, white noise is also where evil lives!
