Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Horror Studies
  4. Volume 13, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 13, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2040-3275
  • E-ISSN: 2040-3283

Abstract

This article examines the soundtrack and score for Ari Aster’s 2018 film , illustrating how the sound design heightens the film’s emotional and psychological impact by delivering unseen elements of the narrative auditorily and through its inclusion of sonic elements that can directly affect audience members physiologically. ’s narrative is strongly supported by musician Colin Stetson’s evocative score, which relies heavily upon his ability to coax unusual sounds from reed instruments by using uncommon fingerings, accompanying vocalizations, percussive key striking and circular breathing. After a brief synopsis and examination of the film’s themes, the article delves into particular elements that make ’s soundscape so effective, including the Shepard tone, infrasound, subliminal and corporeal sounds, and the use of silence, exploring in-depth how the sound design supports and enriches the film by building tension, enhancing dread, triggering fear and delivering unseen narrative information in a shorthand way. The article also has a wider application in that it discusses how the critical-yet under-theorized element of sound design is crucial to horror entertainments’ ability to create affect in a variety of ways and shows how the sonic components used in have a demonstrated efficacy as shown by their use in a wide variety of horror films and thrillers.

© 2022 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/host_00050_1
2022-04-01
2025-12-14
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aster, A.. ( 2018a), Hereditary, USA:: A24 Films LLC;.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Aster, A.. ( 2018b;), ‘ Hi, I’m Ari Aster, writer/director of HEREDITARY, AMA!. ’, Reddit, 15 June, https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/8rbjj7/hi_im_ari_aster_writerdirector_of_hereditary_ama/. Accessed 20 May 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bishop, B.. ( 2018;), ‘ How Hereditary composer Colin Stetson made the movie “feel evil”: Vocals, clarinets, and strings that sound like bats. ’, The Verge, 12 June, https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/12/17451100/hereditary-composer-colin-stetson-interview. Accessed 26 February 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Bremrose, B.. ( 2017;), ‘ Colin Stetson: All this I do for glory. ’, review, Drowned in Sound, 24 April, http://drownedinsound.com/releases/19902/reviews/4150970. Accessed 5 June 2019.
  5. Carpenter, J.. ( 1978), Halloween, USA:: Compass International Pictures;.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Carpenter, J.. ( 1980), The Fog, USA:: AVCO Embassy Pictures;.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Cavalcanti, A.. ( 1985;), ‘ Sound in films. ’, in E. Weis, and J. Belton. (eds), Film Sound: Theory and Practice, New York:: Columbia University Press;, pp. 98–111.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Chion, M.. ( 1994), Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen (ed. and trans. C. Gorbman.), New York:: Columbia University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Cunningham, S. S.. ( 1980), Friday the 13th, USA:: Paramount Pictures;.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Doane, M. A.. ( 1985;), ‘ Ideology and the practice of sound editing and mixing. ’, in E. Weis, and J. Belton. (eds), Film Sound: Theory and Practice, New York:: Columbia University Press;, pp. 54–62.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Fitzmaurice, L.. ( 2018;), ‘ The most terrifying movie of the year, Hereditary, has Colin Stetson to thank. ’, Pitchfork, 7 June, https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/colin-stetson-hereditary-score-interview/. Accessed 5 June 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Foutch, H.. ( 2018;), ‘ Ari Aster on “Hereditary” and the 3-hour cut we might never see. ’, Collider, 10 June, http://collider.com/hereditary-interview-ari-aster/. Accessed 6 June 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Haubursin, C.. ( 2018;), ‘ The sound illusion that makes Dunkirk so intense. ’, Vox, 5 March, https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/7/26/16033868/dunkirk-soundtrack-shepard-tone. Accessed 20 May 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Jacobs, M.. ( 2018;), ‘ The agony and ecstasy of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”, an inescapable soundtrack song. ’, Huffington Post, 18 December, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/both-sides-now-joni-mitchell-soundtrack-song_n_5c13fc42e4b049efa7522982. Accessed 17 June 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Lane, A.. ( 2018;), ‘ “Hereditary” delivers a new kind of horror. ’, The New Yorker, 8 June, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/06/18/hereditary-delivers-a-new-kind-of-horror. Accessed 20 May 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Lang, F.. ( 1931), M, Germany:: Vereinigte Star-Film GmbH;.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Lerner, N.. ( 2010;), ‘ Foreword: Music and screen media series. ’, in N. Lerner. (ed.), Music in the Horror Film: Listening to Fear, New York:: Routledge;, p. vii.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Leventhall, G.. ( 2007;), ‘ What is infrasound?. ’ Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 93:1–3, pp. 130–37.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Mirabal, M.. ( 2018;), ‘ Hereditary: An insidious soundscape of tension and terror. ’, Birth.Movies.Death., 4 June, https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2018/06/04/hereditary-an-insidious-soundscape-of-tension-and-terror. Accessed 20 May 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Noé, G.. ( 2002), Irreversible, France:: Mars Distribution;.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Nolan, C.. ( 2017), Dunkirk, USA:: Warner Bros;.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Polanski, R.. ( 1965), Repulsion, UK:: Compton Films;.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Quinlivan, D.. ( 2009;), ‘ Breath control: The sound and sight of respiration as hyperrealist corporeality in Breaking the Waves. ’, in L. Nagib, and C. Mello. (eds), Realism and the Audiovisual Media, London:: Palgrave Macmillan;, pp. 152–63.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Sharrett, C.. ( 2018;), ‘ Hereditary: The mother again. ’, Film International, 13 June, https://filmint.nu/hereditary-mother-again/. Accessed 17 June 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Shepard, R. N.. ( 1964;), ‘ Circularity in judgments of relative pitch. ’, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 36:12, pp. 2346–53.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Tang, J.. ( 2003;), ‘ There are no bad deeds, just deeds. ’, Salon, 13 March, https://www.salon.com/2003/03/12/noe/. Accessed 26 October 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. van Elferen, I.. ( 2012), Gothic Music: The Sounds of the Uncanny, Cardiff:: University of Wales Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Walden, J.. ( 2018;), ‘ Behind the creepy sound of Hereditary (and why it’s so intense). ’, Asoundeffect, 27 June, https://www.asoundeffect.com/hereditary-sound/. Accessed 25 March 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Whittington, W.. ( 2014;), ‘ Horror sound design. ’, in H. M. Benshoff. (ed.), A Companion to the Horror Film, Malden, MA:: John Wiley and Sons;, pp. 168–85.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Zarrelli, N.. ( 2016;), ‘ How the hidden sounds of horror movie soundtracks freak you out. ’, Atlas Obscura, 31 October, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-the-hidden-sounds-of-horror-movie-soundtracks-freak-you-out. Accessed 26 October 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Zinnemann, F.. ( 1952), High Noon, USA:: United Artists;.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Kattelman, Beth. ( 2022;), ‘ The sound of evil: How the sound design of Hereditary manifests the unseen and triggers fear. ’, Horror Studies, 13:1, pp. 133–48, https://doi.org/10.1386/host_00050_1
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/host_00050_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): acoustic; Ari Aster; Colin Stetson; horror music; infrasound; Shepard tone; silence; trauma

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test