Sacred Bones Records, out October 18

John Carpenter and his Lost Themes compadres score David Gordon Green’s direct follow up to the 1978 horror classic with a propulsive 44 minutes of retro synth, piano and guitar goodness.

You know when you’re really looking forward to a record so much that you don’t want to listen to it in case it disappoints? When John Carpenter was announced as scoring this movie I shared such a concern. His work on the two Lost Themes albums and tour showed that he still ‘had it’ and surely he wasn’t going to drop the ball with his most widely-known theme? The version of the theme on the Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998 gave us a pretty good idea of what we could look forward to, and… long sigh of relief… it doesn’t disappoint in its latest form.

The album is co-credited to John Carpenter, his son Cody Carpenter (on synths) and godson Daniel Davies (on guitar), the same ensemble from the recent albums and tours. But unlike Lost Themes where the trio were creating tracks for unmade films, or Anthology where they were reprising the Horror Master’s back catalogue, this time they were scoring specifically to the cut of a new film. In 1978 Carpenter was composer because he couldn’t afford to hire one – 40 years later he’s the one being hired.

After the Intro, a low rumble with echoing synth chords, we get three minutes of the Halloween Theme, and it’s great to hear this fresh arrangement of that 5/4 refrain. Laurie’s Theme is a piano-led 45-second snatch of track, and it’s Prison Montage where we get our first significant new theme, again with a dominant base line that’s built up with synthetic layers.

Michael Kills Again is particularly tense, an urgent, persistent tick tick tick against strident guitar strums, the Halloween refrain coming in at the end. The Shape Returns welcomes back ‘surprise’ sting, bookending this track, which has a variation on the main theme for the first minute, dipping out and coming back with a vengeance at the end.

Other highlights are The Bogeyman, a slower tempo, more reflective piano solo; the crash and bang of The Shape Kills; and another secondary new theme in The Shape Hunts Allyson. Or you could just skip to Halloween Triumphant, a glorious 7:30 minute (end credits?) jam with guitar riffing on the classic theme.

Verdict: It’s been 36 years since John Carpenter has had direct involvement with a Halloween movie. To have him back as an executive producer and composer is a double treat, and he rips into this movie soundtrack keener than The Shape’s blade. Retro and fresh at the same time, Carpenter fans will already have this on order, for those on the fence it’s a must-buy. 10/10

Nick Joy