‘Halloween’ Reboot: Hear John Carpenter’s Reworked Michael Myers Theme

Four decades after he wrote the ominous, off-kilter piano theme that added suspense to the original Halloween, filmmaker John Carpenter has reworked it for the upcoming reboot of the flick. The new version of “The Shape Returns” – masked madman Michael Myers was referred to as “The Shape” in the original script – features contributions both from Carpenter’s son, Cody, and the son of the Kinks’ Dave Davies, Daniel Davies. It’s heavy on atmospheric synths, jolting rhythms and the icy theme that everyone associates with the Halloween movies.

The track will feature on the soundtrack for the reboot, which comes out on October 19th – the same day as the movie’s release. Director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, Eastbound & Down) helmed the reboot, which he co-wrote with comic actor Danny McBride and Vice Principals producer Jeff Fradley. It features actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer.

“It was transforming,” Carpenter said about revisiting his score in a statement. “It was not a movie I directed, so I had a lot of freedom in creating the score and getting into the director’s head. I was proud to serve David Gordon Green’s vision.”

Carpenter explained in a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone how he came up with the iconic theme. “My father taught me how to play the bongos,” he said. “He taught me 5/4 time when I was about 13 year old. All I did was sit down at a piano and play octaves and went up a half-step. That’s the Halloween theme. It has to be [simple] because I’m playing it. I have minimal chops as a musician.”

In related news, Daniel Davies recently issued a solo album, Events Score, that continues the music he’s made with Carpenter both on the Halloween soundtrack and on the filmmaker’s Lost Themes albums. The album’s “Shadows Alive” was recently one of Rolling Stone’s Songs You Need to Know.