Hear Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross’ Chilling Take on ‘Halloween’ Theme

In celebration of Friday the 13th – and the release of John Carpenter‘s Anthology –Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross released their own version of the director/composer’s chilling Halloween theme.

“I clearly remember my friends and I at 13 years old conning our parents into letting us see Halloween when it came out in 1978,” Reznor said in a statement. “We left the theater forever changed. We were damaged and scarred, with the shit genuinely scared out of us and that theme stuck firmly in our heads. John Carpenter, it’s your fault that I turned out the way I did.”

“John Carpenter’s Halloween by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross” opens with one minute of gathering white noise before small motifs from Carpenter’s Halloween score begin emerging. The layers build in visceral cacophony until the music abruptly stops at the two-minute mark and the classic Halloween theme begins.

The Nine Inch Nails singer, along with collaborator Ross, stayed faithful to Carpenter’s theme, adding only atmosphere and gloom to the original melody.

Carpenter said of the cover in a statement, “Moody and dark, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ version of ‘Halloween’ does amazing justice to the original. I’m impressed.”

“John Carpenter’s Halloween by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross” is available to download or stream on all major digital music services.

On October 20th, Carpenter will release his Anthology: Movie Themes 1974 – 1998, a collection of rerecorded movie themes from throughout the director/composer’s career. Carpenter also returned to filmmaking after a lengthy hiatus to direct the video for Anthology‘s “Christine.”

Revisit Carpenter’s original Halloween theme from 1978 below: