That Sounds Scary

If every film benefits from the inclusion of sound, then horror film genre takes advantage of it. From the dooming deep “alarm” sound of thrillers (see “the Inception horn SFX” for a popular example) to strikes of an orchestra at the height of gruesome murder (I’m sure you’re thinking of Psycho), audio elements can drive both the horror film and audience into a fearful state. English professor Steffen Hantke writes in his book over horror films’ marketability that “…cinematic horror have depended on sound effects - from foley bursts to musical cues - to achieve their visceral impact.” 13 Sound just helps make horror films that much more internally horrific.

 

This ability to make a genre, film, even a moment of time more impactful is what composer Michel Chion describes as the “added value” of sound. 6 This is the "expressive and informative value with which a sound enriches a given image so as to create the definite impression [of the moment].” Arguing that film is truly an audio-visual experience, sound does not just carry an emotional impact, but an informative one as well. Even silent film was accompanied with some kind of audial stimuli- whether it was an orchestra, a benshi, or an actor’s imagined voice in our head- sounds are married with images, for better or for worse. Horror films use sound for worse; it’s “added value” of sound usually triggering grim, nerve-racking, “visceral impacts” audiences have come to enjoy when watching horror.     

 

On a more scientific level, studies have found that certain sound frequencies and levels can trigger physiological and neurological fear-inducing results when heard by the human ear. Curtis B. Macintyre studied infrasound, amongst other types of sound in his report “Infrasound, Auditory Driving, and Nonlinear Sound in horror film sound effects”. He notes that infrasound, or sound with frequencies below the human threshold of hearing, can produce physiological effects. It does take a special kind of speaker, a subwoofer, to emit the sound, but if heard by an audience at the right time the result can be intense. Infrasound can cause “nausea, respiratory problems, decreased mood, sensations of fear, and mild visual hallucinations” on humans. 17 Luckily, few filmmakers use infrasound, but many do utilize low frequencies- which cause similar, but less extreme effects on audiences.

 

Furthermore, in an experiment of “sound energy events”, moments where sound, music, and frequencies are manipulated to produce ‘energy’ (an effect on the audience and/or within the film), researchers found that certain sound energy events and its frequencies reaffirm genre types. In the end, concluding that sound could detect 92.9% of the horrific scenes within their sample film selections. 18

 

So what sounds specifically signify horror? According to Dr. Peter Hutchings, who is widely published within horror film studies, there are four main features of horror film soundtracks. 14 Click here to check them out!