Film is a visual medium that has been shaped by the soundtracks that adorn them. Since the days of silent films music has been the driving force when it comes to story, pace and the building of tension. The latter being particularly true when it came to silent movies, owing to the era in which many of these movies were made special effects were at a …show more content…
Yet, as Robyn Stilwell has pointed out about film sound in general, we can’t cover our ears with the same certain of muting the unwanted sounds as we can avert our gaze to stop seeing something” (Lerner, 2010). When it came to film music, horror films allowed for greater experimentation in regards to harmony and instrumentation. Due to the nature of horror films where the intention is to scare and make one feel uneasy it wasn’t uncommon for soundtracks to be effects laden or to have sudden stinger chord. Horrors films were noted in playing music and visual against each other where the most tonal and non eventful of soundtracks took new meaning when put over gruesome scenes, it was this oxymoron that would cause the unease in the viewer (Lerner,