As any true horror fan knows, a scary movie lives or dies by its soundtrack. And by soundtrack, I don’t just mean its traditional musical score, although that counts too. After all, HalloweenOpens in a new tab would mostly be boring shots of Jamie Lee CurtisOpens in a new tab walking around without John Carpenter’sOpens in a new tab eerie score to make it so unsettling.
And what would The ExorcistOpens in a new tab be without those jarring stringsOpens in a new tab whenever the possessed little girl does something terrifying? Or the Friday the 13thOpens in a new tab movies without their infamous “chchch ahahahOpens in a new tab” sound effect every time a teenager goes wandering in the woods? These classic films would all be half as memorable.
Now someone has created a new musical instrument made just for creating the kinds of sounds that put us all at the edge of our seats when watching a truly good and effective horror movie. The new instrument is called “The Apprehension Engine”, and it was designed by Tony Duggan-Smith, who built this musical instrument with the very intention of using it in horror film scores.
According to the description, the instrument consists of metal rulers which are bowed, a hurdy gurdy like mechanism, a string played with an attached Ebow, a spring reverb (also played with an ebow) some long metal rods, magnets, trash, anything at all to get unnerving sounds. You can listen to a sample of the Apprehension Engine in the video down below from YouTube account Indie Film MakerOpens in a new tab:
Personally, I think folks like The ConjuringOpens in a new tab director James WanOpens in a new tab and other popular horror auteurs should be ordering their own Apprehension Engines right away. I know I kept looking for the serial killer hiding around the corner of the room just listening to it for the handful of minutes that make up that video.
What do you make of this new “musical” instrument? Should horror filmmakers be ordering one right away? Let us know what you think down below in the comments.
The Music From Halloween Still Creeps Us Out
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Images: Warner Brothers
