This aspect of a horror film is one of the most important in helping to create a specific mood for a scene. An effective use of music can help to manipulate the emotions of the audience in the intended way.

Although there is a diverse range in the music that is used throughout different horror films, some common conventions include:

Long suspenseful notes, often contrasted with short sharp notes to shock the audience.

Intentional and extreme changes of pitch- e.g- Long low brass notes which suddenly change to very fast high pitched notes to make the audience feel immediate tension.

Isolated instruments are often used just before a key event occurs, and this gives a sense of isolation, which could link to the idea of vulnerability and build anticipation.

Chaotic sounds- To contrast with the last point, many high impact moments within horror films include a diverse range of music and sound effects all happening at once to distort the audiences perspective and cause confusion and fear.

Many effects that are commonly used within a soundtrack to a horror film can include:

Echoed voices- This creates a ghostly feel and can heighten the audiences senses.

Alien Effects- Sound effects that will capture the audiences attention, as they do not sound humanely natural.

Classics- There are many sounds which have spooky connotations which make them iconic and recognisable to an audience such as- Bats, crows squawking, owls hooting, witches cackling, church bells ringing, cats meowing etc...

Many voices within horror are chosen to reflect fear. An example of this is the voice used by jigsaw in the SAW films. His voice works effectively to create fear because it is very distinct, and therefore stands out from other characters. This creates an immediate sense of fear every time that the voice is heard.

His voice also works well because its deep tone, with a husky filter added to make it seem unnatural, demonic and powerful.