Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers - Original Soundtrack by Alan Howarth

AHI Records will be releasing a special Limited Edition Expanded release of HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS. The soundtrack features music composed & performed by Alan Howarth (THE LOST EMPIRE, HEADLESS) for the 1995 sequel to the popular HALLOWEEN series directed by Joe Chappelle (CHICAGO FIRE, FRINGE, THE WIRE), starring Paul Rudd, Marianne Hagan, Mitch Ryan, Kim Darby, Bradford English, Keith Bogart, George P. Wilbur as Michael Myers and Donald Pleasance returning as Dr. Loomis.

The score for HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS was performed by Alan Howarth, who had assisted John Carpenter on HALLOWEEN II and HALLOWEEN III and returning again after scoring HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS and HALLOWEEN 5. The transition from one production company to another had a significant impact on the film, specifically in post production as Dimension wanted something with a lot more action and a lot more gore, which forced screenwriter Daniel Ferrands to write some new material for the film and causing the existing version of the film to go through extensive re-cutting along with the addition of new footage. Because of the re-tooling of the film, composer Alan Howarth had to completely re-do his musical score to fit the re-cut picture and give it the amped-up energy the new franchise owners wanted. The original version of the film, directed by Joe Chappelle and dubbed the Producer s Cut contained a more traditional HALLOWEEN score, going back to the original approach used in the first film, with some subtle changes made possible by new technological advances in the gear Howarth was using to compose the score. For the Theatrical Version of the film, Howarth returned to the score he had already composed and added drums and guitars, a lot more beats, and more strange, synthetic tones. Howarth was able to salvage some of what he had written for the Producer s Cut but cues had to be rearranged to fit the new length of recuts and to match the newly-filmed footage.

Alan Howarth, in addition to being a composer, is an accomplished sound designer and editor, having worked on films such as STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, POLTERGEIST, TOTAL RECALL, ARMY OF DARKNESS, BRAM STOKER S DRACULA, STARGATE and many others. He has been a frequent music collaborator with John Carpenter on his films beginning with ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK in 1980 and including HALLOWEEN II & III, CHRISTINE, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, THEY LIVE and PRINCE OF DARKNESS and Alan has scored many films on his own, including THE LOST EMPIRE, RETRIBUTION, HALLOWEEN 4 & 5, THE DENTIST, HEADLESS, BOO!, EVILUTION,BASEMENT JACK, BRUTAL and HOUSE AT THE END OF THE DRIVE.

Alan Howarth, in addition to being a composer, is an accomplished sound designer and editor, having worked on films such as STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, POLTERGEIST, TOTAL RECALL, ARMY OF DARKNESS, BRAM STOKER S DRACULA, STARGATE and many others. He has been a frequent music collaborator with John Carpenter on his films beginning with ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK in 1980 and including HALLOWEEN II & III, CHRISTINE, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, THEY LIVE and PRINCE OF DARKNESS and Alan has scored many films on his own, including THE LOST EMPIRE, RETRIBUTION, HALLOWEEN 4 & 5, THE DENTIST, HEADLESS, BOO!, EVILUTION,BASEMENT JACK, BRUTAL and HOUSE AT THE END OF THE DRIVE.

For this new expanded release of HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS, the music is presented on 2 CDs. Alan Howarth s original unreleased score (the Producer s Cut) can be found on Disc 1 of this new release while the music as it was heard in the final film is provided with an extended presence on Disc 2. The music has been newly remastered and contains previously unreleased music.