Spooky Soundtracks! – JOSEPH LODUCA: “The Evil Dead” (1981)

A mesmerizing banquet of sounds and emotions that will swallow your soul. 

I’ve debated horror soundtracks with a lot of fans over the years. Time after time, I keep circling back to the same answer when asked which is my favorite. 

I don’t know much about Joseph LoDuca except that he’s from the same Detroit circuit as the other lovable, hard-working knuckleheads responsible for THE EVIL DEAD (1981). When you consider most of the cast and crew were around their early 20s when they made one of the premier examples of DIY filmmaking in horror history, it makes the achievement that much more impressive.

LoDuca went on to craft a wealth of television scores and even win himself an Emmy Award in 2009, but, even on his very first outing, he was aiming for the fences. Mike Oldfield was 19 years old when he recorded the landmark album, “Tubular Bells”, and the fact that LoDuca was only about 22 when he composed THE EVIL DEAD is just as astounding of a feat. 

The score covers so much ground, you’ll lose track of how many textures and genres grind past your ears. The quietly simple and ominous opener, “Introduction” is a sucker punch of sorts, eventually making way for chugging classical strings on such memorable tracks as “Skin” and “Kandanian Dagger/Book Burning”. Thunderous tympani and jittery, synthesized sound effects rub up against one another on curious tracks such as “Games” and “Ascent/Inflection”, while Asian themes surface in “Get the Lantern/Book of the Dead”. There’s even a deep dive into the spooky side of world music on “Dawn of the Evil Dead”, conjuring up an urgent blast of chattering percussion. 

One of the biggest surprises about this journey is the beauty that flourishes when LoDuca allows you to catch your breath. Interludes like the aforementioned “Introduction”, as well as the poignant “Dawn/Incantation”, enrich the experience into a full-bodied whole as you drink them down. 

I was lucky enough to find an original Verese Sarabande pressing of this back in 1988, and am trying to preserve it in as good of condition as possible for as long as I can. It may fetch more than $500 on the current market, but its resale price isn’t the reason I value it. Whether by blind luck, youthful vigor, or some kind of divine intervention, LoDuca created something magical and darkly intelligent on THE EVIL DEAD. His score remains a core reason Sam Raimi’s film is such a triumph–an astonishing and evocative work worthy of the moniker “The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Horror”.

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