The Mechanics of Fear: Undertone and Diegetic Sound

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In the Mechanics of Fear series we look at the design, build, and construction of horror media. Think book covers, costumes, games, and more. Today we dive into the power of sound design with Undertone.

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Film is mostly a visual medium, but horror cares more about sound than most genres. Consider the musical score; some of the most memorable musical moments in cinema are from horror: the da-dum of Jaws approaching, the staccato stabbing violins from Psycho. Unlike the same simple melodic orchestrations utilized to summon emotion in other genres, musical scores in horror lean into other aspects of sound design. Music sets the tone of a scene. Audiences have learned that music tells them to summon a particular emotion. Big romantic swelling symphonies cue excitement, awe, passion. Horror music wants to summon emotion, too, but it wants you to feel fear, tension, discomfort. Horror is more likely to have dissonance and atonal music, leaning more modern than classic in style. Think of the iconic melodies from The Exorcist and Halloween that are spare, isolated, often in a minor key.

Then there is the sound itself: the voices, the ambient sound within a room, the audio cues that something is happening outside of the frame. To increase tension in a horror film, the audience may hear a monster before it sees it, creaking across floor boards. There’s the shing of a knife being drawn, the squelch as it enters flesh. Sometimes there’s even the murmur of a heartbeat or quiet breathing the only thing we hear as we wait to see what is in store.

Sound is always important in film, but it’s often secondary to the visual images.