The golden age of horror (Vol. 1)

Dragon’s Domain Records proudly presents the first volume in a new ongoing series of music from classic horror films, featuring world premiere releases by the woefully underrepresented composer Elisabeth Lutyens (1906-83). She became Britain’s first female feature film composer when she began accepting commissions to write scores for both Hammer and Amicus studios.

PARANOIAC, as well as the other two films spotlighted on this album, were all directed by Freddie Francis, an accomplished cinematographer widely credited for pioneering the overall look of British horror.

Released in 1963, PARANOIAC was written by Jimmy Sangster and Josephine Tey, starring Janette Scott and Oliver Reed. PARANOIAC tells the story of a pair of dysfunctional siblings desperately awaiting an inheritance. Their scheme is complicated by the sudden return of a brother long thought to have died by suicide. 

Released in 1965, DR. TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS is the first film from Amicus Productions to feature an anthology of short story segments penned by producer Milton Subotsky. Similar in spirit to the lurid tales featured in EC Comics titles, Subotsky would later officially adapt material from those very magazines into subsequent films. Peter Cushing stars as a mysterious fortune teller who offers to predict the futures of his five fellow train passengers, which include Christopher Lee and Donald Sutherland.

Also released in 1965, THE SKULL is a psychological suspense film adapted by Subotsky from a story by acclaimed fiction writer Robert Bloch, best known as the author of the novel PSYCHO. Once again, the ever dependable Peter Cushing leads as a collector of esoterica, who comes in possession of the remains of the infamous Marquis De Sade. The long-deceased blasphemer’s skull exudes a power on all who come into contact with it, delivering hallucinations that result in madness and death.

Born in London, the musical education of Elisabeth Lutyens began by learning the violin at the age of eight, eventually receiving more extensive schooling at the Ecole Normal de Musique in Paris and The Royal College of Music. Her compositional style evolved into a methodology known as “Serialism,” a manner of writing said to have originated with Arnold Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique, wherein the notes of the chromatic scale are randomly organized to form a unifying basis for a composition’s melody, harmony, and structural progressions. Several other composers of note, such as Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Aaron Copeland, and rock guitar virtuoso Frank Zappa, often used Serialism in their work.

This first volume in Dragon’s Domain Records series of classic horror films has been mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland, featuring exclusive liner notes by Starlog Magazine’s David Hirsch with Sam Scali on the music featured on the album.  

SPECIAL NOTE: These recordings were originally taken from analog masters and music & effects tracks and therefore certain limitations from the source tapes may be evident. We have tried to preserve as closely as possible, the quality of the original recordings.

DR. TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965)

01. Main Title / Strangers On A Train (2:19)

02. The Werewolf (5:52)

03. The Creeping Vine (1:37)

04. Voodoo (0:31)

05. The Disembodied Hand (1:57)

06. The Vampire (5:30)

07. End Of The Line (1:26)

08. Dr. Terror’s House Of Horrors (1965) Theatrical Trailer (1:16)

THE SKULL (1965)

09. Main Title (1:44)

10. Auction Purchase (3:58)

11. The Book of The Marquis De Sade (3:08)

12. The Dealer’s Nightmare (4:26)

13. Theft (3:20)

14. A Violent Death (7:04)

15. The Marquis' Curse (2:54)

16. Bizarre Assault (7:06)

17. Panic Attack and End Titles (7:04)

18. The Skull (1965) Theatrical Trailer (2:07)

PARANOIAC (1967)

19. Main Title (1:47)

20. Suspicion (2:02)

21. The Inheritance of Violence (2:10)

22. Discovery of Horror (2:45)

23. Fiery Finale (1:39)

24. Paranoiac (1963) Theatrical Trailer (2:33)

Total Time 75:31