The Strangers: Prey at Night
Released by Varèse Sarabande, 2018
23 Tracks with a Total Running time of 73 min.
Original Music By Adrian Johnston

In case you’re weren’t aware of it, but I tend to listen to a lot of soundtracks. Anytime I’m working on this site,  or doing any writing, I have a movie score playing. One of my favorites of all time is John Carpenter’s The Fog. Why am I bringing this up? Because as I was listening to this score for The Strangers: Prey at Night, the opening sure sounds a LOT like The Fog. Now I’ve been told by those that have seen it that it purposely has an ’80s feel to it, so maybe that’s why the ‘homage’. But geez…that is one hell of a homage. This piece is reprised later in the score on the track On the Run.

Aside from that, Johnston does create a wide range of moods with this score, such as on the next two tracks Gatlin Lake Getaway Welcomes You! and Is Tamara Home? They are very quiet, moving around the background but with something darker just on the outside….much like the film’s story. As the score progresses, the pacing starts to build up, getting faster and louder, increasing the adrenaline. Some of the pieces become louder with some loud, almost feedback pulses, which really wake up the listener. But then we’re back to building a quiet and scary mood with slower and drawn out sounds to build the tension back up.

There are also tracks on here of bands from that era, such as Kim Wilde, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, and Mental as Anything.

This score really had me wanting to go check out the movie to see if it really has the ’80s feel that you get from the soundtrack. Overall, Johnston does to a good job creating a very creepy score.