How did I forget The Howling?! I used to love that movie as a kid... I need to rewatch it. I've never seen Piranha, so shame on me haha AND I just realized (Google helped me actually haha) that he did the score for Tourist Trap as well!
Man, Henry Manfredini, Lalo Schifrin, John Carpenter, Goblin, Joseph LoDuca, Howard Shore, Brad Fiedel. I voted for Brad Fiedel, close 2nd was Joseph LoDuca, especially for the soundtrack for Evil Dead. Brad Fiedel because he did the instrumential music for Fright Night, and I own the full 28 track CD. There are so many good composers, it was almost hard to choose, and Howard Shore's score from Scanners, was the best, and Shivers.
Very talented composer,excelled in Giallo's,Italian Gothics and Eurowesterns.Conducted many fine scores by others as well.
Tough to decide. Howard Shore and Philip Glass are two of my favorite composers of all time but I don't really think of them when I think horror scores. Same with Tangerine Dream, though their Firestarter score is godly. Have to give it to John Carpenter. I might've chosen Alan Howarth instead had that been an option. God Howarth.
Score-wise, I think The Howling might be his best all-around / complete score, but the Main Theme (at the end) of Piranha is still the one that gives me the chills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRkBMfUxsG8
Jerry Goldsmith's Poltergeist John Williams' Jaws Brad Fiedel's The Terminator John Carpenter's Halloween