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Psycho Strings: Difference between revisions

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Psycho Strings (view source)

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== Anime and Manga ==
* The entire shower scene is parodied in ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei-sensei]]'', strings and all. It only serves to make Fuura Kafuka even creepier, too--while the stabber changes between every shot (Bruce Lee, Freddy Krueger, and the [[Drunken Master]] to name a few), it's ''Kafuka'' we see dashing around the corner out of the bathroom.
* Used in the first episode of ''[[The Slayers]]'' when the Black Dragon attacks.
* Used in episode 11 of ''[[Ghost Stories]]''.
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** This was later sent up in ''[[The Simpsons]]'', when Homer hears the strings from ''Psycho'' while lost in the woods... but it turns out to be [[Left the Background Music On|an orchestra driving by on a bus]].
*** Used in "Bob Next Door" when Homer, Lisa, and Walt enter a room and find hundreds of pictures of Bart that have knives stabbed into them.
** A similar-sounding variation of the shrieking violins plays several times in ''[[Maximum Overdrive (Film)|Maximum Overdrive]]'' when the machines are trying to kill someone. But then, [[So Bad It's Good|considering the nature of the movie]] and the fact that it's a "horror" movie [[Narm|that's not scary at all]], the [[Psycho Strings]] come across as sort of a [[Large Ham]].
* ''[[Planes Trains and Automobiles (Film)|Planes, Trains and Automobiles]]'' when Neal discovers what Del did to the bathroom, and that he had been washing his face in the water Del was using to soak his socks.
* The background music for ''[[Cabin Fever (Filmfilm)|Cabin Fever]]'' features a motif that uses double beats of a creepy string note, adding a sinister undertone to a passionate sex scene. The music cue and dialogue during the scene suggest that one of the characters is passing the deadly disease to their one-time lover. This is later revealed to be true.
* The soundtrack for ''[[There Will Be Blood]]''.
* In [[Mel Brooks]] Hitchcock spoof ''[[High Anxiety]]'', the ''Psycho'' shower scene parody uses the shrill cries of an angry bellhop in place of the strings: "''Here! Here's your paper! Here's your lousy, stinking paper! Happy now?''"
{{quote| '''Thorndyke:''' ''That boy gets no tip...''}}
* Used in ''[[Monty Python and The Holy Grail (Film)|Monty Python and The Holy Grail]]''.
{{quote| We want... a SHRUBBERY!}}
* The Joker's signature theme in ''[[The Dark Knight]]'', "Why So Serious?" is built up of this. The best example is probably in the interrogation scene, where upon Joker's revelation that {{spoiler|both Dent and Rachel have been kidnapped}}, the music begins, and comes to a climax where the Joker laughs manically at Batman's attempts to force details out of him.
* This is more along the lines of Psycho Synths, but in ''[[Terminator (Filmfranchise)|Terminator 2]]'', that note [[Leitmotif|they play whenever the T-1000]] is [[Implacable Man|bearing down relentlessly]] on someone and it gets faster and more intense the closer he gets.
* Used in ''[[Kill Bill (Film)|Kill Bill Vol. I]]''. Said piece, "[[American Horror Story|Twisted Nerve]]," is also by [[Bernard Herrmann]].
* Used in ''[[Daddy Day Care]]'' when Max "[[Toilet Humor|misses]]".
 
 
== Live-Action TV ==
* Pick any episode of ''[[Lost (TV)|Lost]]''.
** The whole soundtrack, really.
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in an episode of ''[[Parker Lewis Can't Lose]]'': A man in a trenchcoat looks at a journal saying "The Chameleon escapes!", then orders a string quartet (which wasn't there before) to play a chilly music.
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** As does {{spoiler|Davros}}, which is actually a re-arrangement of the Midnight monster's theme.
** The Weeping Angels' [[Leitmotif]] is nothing '''but''' Psycho Strings.
* In the ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Hogfather|Hogfather]]'' tv series, these form the leitmotif for [[Psycho for Hire]] Jonathan Teatime.
* In ''[[Pee Wees Playhouse|Pee-wee's Playhouse]]'': "I'm going door to door, to make you this incredible offer..." (AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Ha ha!)
* The [[Crowning Music of Awesome|ridiculously awesome]] extended version of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er-T5FjRc40 Lord Zedd's Theme] from ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]''.
* These appear in an episode of ''[[Castle]]''.
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** Serial music in general can sound really weird. Anton Webern's ''Fünf Sätze'' could easily be included in a survival horror soundtrack.
** György Ligeti's music, which is also serial in nature, utilizes a similar method in his ''Atmospheres'', where the string players play every chromatic note ''over five octaves'' at once. That's ''60 notes''. This is the largest tone cluster ever written in a serious piece. Then things get weird when the string players start using microtones.
** There's also George Crumb, and his famous piece, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV6BeeoX474 Black Angels], the introductort section of which, which is titled "Night of the Electric Insects," literally makes you feel like there are bugs crawling all over your skin. It was used very effectively in soundtrack of ''[[The Exorcist (Film)|The Exorcist]]''.
* Sonata Arctica use this at one point in "Juliet".
* Avant-garde metal band Unexpect use Psycho Strings a lot, but most notably on "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLP7hQkCIyU Silence 011010701]".
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== Theatre ==
* Used in many songs in ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Theatretheatre)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'', "Epiphany" in particular.
* The [[Reduced Shakespeare Company]] uses [[Psycho Strings]] as the music cue for Hamlet stabbing Polonius.
* Richard Strauss's opera ''[[Salome (Theatre)|Salome]]'' uses an effect of this sort as Salome is listening for Jokanaan's death cry. The short sharp sound, made by double basses playing far higher than their usual range, is meant, according to the composer's footnote, to "resemble the stifled moans and groans of a woman."
 
 
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* All the [[Leitmotif|bacteria]] in ''[[Left 4 Dead]]''. Can be heard [http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/Left_4_Dead_(Soundtrack)#Bacteria here].
** Also, the main and horde themes for "Swamp Fever" campaign from the sequel.
* [[The Dragon|Chancellor Cole]]'s [[Leitmotif]] in ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]: [[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks|Spirit Tracks]]''.
** Also, the Bomb Trains' theme, to [[Nightmare Fuel|great effect]].
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]: [[The Legend of Zelda: MajorasMajora's Mask|Majora's Mask]]''. is [[Darker and Edgier|fittingly]] fond of these, being used in many tracks, notably in all of the [[Eldritch Abomination|main villain's]] themes, and the title opening, which has a [[Last-Note Nightmare|last note nightmare]].
* ''[[Clock Tower (Video Gameseries)|Clock Tower]]: The First Fear'' has it in some of the times Jennifer goes into panic mode or discovers something, examples including when strangled by her reflection in the mirror, when seeing blood come out of the sink, {{spoiler|when finding Rolla's body, either in her shower or armor deaths}}, seeing the zombie in the closet, and so on.
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]: [[A Link to The Past]]'', the Cave and [[Dark World]] Dungeon themes use this.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf6GfZNDhV8 "Death Marshes"], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-4ooTy8FYE "Hive of the Mantids"] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrjLkGGGGZo&p=D74247FC704AD924&playnext=1&index=17 "Oblivion"] from ''[[Turok (Video Gameseries)|Turok]] 2''. "Death Marshes" also uses "psycho trumpets".
* The Nightmare in ''Metroid: [[Other M]]'' gets these in its [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBbRdWUIZHg battle theme].
* In ''Metroid Prime: Hunters'', Sylux's battle theme consists of high-pitched strings which actually use the "psycho note pattern" in some parts.
* Used liberally in ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]'', especially during the Scarecrow encounter.
** It's even played for laughs once. In the beginning, as the Joker is wheeled through Arkham, a doctor looks over the Joker. The Joker suddenly goes "BOO" accompanied by a scare chord, and scares the poor doctor shitless as he starts laughing. Quite funny the first time it happens.
* The ''[[In the Groove]]'' song "Determinator".
* Used throughout the ''[[Resident Evil]]'' series, such as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSA9-nKYaE&feature=related Tyrant's theme] in the original, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhi0KfO4Aig the Bandersnatch theme] in ''[[Resident Evil Code Veronica|Code Veronica]]'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F89LW0dfUjc the Leech Zombie theme] in ''0'', and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFQT2_yOFX4 the Neptune shark danger music] in ''RE 1 Remake''. The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOTgc2neIH8 Noche ](night battle) music and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XeBKPYFWCI Mendez's battle theme] in ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'' overlap this with [[Drone of Dread]].
* A lot of ''[[Bio ShockBioshock]]'''s music uses violins to represent madness, such as in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-GzXp-Fzv4 Doctor Steinman's battle theme].
* [[The Dragon|Dusknoir's]] battle theme from ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky''.
* The "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xm0bzPPYM0 Sniper's Last Stand]" theme from ''[[Medal of Honor]]: Allied Assault''.
* In ''[[Deadly Premonition]]'', Psycho Strings are widely used.
* ''[[Warhammer Online]]'''s music for Chaos-controlled areas uses these [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhl5UeTsvF4 to full effect]. To help things sound even ''more'' discordant and unnatural, the musicians played their instruments upside-down.
* Aside from the [[Scare Chord|scare chords]] that accompany some [[Alien (Filmfranchise)|xenomorph]] encounters, ''[[Aliens vs. Predator]]'' uses Psycho Strings in parts of its rarely-played soundtrack.
* Not sure if it fits in here, but in [[Conkers Bad Fur Day (Video Game)|Conkers Bad Fur Day]] the music for "Frying Tonight" sounds like a track mostly composed of this.
* The [[Banjo -Kazooie]] games [[Variable Mix|remix the music depending on where you are in a level]]. When you're, say, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ41CdgMANo very, very deep underwater], strings of this ilk kick in, to [[Hell Is That Noise|sometimes unsettling effect]].
* The drowning music used throughout the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series.
* ''[[Doom]] II'''s title music.
* [[Pikmin]] 2's theme for the battle against {{spoiler|Titan Dweevil}} is full of this. In fact, the more parts you take off of him, the more intense the [[Psycho Strings]] get! Pretty much every single song (about to attack, [insert element here] attack, and so on) during this battle has these at some point.
* ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' uses this in the first encounter with Zealots; specifically the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hCAK8OfQGE "Bait and Switch"] movement of the Winter Contingency OST track.
* [[Pokémon Black and White (Video Game)|Gothitelle]] uses it as it's [[Battle Cry]].
 
 
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* ''[[Ren and Stimpy]]'': In the episode "Stimpy's Fan Club" we see an insane Ren contemplate strangling a sleeping Stimpy. It's after he says the line "Just...one...''twist''!" when the [[Psycho Strings]] start to come into play.
** Also used in the episode "Haunted House" when Stimpy's taking a shower, in homage to ''[[Psycho]]''.
* Used in the ''[[SpongebobSpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode "Bummer Vacation" in which Sponge Bob's sitting in Patrick's house after being forced by Mr. Krabs to take a vacation and hiring Patrick as his temporary replacement. When Patrick finds him, Sponge Bob looks (and acts) completely insane, complete with [[Psycho Strings]].
** Used in the episode "Squeaky Boots" when Mr. Krabs goes insane with guilt after stealing rubber boots he gave to Spongebob.
* In ''[[Star Wars: Clone Wars]]'', [[Hero-Killer|General Grievous']] [[Nightmare Fuel|nightmarish]] [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|assault]] on the beleaguered Jedi is set to a mix of trumpets and [[Psycho Strings]], proving that that possessing mastery of the force will still mean [[Squishy Wizard|nothing]] in the face of shock-and-awe tactics and superior swordsmanship. And that Jedi are still ''very much'' capable of feeling absolute terror.
* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar the Last Airbender]]'', several of the scenes in the series finale, featuring {{spoiler|Azula's [[Villainous Breakdown]]}}, are accompanied by these.
* [[Kim Possible]] does it twice, once with Bonnie taking a shower as a homage to [[Psycho]]'s famous scene, and again when music from the film plays after Ron falls off his bike and water comes from his head.
* Hilariously lampshaded in [[The Simpsons]], in the episode ''The Springfield Files'', when Homer hears the strings from Psycho while lost in the woods... {{spoiler|but it turns out to be an orchestra driving by on a bus}}.
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