12 killer film soundtracks

Drive has one of the most talked about soundtracks in recent years. It seemed like everyone had heard it before even seeing the film, with social networks abuzz with rave reviews of the collection of tracks featuring original compositions from Cliff Martinez alongside cuts from a number of electronic artists. The combination of stunning cinematography and bouncy synth-led tracks throughout the film made for a simultaneously aurally and visually delighting experience. Despite the films' many scenes of graphic violence, the iconic opening credits depicting Ryan Gosling driving through a neon-tinted Los Angeles while the infectious pop of Kavinsky’s ‘Nightcall’ plays and the romantic scenes of falling in love soundtracked by College’s ‘A Real Hero’ stick out as the most memorable.

The Chemical Brothers had never been in charge of a soundtrack before this, but Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands expertly assisted this assassination thriller with supercharged beats and the type of razor-sharp instrumentals they've produced throughout their career. Though there are gentle moments for the slower parts of the film, 'Escape 700' is where The Chems really display some truly erratic behaviour.

The final scene, when Ewan McGregor's Renton decides to do a runner with the money him and his pals have just made from a heroin deal, is a moment of beauty. Underworld's 'Born Slippy' is the reason, providing the backdrop for Renton's narration explaining he's finally ready to jack in the smack and finally choose life. Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day', Leftfield's 'A Final Hit' and Brian Eno's 'Deep Blue Day' are a handful of others that make this OST a classic, it's just a shame David Bowie rejected a request to be on there.

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Academy Award-winning soundtrack to David Fincher’s biographical drama about the emergence of Facebook captured the mood of the film perfectly. Tracks like ‘Hand Covers Bruise’, with its slightly melancholic piano melody surrounded by haunting, paranoid outer textures, evokes the lonely genius and lost friendships at the centre of the company that were plagued by atmospheres of suspicion and insecurity, while the riotous, almost suffocating ‘A Familiar Taste’ reflected the intoxicating excitement of the ascent to success.

When New Order released 'Confusion' in 1983, the Manchester fellas would've been completely unaware that, 12 years on, it'd receive a vicious acid techno remix from The Pump Panel and be played as a load of bloodthirsty vampires get soaked in their liquid of choice. That scene in the Wesley Snipes-featuring Blade proved such an inspiration that there was a Blood Rave in Amsterdam last Halloween. The whole Blade trilogy smacks it out of the park with tunes by Roger Sanchez, KRS-One, Gang Starr, RZA and Massive Attack. You didn't get them with its vampire counterpart, Dracula, did you?

If you checked out our list of top 10 Human Traffic scenes yesterday, you'll know exactly why this one is included. With music supervised by Pete Tong and tortilla-spinning Matthew Herbert pitching in, something would have had to go drastically wrong for it to be flop. Jip and the crew party away the weekend to the sounds of Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox, Armand Van Helden, Orbital and Dillinja, with a heavy dose of trance perfectly accompanying the many ecstasy-fueled moments.

Joe Cornish’s 2011 film depicting an invading alien race meeting their match with the residents of a south London council estate is one of the most fun sci-fi films in recent memory. “That’s an alien bruv, believe it.” As well as handing Star Wars: The Force Awakens main man John Boyega his debut feature role, Attack The Block was scored by Basement Jaxx. The duo composed tracks that were intense but with a cosmic and slightly silly edge, providing a backing well-suited to shots of gangs escaping aliens on BMXs and fighting them off with fireworks. For en example, check out ‘The Ends’ which is surging and expansive, but also sounds like it was written on bagpipes.

Years ahead of its time in its complex vision and use of special effects, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis is widely regarded as one of the best films ever made and a bonafide classic of the sci-fi genre. Of course, due to its 1927 release it was a silent film. Who better to score such a seminal work than pioneering electronic musician Giorgio Moroder? In 1984 he oversaw a restored and colourised new edit of the film, contributing a synth-pop soundtrack with help from contemporary stars such as Freddie Mercury, Adam Ant and Bonnie Tyler.

Jeff Mills is a figure with such a keen interest in futuristic and otherworldly matters that many people suspect him of actually being an alien, or joke about it at least. The techno wizard has composed a wealth of sci-fi influenced music in his back catalogue. One of our favourite releases is his rescoring the 1929 silent film Woman in the Moon. The 32-track strong release that spanned across three CDs is cinematic, combining classical elements with warped techno beats to create a suitably mystical backing to Fritz Lang’s classic.

Oblivion was a Hollywood blockbuster with a massive budget and M83 recorded a soundtrack epic enough to match the striking visuals. The French band went no-holds-barred big on the production, making use of sweeping strings, soaring vocals, crescendoing drum patterns and celestial synths to accompany Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman and Olga Kurylenko’s battle to save earth from an alien-threatened extinction.