Auric's score (Spoiler)

One essential feature of the success of this great film is Georges Auric's terrific score. If you compare the music at the start and end of the film you will see what I mean. The film starts with the architect driving down a country lane and seeing the farmhouse. This sequence is accompanied by pleasant sounding pastoral type music. At the end of the film, the identical scene is accompanied by a nightmarish and anxiety ridden musical sequence, since by then we know what is in store for "Walter Craig" when he sets foot inside the house. Elsewhere, the music adds significantly to the sense of dread and panic. Mervyn Johns gives a fantastic performance as does the rest of the cast but I feel that Auric's score is an essential ingredient of the films deservedly classic status. Fortunately (in the UK at least) Chandos Records have recorded the score on a CD devoted to the music of the very talented French composer.