Image Example the Sound.
This is a Skywalker Sound sound effect possibly designed by Gary Rydstrom or Will Files. It is an electricity sound effect that is most infamously used as the sound of the heat rays from the 2005 adaptation of War of the Worlds, directed by Steven Spielberg.
It consists of a series of very harsh, guttural sounding electrical crackles and hums. It can be heard in a majority of Randy Thom's projects, but Gary Rydstrom and Christopher Boyes use it in some of their projects as well.
Info
- First recorded: Early-Mid 1980's
- Creator: Gary Rydstrom/Will Files
- Owner: Skywalker Sound (1980's-present)
- Origin: United States
- Year debut: TBA
- First heard: The Terminator (1984) (Remastered Mix only)
- Area used: TBA
Variations
Used In
TV Shows
Movies
- 9 (2009)
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
- The Avengers (2012)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Bad Boys II (2003)
- Big Hero 6 (2014)
- Bolt (2008)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Cloverfield (2008) (Heard in a low volume when the Woolworth Building collapses, and later when the camera pans past a building with its wires sparking.)
- Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
- The Croods (2013)
- Despicable Me (2010)
- Despicable Me 2 (2013)
- Despicable Me 4 (2024)
- Elio (2025)
- Enchanted (2007)
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
- Ferdinand (2017)
- Finding Nemo (2003)
- Free Birds (2013)
- Godzilla (2014)
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) (Used once in a low volume before King Ghidorah bites down on an electric power plant.)
- Hercules (1997) (Heard very faintly when Hades goes to free the Titans from their underwater prison. Also used to accentuate some of Zeus' lightning bolts.)
- Hoppers (2026)
- Howard the Duck (1986)
- Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)
- The Incredibles (2004)
- The Iron Giant (1999)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- The Island (2005)
- Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)
- Jurassic World (2015) (Heard once when Rexy shoves the Indominus Rex into a building on Main Street in the film's climax.)
- Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) (A snippet is heard when the Indoraptor slams its tail against an elevator's controls.)
- Kong: Skull Island (2017) (A brief snippet is used once when Kong throws a chopper down in slow-motion.)
- The Little Prince (2015)
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) (Heard when King Julien walks across a busted powerline singing a rendition of "Hot in Herre" by Nelly, and once when a light-up streamer shoots out in the film's climax at a somewhat low volume.)
- Mars Needs Moms (2011)
- Minions (2015)
- Moana 2 (2024)
- Monster House (2006)
- Monsters, Inc. (2001)
- Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
- Osmosis Jones (2001)
- Pearl Harbor (2001)
- Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
- Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)
- The Polar Express (2004) (One of the takes is heard once shifting in volume to accent the sound of the sparks flying from the Observation car's wheels when it races through a tunnel at the North Pole before it barrels towards the turntable.)
- Ready Player One (2018)
- The Smurfs (2011)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
- Spies in Disguise (2019)
- Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) (Either one of the takes or a very similar sound effect is used once for Kamek's magic when he uses it on Toad as a last ditch effort by Bowser to get Peach to accept his marriage proposal.)
- The Terminator (1984) (Debut; audio restoration and re-mixing)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Titan A.E. (2000)
- Tomorrowland (2015)
- Toy Story 2 (1999) (A snippet of it is heard when Buzz activates his anti-gravity bubble.)
- Ultraman: Rising (2024)
- War of the Worlds (2005)
- The Wild Robot (2024)
- Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Video Games
DVD:
YouTube Videos
- The Incredibles YTPs (Heard in "Mr. Incredible Gets Interrogated", "Bob's Marriage is at Stake", and "The Incredibles: Rise of the Ednadroid".)