We Chat with The Void Composer Martin MacPhail of Blitz//Berlin; Exclusive Audio Sketchbook Reveal
This Friday sees the release of The Void, a film that thrives on practical FX, grotesque monsters, and a cosmic twist that earns itself a place in the Lovecraftian sub-genre of horror films. To celebrate the release, we’ve got an interview with Martin MacPhail of Toronto, ON, experimental band Blitz//Berlin, the group that composed the soundtrack.
On top of that, we also got our hands on “This is Worse,” the audio sketchbook the band put together as “…an all-encompassing mission statement of the film, spanning textural and melodic themes, and taking the listener on a journey to hell and back.”
Talking about his approach to the film, MacPhail tells Dread Central, “To me, melody and resolve sound naturally comforting and safe. Throughout this piece we try to create spaces that feel uncomfortable and anxious and strange, and when we finally move into the theme of memories and loss by the end, it should feel like both relief and heartbreak.”
Related Story: Exclusive: Writer/Directors Jeremy Gillespie and Steve Kostanski Talk The Void
Co-writer/co-director Jeremy Gilespie exuberantly adds, “Blitz//Berlin are by far the most professional, prolific, easygoing, drunk, depraved, and murderous musicians we’ve had the pleasure of working with. I defy anyone to say other musicians even exist in the world.”
Co-writer/co-director Steve Kostanski also praises the band, telling us, “Blitz//Berlin’s score effectively generates a sense dread but also ramps up the action onscreen in new and exciting ways. Executing a sonic marriage between horror and action is a tall order, but B//B exceeded all expectations and delivered music that gives the film a unique and terrifying personality. Shine on, you crazy diamonds!”
You can listen to “This is Worse” and read our interview with MacPhail below.
The Void Release Details:
Screen Media Films has acquired U.S. rights for the horror title The Void (review), which was written and directed by Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski and stars Aaron Poole, Ellen Wong, Kathleen Munroe, Stephanie Belding, and Kenneth Welsh. The film will be released in theaters and VOD day-and-date on April 7, 2017.
The movie has an incredibly nightmarish feel to it, as though everything we see cannot be placed in a reality that we know. Was that something you felt, and if so, how did that translate into the music?
Creating the nightmarish “cosmic dread” feeling was our main anchor throughout the process with The Void. From early conversations with Steve [Kostanski] and Jeremy [Gilespie], we knew we wanted to create a sonic space that was disturbing and unique and ultimately surreal. On a musical level, this meant starting with familiar instruments like piano and guitar and synthesizers, and then distorting and pitching and re-amping them until they sounded like they were from another world. So, so many distortion pedals were involved.
The creatures of the film are very alien-looking, their bodies so distorted and grotesque that it’s impossible to look away. How did you use the visuals of the film when it came to inspiration for your score?
They are so grotesque! The practical effects in this film are unreal. There’s actually a specifically gross scene that goes down in a hallway early in the film, and Jeremy – who is kind of a musical genius in his own right – had created some tones by letting a guitar pedal feed back on itself. What came out of that feedback loop sounded something like distorted gurgling, and that sound ended up being a touchstone for us, as it sounded both evil and intense while maintaining a body-horror kind of tonality.
When you first saw footage from the film, what were your immediate thoughts when it came to how you wanted create the score?
Our first impression watching this was, “Holy shit, this movie is messed up!” Honestly. The first footage we were shown was terrifying and also clearly had a lot of heart to the characters. When first creating our sketchbook, we knew we had to create a sonic world that Steve and Jeremy could step into and then take them on a journey from disorientation to horror to sadness. All scares and heartbreak. Really uplifting stuff.
Often music is an unrecognized character within a horror film, one that helps guide the viewer to the right emotional state. If you could describe your music as a physical character in the world of The Void, what kind of character would it be?
That’s a great question. I’d like to think our music would be a scary creature that lurks in the shadows throughout and then goes on a murderous rampage towards the end. In this film, whoever our music is, they’re definitely the bad guy.
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https://youtu.be/QFNF_tSk97k
In THE VOID, officer Daniel Carter (Poole) happens upon a blood-soaked figure limping down a deserted stretch of road while he’s in the middle of a routine patrol. He rushes the young man to a nearby rural hospital staffed by a skeleton crew, only to discover that patients and personnel are transforming into something inhuman. As the horror intensifies, Carter leads the other survivors on a hellish voyage into the subterranean depths of the hospital in a desperate bid to end the nightmare before it’s too late.
THE VOID is written and directed by Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie, produced by Casey Walker and Jonathan Bronfman, executive produced by Ross Dinerstein, Todd Brown, James Norri, Jeremy Platt, Peter Graham, Steve Hays, Lon Molnar, Mic Forsey, and David Watson, with production design by Henry Fong, edited by Cam McLauchlin, cinematography by Samy Inayeh, and music by Blitz//Berlin, Menalon, and LUSTMORD. The production companies are Cave Painting Pictures and JoBro Productions.
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