When a spirit or creature gets summoned in a horror film, does it ever end well? The short answer, no. Director Christine Chen’s explores this topic in her latest feature, Erzulie. The official synopsis reading: “A reunion between four friends quickly goes awry when they find themselves face to face with ERZULIE: the swamp mermaid goddess.” Effectively adding to the supernatural tale is the synth heavy score by composer Nick Longoria, whom has collaborated with Christine on many projects including Not Your Ordinary Hero, Two Roads and My Heart. We wanted to learn more about how the score of Erzulie was created, so we spoke to Nick about everything from getting to break the norms when scoring horror to what’s next for him. Read the exclusive interview below.
-What was the first thing you did when you found out that you got the job of scoring Erzulie? Did you put together a palate of sounds, etc?
First thing I did was read the script to start sensing an overall vibe of the film. To speed up the process of honing in on what the director wanted, we created a Spotify playlist with some of my favorite film scores that were heavily grounded in synths that Christine Chen, the director, could give me feedback on. Once I started to see the soundscapes in my head, I started to pump out sketches that represented the different tones in the script.
-How soon into reading a script does your musical mind get to work?
Page 1. The moment I start to “see” the page in action in my head, the music begins to blossom. Much thanks to the director for the pitch and our talks before I even begin to read, I was able to instantly create sounds in my head.
-What were the initial discussions about the film’s score like?
Synths, synths, synths. Having a more synth-based score was something Christine and I had been wanting to dive into. That intention mixed with the supernatural vibes of a mermaid really opened up the possibilities of having more tension and action in the score, which I would call my strong suit. Up until then most of my film scores had been for drama films but my back catalogue of spec scores and sketches were finally able to see the light of day.
–Erzulie is classified as a horror film. Do you feel that you were able to experiment more with the score because of this?
Definitely. Mainly due to the fact that indie short films, due to budget restraints, usually lean more towards drama. I was extremely excited to have the chance to use my sound palettes to bring tension, fear, and mystery into the score. And that’s the beauty of horror films, at times you want to make the audience feel uneasy by breaking “the norm” by using dissonance, jarring notes, out of time rhythms, and everything that breaks “the rules” of a conventional score you would hear in a drama.
-What story elements of Erzulie most informed the music?
The supernatural element. There are many ways to go about conveying the supernatural and the unknown, so I aimed to find the sweet spot that would show all the different sides of Erzulie, a savior, a monster, an unknown being, a mystery. Once I started to get down some motifs and tones from that foundation, it really started to seep into other scenes that didn’t necessarily have tension, horror, or mystery in them.
-What is different about this film, musically, then other projects you’ve worked on?
Horror, action, epicness. Most of my past scores for Christine Chen had been more orchestral with bits of guitar, so we went into it knowing we wanted to pull from my vast experience with synths. Up until Erzulie, I had only scored drama short films, but had an extensive back catalogue of epic spec scores ranging from orchestral pieces to full on synth works on par with tones you’d hear in movies the likes of Blade Runner, Dark Knight, and It Follows.
-You scored Erzulie but your band, Infugue, also has a track in the film. How did this come about?
Christine Chen, the director of the film, knew my band had music covering a wide variety of genres and wanted to use a song or two in the film if possible. I began to thrown in some songs to my score that I thought would work well and sent here a ton of my songs for her to listen to and pick out. We ended up using an old song of ours called “Drifting Away” which you can hear when the girls are shopping at the main camp office, and “Cosmic Crystals” off our debut album Dark Matter which was used on the radio when the girls are driving to get medical supplies.
-What was your favorite scene to score in the film? Why?
My favorite scene to work on was probably the big finale when Erzulie goes crazy in the water. This was probably my biggest goal as a composer, the chance to score an epic scene that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. For this scene I went full orchestral AND synth. Hans Zimmer (Dark Knight Trilogy) & Don Davis (The Matrix) are some of my biggest influences and I was able to channel those icons into what I saw fit for that climax. Last but not least, I used tons of big drums in this scene which really pushed the score into the realm of epic. Thankful through technologic improvements, I was able to use Spitfire Audio’s Hans Zimmer drums, which is a sample pack of the drums and performers Hans used on many of his iconic scores.
–Erzulie is a supernatural horror film, are there other types of horror subgenres you would like to work on in future?
I have a special place in my soul for Lovecraftian horror. My band Infugue‘s next album, Necromancer, is actually very centered around Lovecraftian vibes mixed with pop music, which we’ve already released a single and music video for that follows a man’s journey into the unknown. Here is the music video https://youtu.be/6Dpejxtn_rg. So, films like Color Out of Space, Mandy, The Thing, It, and Insidious would be a dream to score, enabling me to create mystifying palettes of sound that pull the audience into the void.
-Are you personally a fan of horror films? Is there a horror film that left a lasting impression on you?
Oh ya! Some of my favorites are The Thing, Insidious, Hereditary, Malignant, too many to name them all. One that definitely left an impression is The Exorcist. Probably a common answer among many, but there’s a reason why! The score doesn’t particularly stand out to me but the overall tone, eerie moments like The Priest finding evil artifacts, it just feels so grounded in reality, especially that ending.
You can learn more about Nick Longoria here: http://nicklongoria.com/
