Tis the season to be scared! There are certain things that one can expect to see in the month of October: pumpkin flavored everything, candy, costumes and horror movies. This year Comedy Central is even getting in on the action with their own horror/comedy, Cursed Friends, which they are dubbing “The scariest movie ever… on Comedy Central”. The films official synopsis reads: After a drunken reunion, four 30-something childhood friends wake up on Halloween to realize that a predict-your-future game of M.A.S.H. (Mansion Apartment Shack House) that they played in 2002 is starting to come true for them in hilarious and disturbing ways. They must band together to help each other escape the wild fates that have turned their lives upside down — from having 100 kids with the hometown loser, to leading a cult, to marrying NSYNC’s Joey Fatone. We wanted to learn more about the film, so we spoke with the film’s composer, Corey Wallace. Some of Wallace’s other credits include NBC’s Siberia and Epic Pictures’ Artik to name a few. Read the full Q&A below.
Cursed Friends is now available to watch on Comedy Central.
-How did you first get involved with Cursed Friends?
For the first time in a long time, I had no prior connection to anybody involved in the film. My wonderful manager Peter Hackman (Different Direction Management) found the project and reached out to the producers. After meeting with me, I did a short demo and we were off and running.
-How would you describe your score for the film?
FUN. Whether the moment is scary, action, drama, or magical, the overriding idea is to keep it fun and not be too serious or earnest about it. Like most of my scores it’s thematic, and I’m hoping viewers are coming away humming the tunes.
-Were you familiar with director Laura Murphy’s work before signing on to the film? Did you go back and watch any of her projects?
Laura was amazing to work with in this, and I didn’t meet her until the spotting session. The production team had a lot of experience with Comedy Central, especially one of my favorite shows Drunk History. I did revisit that, but most of their prior work was in TV, so doing a feature film was going to be a different animal.
-When beginning work on a film like this, do you create a musical palate or toolbox of sounds you know you want to use? How do you narrow those down?
Exactly. In the demo I had come up with a preliminary sound, including a version of the main theme. (I mostly always start with themes) Before starting to compose, I created a template that I thought would be good, but that’s never set in stone and was refined during the scoring process. Finally, I heard the temp music and spotted with Laura and John Cason the editor, and that was really influential in deciding the musical direction. Although I start with a sense of what I want to do, I allow the score to take shape as we go. I start with tent pole scenes where the themes are given space, and then derive other cues from there. When I discover a new color, I like to go back and sprinkle it throughout for continuity.
-Do you have a favorite scene, musically?
My favorite scene might be the grave fight between Andy (Harvey Guillen) and Mr. Knight (Rob Riggle). That or any action scene because it really allowed me to let loose and be extremely zany, using big gestures and wild colors, which is a fun place for me to be. I love big moments when the score is HUGE. I recorded a full orchestra for the Main Titles and Will Arnett’s demon possession scene which helps elevate the size of those moments.
-How was your score for Cursed Friends different from other films you have scored?
The score is different just because the film is different. I haven’t done anything before with quite this tone. For that matter, I’m not sure there are any other films quite like it with its unique blend of comedy and horror. There are similarities to other horror scores or animation scores of mine, but the film’s unique tone led me in a specific direction.
–You have scored a lot of horror projects. Why do you think your music resonates so well in this genre?
I love doing horror because I love creating new musical colors, and usually horror allows the music to go outside of the box and be experimental. I love when music takes a forward, active role in the story telling.
–Cursed Friends falls into the category of being both a horror and comedy. Musically, those 2 genres are very different. Was it challenging to create a score that fits for both?
Genre blending and bending is always challenging. John Cason put in the temp and did A GREAT job, laying the groundwork for how the score interacted with the story. Combined with instinct and trial and error, I just wanted to make sure that the jokes landed and I never detracted from them. There aren’t a lot of musical jokes in the score, we mostly let the actors be hilarious and get out of their way. The funniest thing the score does is drop out to allow space for a joke to land. The active musical jokes are usually over the top hits that are both shocking and hilarious.
-According to your IMDB you have a lot of projects in the pipeline. Which one do you think audiences will get to watch next?
The next project coming down the pike is SUPERCELL, starring Alec Baldwin and the late Anne Heche. We finished that in May, and it’s making its premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Sunday October 16th before its wide release in January. I’m excited for audiences to see Jamie Winterstern’s feature debut about chasing storms and chasing legacy. As opposed to Cursed Friends, this score was all about earnestness, wonderment, and brooding teenage feelings.
Learn more about Corey Wallace at https://www.coreywallace.com/.
