When it comes to the horror genre, IFC Midnight very rarely disappoints. The distributor, owned by AMC Networks, is behind such notable titles as The Wretched, The Human Centipede and The Babadook to name a few. In their latest film, The Djinn, the trope, “Be careful what you wish for” has never been more pertinent.
The Djinn follows a mute twelve-year-old, Dylan Jacobs, discovers a mysterious book of spells inside his new apartment. Grieving the loss of his mother, and feeling isolated from everyone except for his father, Dylan performs a ritual that promises to deliver his heart’s desire: to have a voice. But he soon discovers that every gift has a toll when a sinister djinn arrives to collect his soul. Now trapped in his new home with nowhere to hide, Dylan must find a way to survive until the stroke of midnight or pay the ultimate price.
There are many elements that stand out about The Djinn, but one we would like to highlight is the score by composer Matthew James. Since the film takes place in 1989, Matthew revisited old Yamaha (CS) series samples and synths to make the score feel as authentic to this time period as possible. He even used his own mutated voice to contribute to certain themes in the film. In the below exclusive interview, we talked to him about all this, plus much more.
How did you get involved with The Djinn? What attracted you to the script?
I became involved with The Djinn in Summer 2019. Ryan Scaringe from Kinogo and I were wrapping a film and he had mentioned he had another potential in the pipeline. He sent me the assembly cut and I immediately knew I had to be involved. I began coming up with demos around that time and signed on August/Sept of 2019.
What did your collaboration with directors David Charbonier & Justin Powell look like?
The collaboration with David & Justin was fantastic. They’re brilliant filmmakers, their extreme attention to detail in the film carried across all departments. The film explores the gamete of human emotions – grief, fear, solitude, etc – they were very keen at pulling the emotional bits from my demos and giving direction. I look forward to collaborating with them in the future.
How would you describe your score for The Djinn?
Take a big chunk of vintage synthesis, throw it together with eerie orchestral elements, blend with mourning, surreality, loneliness, and sheer terror and doom- that’s The Djinn score.
The Djinn takes place in the 1980s. Did you feel that you needed to create a score to match this time period?
Yes, and we’re certainly not shy about it! A blend of old Yamaha (CS) series samples, Arturia and good old fashioned orchestration gentle dusted with some creepy vocals by yours truly.
Some composers incorporate found objects into their scores, did you do anything like this for The Djinn?
In this case, I found my voice being the object that was incorporated to the film. This set the tone for The Djinn’s main them, mangled whispers, from siren like to howls and calls to doom were what the doctors ordered.
I know you can’t give too much away, but what was your favorite scene to score in the film? Why?
Too difficult to choose, a father loves his children equally. I think most of us can identify, at the very least metaphorically, with not having a voice in a given situation. As a victim of fairly serious bullying growing up for being quiet, shy and “weird” -I definitely empathized with feeling left out or removed. You could say I’m a “method” composer in that way. Also, without being too personal, coincidentally I lost my mother to cancer 4 years ago, that definitely found its way into the score.
How has scoring The Djinn been different from scoring your other films such as Useless Humans and White Wolves?
The Djinn was a pull back to slow developing minimalism. Coming nearly straight off of Useless Humans, which was an action-adventure horror comedy featuring a wall-to-wall second golden era orchestral score (think BTTF), it was certainly a change of pace sonically and emotionally. I’d say White Wolves was more similar in the respect that it dealt with loss and also was an exercise in very, very extreme minimalism writing wise.
Is there a director or showrunner that you haven’t gotten to work with yet, that you would like to?
I can’t say off the top of my head – but I’m a massive fan of sci-fi/dystopian/action TV shows and all films that deal with vastness of space and ET life. I’d love to be able to explore vast musical themes in this genre. And also, secretly, whoever the next Tim Burton/Wes Anderson is, I’d love to meet you, fantasy and drama is a love of mine as well.
Do you have any other projects coming out in the future that you would like to talk about?
I’m currently working on a beautiful Italian film entitled, Whistle and I’ll Come to You by director Valentina Battorti. It’s a short feature based on the Montague Rhoades James story. It’s a period piece ghost story set in 1905 and the score calls for a throwback to the orchestral style of the period, which is a fun challenge, I’m having a great time. That’s the best part of our job – on Monday I could be working on a slamming dubstep/djent metal infused cue, by Friday I’m writing a waltz, can’t complain about that aspect.
SEE ALSO: Read our review of The Djinn here
Matthew’s score for the film will be available May 21st, you can pre-order the album here.
