Music of the Wolf Man

One of the cooler little indie horror films you might not have heard of, House of the Wolf Man, directed by Eben McGarr (Sick Girl), is a loving, detailed homage to the heyday of the monster mash-ups from the 1940s of Universal Pictures. Black & white cinematography, old fashion dialogue, sets, and make-up FX, the one thing that completes House of the Wolf Man‘s feeling of yesteryear, more so than casting Ron Chaney (Lon Chaney, Jr.’s grandson), is the wonderful, old styled score by composer Nate Scott.

Killer Film catches up with Nate Scott for a chat at his work and the music of the wolf (man).

Jon: How did you meet Eben McGarr and how did you get involved with House of the Wolf Man?

Nate Scott: I got involved with House of the Wolf Manby answering a Craigslist ad that [director] Eben McGarr had posted. The film was in post production, and he was looking for a composer that could make the score sound real, and not “synthy“. I convinced Eben that I was up for the task. He was impressed by an intense orchestral sample of mine called The Sentinels Attack, and he hired me the next day.

Jon: Film scoring is a lot different now days, compared to what you were homaging in House of the Wolf Man. Can you explain your approach and how it needed to relate to the time period, rather than anything on screen?

Nate Scott: Eben was adamant that the score be authentic to the style of 1930s/40s/50s monster films, and he specifically wanted to emulate Hans Salter and Frank Skinner, who scored The Wolf Man and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. So I only used instrumentation that would have been used in that era of monster films. Eben gave me notes which let me know when he wanted themes to play, or when he wanted to indicate a certain feeling, like “impending doom“, or specific moments where he wanted a “bum ba buuuum“. I used Eben’s notes as a guide, and I created themes for Bela, Elmira, Archibald, Vedoma, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and Dracula. Bela’s theme was threatening and grandiose, Elmira’s theme was sultry and mysterious, and Archibald’s theme was heroic.

There were also subplot themes, and the themes sometimes overlapped to create new variations. The monsters were represented by specific instrumental sounds. The Wolf Man: a loud growling trumpet. Frankenstein: a low growling trombone. Dracula: trilling flutes/clarinets/oboes. Despite the guidelines, Eben put a lot of trust in me and gave me a lot of creative freedom. For the final scenes, I directed various players to improvise parts of the score, and then I scored the rest of the music around the improvised parts. This worked well to create a sense of chaos.

Jon: Were there any sources of inspiration?

Nate Scott: Of course! I watched as many of the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and Dracula movies as I could get my hands on, listening for musical ideas. Eben supplied me with a lot of these films, and he also gave me a CD which included the main titles from 28 monster films from the era. I kept those tracks on a loop whenever I needed inspiration. House of the Wolf Man’s main title was inspired by Han Salter and Frank Skinner’s main titles for The Wolf Man and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. Bela’s theme was inspired by Salter and Skinner’s theme for The Mummy’s Hand. Near the end of the film, if you listen closely, you can also hear a musical homage to Creature from the Black Lagoon. I couldn’t have scored the film without this constant barrage of inspiration.

Jon: I really loved the film, as our readers know from my review, and your score was a highlight in the film, but also in horror scores in general this year. What moves you musically?

Nate Scott: Thank you, I appreciate it! Well, composers have to be chameleons because of the variety of projects brought to them. I’ve composed everything from jazzy trip hop, to bluegrass rap, to film noir – I love to constantly try new genres because it keeps me on my toes, and I’ve learned to love it all! I love music that draws any kind of strong emotion from me.

I love music with memorable melodies, especially quirky, fun, or uplifting tracks. I’m always impressed by John Williams’ scores because the melodies are so memorable, and because there’s never a dull moment. I’m also intrigued by composers who experiment with unique instrumentation. Nathan Barr, who scores True Blood, will play a bagpipe made out of pigskin and then play it backwards for a creepy effect. In popular music, I like bands that incorporate many layers of instrumentation, like Arcade Fire or Devotchka (who scored Little Miss Sunshine), or bands that just kick ass or have a lot of soul.

Jon: Any chance of a CD soundtrack?

Nate Scott: There aren’t any current plans for a soundtrack, but I will definitely talk to Taurus Entertainment (who distributed the film) about that possibility, and you can stay informed of any new updates at my site here.

Check out the film’s official website here for more information on the film.