Back in 2020, Tom Schraeder made some waves (and certainly caught my attention) when he scored the horror film The Dark and the Wicked. Now, one of the film’s producers (writer-director Sonny Mallhi) has brought Tom back, as well as CJ Johnson, to score his new film, Hurt. Ahead of the Friday December 10th release of both the score and the film, Tom and CJ graciously chose The Film Scorer to premiere their noisy, unsettling cue “Rose & Tommy Forever.”
“After [Sonny] sent me the script – I was hooked and became obsessed with the fact that noise is one of the most terrifying components in a rural place,” Tom told me. “I began recording various disruptive city sounds, inanimate objects, and surrounding my everyday life to pair with acoustic and/or synth based instrumentation.”
“Hurt’s main character, Rose, is a horror film aficionado whose life becomes an actual horror story, creating a film within a film. Because of this, I was tasked by Mallhi to compose two distinct soundscapes that complemented one another and each narrative,” Tom continued. “I asked a great audio engineer/mixer/composer, CJ Johnson, to collaborate as co-composer, contributing his distinctive style and sound to bring the dual-scores to life. Together we created a tonal palette, blending influences from the genre’s generational greats with touches of modern drones, diegetic sounds, and rustic themes.”
Tom and CJ have asked The Film Scorer to premiere their score’s sixth track (out of twenty-one), “Rose & Tommy Forever.” As Tom explained, this cue “best incorporates the dichotomy of the two musical worlds glued together by Sonny’s elaborate vision and Joe Stockton’s brilliant sound design & mix/master of the film’s soundtrack.” Tom and CJ’s track is massive, clocking in at nearly seven minutes, and features an odyssey of discordant, noisy twists and turns that are sure to unnerve the listener. Safe to say, it’s the kind of horror music I love and has me pining for the full release. Luckily it’s only a couple haunted sleeps away…
The album releases Friday on all digital platforms for streaming or purchase (including on Tom’s Bandcamp). The film will similarly be available in theaters and to rent or own in North America on various platforms courtesy of Gravitas Ventures on December 10, 2021.
About Hurt
From writer-director (and prolific producer) Sonny Mallhi, in Hurt “[a] soldier reunites with his wife to take in the attractions at their favorite Halloween spot. But when real terror follows them home, they must fight for their lives – or become the next attraction.”
Tracklist for Hurt
- Waiting to Fade (Original Song)
- Splitting Headache
- Look
- Lost in the Head
- Inspired By True Events
- Rose and Tommy Forever
- Trunk
- Mark the Prey
- Tent
- When It Happens To You
- You Want To Play?
- Halloween Mourning
- Scars
- The Nihilist
- Help
- Roses Revenge
- Different Eyes (Original Song)
- The Haunted | Bonus: Haunted Hayride Themes
- Marching of the Clowns | Bonus: Haunted Hayride Themes
- The Hanging | Bonus: Haunted Hayride Themes
- When Life Imitates Horror | Bonus: Haunted Hayride Themes