Tuesday Tunes: Nightbreed Main Titles

Once again it was time for me to stretch out… Combining dark/fun/sweet/tribal all into one. The great joy in the score for me, other than working for Clive Barker, was being able to use the children’s voices and a whole slew of ethnic drums and instruments together with an orchestra, in an attempt to bring a unique musical tone to the film.

Film composer Danny Elfman has always had the uncanny ability to create powerful opening themes. From the Gothic main titles of the original Batman to the more goofy and silly themes of Mars Attacks!, there’s no doubt that the man has a gift for capturing the perfect tone for the movies he creates scores for. The orchestration he created for Clive Barker’s Nightbreed is a wonderful example of the man’s talents.  Clive Barker wanted to make a movie that celebrated monsters, and I think Elfman’s score helped him to achieve that.

The main titles to Nightbreed use a wide array of sounds and different instruments to instantly pull the audience into the story. From the dark-tuned flutes, thunderous horns, and elegant background choir, Elfman creates a beautiful intro into the world of the Breed for the viewer to connect with.  It also captures the imaginative and mythic qualities of the story that writer and director Clive Barker was trying to convey which sadly upon it’s initial release was completely ignored by the studio who didn’t understand why the monsters were the good guys. But through all the studio interference they were wise enough to leave the music alone.

So sit back and relax and let yourself drift off into the world of the Nightbreed through Danny Elfman’s mesmerizing score!