Read Our Exclusive Interview with THE DJINN Composer Matthew James
Josh Millican
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The saying “Be careful what you wish for” has never been more relevant than when it comes to IFC Midnight’s latest horror/thriller, The Djinn.
Synopsis:
A mute boy becomes trapped in his apartment with a sinister monster after making a wish to fulfill his heart’s greatest desire.
Directed by David Charbonier and Justin Powell (The duo behind The Boy Behind the Door), the film follows a mute twelve-year-old, Dylan Jacobs, who 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.
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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.
Taking the game of cat and mouse to another level is the score by composer Matthew James. Because the film takes place in 1989, Matthew experimented with a lot of different synths, creating a sound that was perfect for the time period and ultimately added another layer of tension to the tale. Matthew goes into more detail about his work on the film, in the below interview. The Djinn is now available on VOD and digital.
Dread Central: After learning you would be scoring The Djinn, what was the first thing you did? Break down the script? Create a palate of sounds?
Matthew James: I high-fived myself then jumped up and down on the couch… Actually, I came onto the project when it was in post. Ryan Scaringe from Kinogo shared the rough cut and I was immediately interested. He and I built a strong working relationship on our previous film, so he wanted to get me on it. We had a meeting at my studio in Burbank (16 Cent Studios) in September of 2019 with the filmmakers in person (ah yes, the time before COVID) where we discussed musical direction.
DC: Can you discuss your initial pitch to the directors? What do you think stood out to them most about you?
MJ: Yes! I originally shared a reel of basic ideas as well as a couple of original tracks I had composed based on the limited information I had from the film and the rough cut. “Artifacts Required” became the benchmark for sonic color of the film. From my understanding, when they heard that track in particular, they instantly wanted me on board. I believe my passion for their project as well as the comfortable environment I create at my studio stood out to them. Honestly, I can’t wait to get back to the Pre-COVID era of having studio meetings, it’s so crucial to meet in person.
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DC: When you first began conversations with directors David Charbonier and Justin Powell, was there a direction or sound you knew you really didn’t want to use?
MJ: Yes, given that it’s a period piece set in 1989, we knew that we were going to draw upon the vintage electronic sounds from the era (Yamaha CS Series, Moog, Casio, etc etc). Also, the gents had some very eerie music in their temp that had solo chanting/incantational vocals. I ended up recording these myself for the score as well – centering around The Djinn’s main thematic passages. These elements became integral to the score along with the haunting orchestral strings and other instruments.
DC: You use a lot of synths in The Djinn. Were you knowledgeable of synths before this movie and just waiting for the right project to incorporate them into? Or was this new territory for you?
MJ: Admittedly, I’m a child of the 80s and my first instruments were a keyboard, organ, piano, etc, so it’s natural for me as a keyboard player. I had come off a couple of movies previously in 2019 that I utilized synths in but in a less overt way. I would certainly say this was the most obvious synth-based score where we’re about 80/20 blend.
DC: The Djinn takes place in a small apartment. How did this pretty confined space influence your score?
MJ: Interestingly enough, we were able to go quite big with the score as a juxtaposition. You will however notice that there are very claustrophobic tight moments where it feels like the air is sucked out of the room like a vacuum. We grow with the character and the story throughout; it isn’t until the final sequences where we light the kitchen sink on fire and hurling it screaming at the audience.
DC: Was there ever a time when scoring The Djinn, where you thought, less is more here?
MJ: Certainly – there were definitely elements that were refined, sculpted and minimized. This is especially clear in the opening sequence where it’s basically a two-tone aleatoric string riser that bubbles over the course of minutes. This was an exercise in very nuanced, restrained minimalist writing.
DC: Did you score The Djinn in chronological order? Or save the more intense scenes for the end?
MJ: No, for The Djinn there were thematic materials that needed to be developed throughout. The “Trapped” scene was scored during the demo process, that’s about 30 minutes in or so. From there once I received approval from the directors, we moved on in more of chronology. This is usually a film-to-film basis for me personally, I don’t have a formula in that regard, it helps keeps things fresh.
DC: As a kid, you were a big fan of John Carpenter’s Halloween and the original A Nightmare on Elm Street? What about those films were you drawn to in particular?
MJ: Like most kids, I think there’s an equal fear and fascination about the things that go bump in the night. Michael Myers, “The Bad Guy”, as I called him and Freddy Krueger were just the scariest thing a kid could see at the time. I think that fear and excitement is something that pulled me in. Also, little boys tend to have a penchant for absurdly violent, gratuitous things for whatever reason, so probably a bit from that column as well.
DC: We heard that some of the first things you learned how to play on the keyboard were the Halloween themes. Is that true? How old were you?
MJ: Yes! Amongst many church hymns, classical works (Ode to Joy, Fur Elise, Other Music Nerd Stuff), the Halloween theme was one of the first things that I actually picked out by ear. I was about 7/8 years old at the time. I can still catch my father playing it around Halloween time on his old piano back home in Chicago. I derive many of my musical roots from him, he helped teach me how to read music when I was a wee lad.
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Matthew James’ The Djinn score is now available HERE.
Have you seen The Djinn yet? What do you think of our exclusive interview with Matthew James? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
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