Countdown
Countdown is a short independent horror film that centers around a young woman and her entanglement with a chilling text-messaging stalker.
This was my first foray into music for film… and despite my lack of experience with the medium it turned out surprisingly well. Director Ricardo Vasquez wanted the style and feel of the theme music to be in the vein of John Carpenter (Haloween, They Live) & Claudio Simonetti‘s Goblin with 80’s-style synth and scary vibes… but in my own style as well.
I started writing and recording ideas before the first scene was even filmed… and before long we had some winners. Two were selected right off the bat to serve as the musical “bookends” to the film: the intro and outro/credits music.
Other tracks were recorded as well, including a simulated radio broadcast and a radio-style song to be used as background music for a scene in a pub.
Directed and produced by Ricardo Vasquez of Deep Murder Productions.
Music For Countdown
“Countdown” Title Credits Music
This piece was written with 80’s synth-based horror in mind but with my own twists, of course… utilizing a cascading delay section that gets taken over by a rather foreboding ending riff and a tension-inducing key change.
Dr. Radio Love’s Radio Broadcast
This funky track serves as the background “noise” to a radio DJ’s broadcast on an easy-listening station. Special thanks to Actor Mark DeBoer for his performance as “Dr. Radio Love”. and to my brother Andrew Percy for laying down the fat bassline that made this track possible.
Countdown Begun
We originally intended to use my cover of Pet Semetary by The Ramones in the bar scene as a tribute to a great film and a great band, but due to financial & copyright limitations we decided to go with an original. I wrote the music with a mix of 80’s pop/rock songs in mind, and the lyrics are sort of a “theme” to the film itself with “Countdown Begun” being the first line of the chorus.
“Zero” Ending Credits Music
The darkest of the pieces, this one punctuates the final scene and plot-reveal that leads the audience to only imagine the next string of horrors to come. For this one I mixed a variety of musical elements to craft a classical-inspired sense of doom that transforms into a more energetic rock band feel while keeping the same theme. The idea being to wake people up as the lights come back on.