Original Music by Bear McCreary
With Exclusive Bonus Track by Brendan McCreary With Vocals by Fyfe Monroe
Lakeshore Records will release THE BOY – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally on January 22nd and on CD February 19, 2016. The album features the film’s original score by Bear McCreary (THE WALKING DEAD, OUTLANDER) with the original song “In My Dream,” written and produced by Brendan McCreary (DEFIANCE, the band Young Beautiful In A Hurry), and performed by Fyfe Monroe.
THE BOY is a new psychological thriller from Lakeshore and STX Entertainment, directed by William Brent Bell (THE DEVIL INSIDE) starring Lauren Cohan (THE WALKING DEAD). Greta (Cohan) is a young American woman who takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, only to discover that the family’s 8-year-old is a life-sized doll that the parents care for just like a real boy, as a way to cope with the death of their actual son 20 years prior. After violating a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring Greta’s worst nightmare to life, leading her to believe that the doll is actually alive.
“The film’s success comes from the audience following Greta on her journey of discovery. She begins skeptical that Brahms [the boy] is alive, as any sensible person would be,” said McCreary. “This was the character arc I wanted to highlight with the score: Greta’s growing relationship with Brahms, and her transformation from skeptic to believer. I knew that if this character arc works, the film works.”
McCreary began by creating musical themes for each of these characters. Greta’s theme, melodic, introspective and brooding, sets the mood in the film’s opening. “The solo piano and large orchestral strings create a gothic mood, evoking the old English countryside home that serves as the film’s setting,” he described. “And yet, the simple waltz melody also suggests that Greta has an inner vulnerability, perhaps even a secret. The whole sequence is beautifully shot and edited, and the score helps draw the audience into the world of the film, before even a line of dialog is uttered.”
The theme McCreary created for Brahms was inspired by Johannes Brahms’ Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, gute Nacht – popularly known as Brahms’ Lullaby. “This melody makes a couple brief cameos in the film itself, with Greta tinkering on the harpsichord,” he said. He also incorporated the melody into Brahms’ theme. McCreary believed that finding the right sound for Brahms’ theme was critical. “I sampled an antique music box, a gift from an old friend, for a frail, plunky sound. I then layered in detuned pianos, autoharps, dulcimers, ethnic bells, celeste, glockenspiel and harp, panning them around the mix. The creaky, off-kilter music box sound was the result of hours of tinkering with live instruments and samples, ironically the most time-consuming aspect of the score.”
Composer Bear McCreary is known for his out-of-the-box approach to film, television and video games. His unique combination of an atypical instrumental background (he is a professional accordionist) with rigorous classical training prepared him to compose for disparate genres. An Emmy® Award winner for DA VINCI’S DEMONS, McCreary composes for THE WALKING DEAD (which shattered records with 17.3 million viewers for its fifth season debut), STARZ’s debut series OUTLANDER (for Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore who he previously worked with on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., the STARZ series BLACK SAILS, the feature films ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE, EVERLY and EUROPA REPORT. McCreary recently earned his fourth Emmy nomination, his first for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Drama), with OUTLANDER. His 2016 film projects include THE FOREST (produced by David S. Goyer).
STX Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment present THE BOY, in theatres on January 22, 2015. Lakeshore Records will release THE BOY – Original Motion Picture soundtrack digitally on January 22nd and on CD February 19, 2016.
TRACKLIST
1. The Boy Main Title
2. Meeting Brahms
3. The Crying Doll
4. The Attic
5. Family Photos
6. Come Play Pretty Greta
7. The Phone Call and the Letter
8. Following the Rules
9. Through the Keyhole
10. Rat Blood
11. Out of the Mirror
12. Goodnight Brahms
13. In My Dream – Fyfe Monroe
