Musique Fantastique

April 17, 2023

Max Aruj Scores Horror Creature Film THE TANK

Composer Max Aruj (THE OLD GUARD 2, KILL, CRAWL, LANSKY, THE ICE ROAD, THIS IS FOOTBALL, EMPIRES OF NEW YORK; additional arrangements on TOP GUN: MAVERICK, additional music on STAR WARS: OBI-WAN KENOBI) has scored the new creature-feature, THE TANK. After mysteriously inheriting an abandoned coastal property, Ben and his family accidentally unleash an ancient, long-dormant creature that terrorized the entire region-including his own ancestors-for generations.

Aruj’s score represents the most primal of human experiences: survival. The sound palette uses scraping metals to reflect the cold, metallic water tank where the creature lies. Using a detuned orchestra, Max’s music ebbs and flows, mimicking the slow breathing of the beast. Max comments, “The predatory nature of the creature is mostly slow, and then it strikes quickly when it attacks, and the score is the same. We mimic the slowness of the creature. Then, when it comes time to attack, that’s when the whole ensemble plays together.” The score was designed to reflect the monster’s environment and characteristics, sounding like an ancient orchestra. The simplicity of the motif is like an ancient chant; one could imagine when the creature attacked people 50 million years ago, they would be hearing the same score.

The film has a limited theatrical release on April 21 and releases online on April 25. A soundtrack album will be forthcoming, but has not yet been announced – watch Musique Fantastique for details.

See the composer’s website here.

Watch the film trailer: