Amazon Prime Video’s new limited anthology series Them — set in 1950s Los Angeles and centering on a Black family who moves into a terrifying home in an all-white neighborhood — is a thought-provoking foray into the horror genre. Providing the score is Mark Korven, whose music for Robert Eggers’ The Witch and The Lighthouse and Vincenzo Natali’s Cube, among others, has solidified him as an important figure in horror film music. Today, Vehlinggo premieres the main title from Korven’s score, which Milan Records releases digitally tomorrow. (The show also debuts tomorrow.)
Them (Music from the Amazon Original Series) features 18 tracks, including four covers of classic R&B staples from the 1950s that The Watts Wonders newly recorded, and of course Korven’s captivating artistry. For the Toronto-based, multi-award-winning Korven, the story called for music that has an explicit edge — that doesn’t sidestep the intensity of the experience. “Main Title,” premiered here today, is laden with a haunting majesty that deliberately tears you away from any sense of complacency. You’re going to want to put down your phone and just focus on the experience of Them. You must.
“The score for Them seemed to call for music that was rough, dissonant, and brutal,” Korven said in a statement. “There’s not a lot of polish. It’s guttural, visceral, and in your face, which I think suited the horror that our protagonists endure in the lilywhite Compton of the 1950s.”
About Them
Them, created and executive-produced by Little Marvin and executive-produced by Lena Waithe, explores terror in America. The first season is set in the 1950s and centers on a Black family that moves from North Carolina to an all-white LA neighborhood during The Great Migration. The family’s home, seemingly idyllic, becomes a hot spot for malevolent forces both from outside the home and within, and which seek to taunt, devastate, and ultimately destroy them. Them stars Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Melody Hurd, and Ryan Kwanten.
In addition to Waithe and Marvin, the show is executive-produced by Miri Yoon and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment, David Matthews, and Don Kurt. Them is a co-production from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios.
About Mark Korven
The Toronto-based Korven has contributed nuanced and provocatively creative scores to Robert Eggers’ ever-popular The Witch and The Lighthouse — vinyl fans are always on the hunt for a copy of each. Before that he made a name for himself in the Canadian film scene by, among other things, composing the score for Canadian horror guru Vincenzo Natali’s much-discussed 1997 film, Cube. You can follow Korven on Twitter. I certainly do.
