Varèse Sarabande will release The Strangers: Prey at Night – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally on March 23 and on CD April 13, 2018. The album features original music composed by Adrian Johnston (Becoming Jane, Bridesheads Revisited).
The Strangers: Prey at Night is a reboot of Bryan Bertino's 2008 cult classic The Strangers. The movie stars Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson and Bailee Madison. A road trip to visit relatives takes a dangerous turn when a family arrives at a secluded mobile home park that's mysteriously deserted—until three masked psychopaths show up.
"I had an idea that once we reach Gatlin Lake, just as the strangers are tuning into radio pop from yesteryear, so too should the scoring sensibilities get occasionally dialed across the decades," said composer Johnston. "I also wanted to treat it as much as possible as a live event, but also incorporating certain 'musique concrete' techniques, reverse tape, loops, cut ups etc."
Adrian Johnston's film career began after he became known for live multi-instrumental performances of his new scores for classic silent movies across Europe and USA. His first feature commission was Jude in 1996. Other film credits include Becoming Jane and Kinky Boots.
Johnston thought out of the box in recording the music for The Strangers: Prey at Night. "The recording sessions took place at night in an incredibly atmospheric (deconsecrated) chapel, centuries old," he described. "I projected the film onto a 30-foot high paper screen and improvised to picture, mixing acoustic instruments, vintage synths and organs. There were no nearby neighbors to disturb so I was able to get the entire building thrumming with the cacophony."
In addition to Johnston's score, the soundtrack features classic tracks by Kim Wilde, Bonnie Tyler, and Air Supply.