Renfield (soundtrack)
| Renfield (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | April 14, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 2022–2023 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 61:09 | |||
| Label | Back Lot Music | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Marco Beltrami chronology | ||||
| ||||
Renfield (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the 2023 film Renfield directed by Chris McKay, inspired by characters from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula and its 1931 feature film adaptation. The film features Nicholas Hoult as the titular character, and co-stars Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Brandon Scott Jones, Adrian Martinez and Nicolas Cage.
The original score is composed by Marco Beltrami who co-produced the film score with Buck Sanders. It was recorded at the Skywalker Sound and United Recording Studios, performed by Skywalker Symphony Orchestra. The score was released through Back Lot Music on April 14, 2023.
Development
Marco Beltrami was announced as the film's composer on January 2023.[1] Beltrami replaced Lorne Balfe, who previously worked with McKay on The Lego Batman Movie (2017) and The Tomorrow War (2021).[1] Gabe Hilfer served as the music supervisor.[2] Having worked on several horror films, Beltrami established ideas on integrating horror with humor into the score.[3] Beltrami recalled that he used Middle Eastern influences into the score, while drawing elements from gangster films, and went through a unique blend of musical styles that enhance the film's emotional depth and comedic elements.[3] For the protagonist, Beltrami wrote a bluesy theme served as a recurrent motif, and he further experimented with use of interchangeable tempos with keys and blending orchestral music with electronic components, where at certain instances led to unintended comedic effects.[3] The score was recorded at the Skywalker Sound and United Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California.[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Back to the Beginning" | 1:20 |
| 2. | "Wake and Bake" | 2:18 |
| 3. | "Transitional Period" | 0:47 |
| 4. | "Renfield Leaves Meeting" | 0:53 |
| 5. | "Apache Joe" | 1:35 |
| 6. | "Dragging Bodies" | 1:04 |
| 7. | "Drac-hole" | 2:06 |
| 8. | "Los Lobos" | 1:30 |
| 9. | "Mulates Arrival" | 2:10 |
| 10. | "Rebecca and Renfield Kick Ass" | 2:01 |
| 11. | "Sweet n Low Hero" | 1:50 |
| 12. | "World Domination Plan" | 2:14 |
| 13. | "Inspiration" | 1:11 |
| 14. | "Teddy Meets Dracula" | 2:25 |
| 15. | "You're the Monster Renfield" | 2:22 |
| 16. | "Dracula Arrives at CODA" | 1:43 |
| 17. | "Dracula Questions" | 0:54 |
| 18. | "Let's Eat" | 1:49 |
| 19. | "Renfield Mourns" | 1:02 |
| 20. | "Rebecca's Escape" | 1:57 |
| 21. | "Teddy in Dracula's Lair" | 1:38 |
| 22. | "SWAT Team Ambush" | 1:25 |
| 23. | "Hello Mr. Dracula" | 1:36 |
| 24. | "Renfield and Rebecca" | 1:31 |
| 25. | "Dracula in Renfield's Head" | 1:25 |
| 26. | "The Familiar Battle" | 4:32 |
| 27. | "Full Husk Emptied" | 1:16 |
| 28. | "Rebecca Throws Shade" | 1:14 |
| 29. | "Final Embrace" | 2:49 |
| 30. | "Renfield's Affirmations" | 1:38 |
| 31. | "We Can Be Heros" | 1:15 |
| 32. | "A Patchy Carmen" | 1:30 |
| 33. | "Renfield Blues" | 2:10 |
| 34. | "Dracula's Gaze" | 3:59 |
| Total length: | 61:09 | |
Reception
Owen Gleiberman of Variety and Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter described the score "pulsating" and "thrilling".[5][6] Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood wrote "Marco Beltrami's ramped-up score is right in tune with the classics of the genre."[7] Lara Popovic of Fordham Observer wrote "The score, crafted by Marco Beltrami, properly encapsulates Dracula and Renfield's eerie beginnings and an action packed plot."[8] Nicholas Bell of Spin noted that Beltrami's "customary engaging" score felt "blunted".[9]
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes:[10]
- Music composer and producer – Marco Beltrami
- Score producer – Buck Sanders
- Additional music – Marcus Trumpp, Miles Hankins
- Sound engineer – Rouble Kapoor
- Score recordist – Robert Gatley
- Recording – Leslie Ann Jones, Chandler Harrod
- Mixing – Tyson Lozensky
- Mastering – Patricia Sullivan
- Score editor – Jim Schultz
- Music editor – Julie Houlihan
- Temp music editor – Maarten Hofmeijer
- Music supervisor – Gabe Hilfer
- Music coordinator – Henry Van Roden, Jaylen Thompson
- Copyist – JoAnn Kane Music Service
- Orchestra
- Orchestra – Skywalker Symphony Orchestra
- Orchestration – Andrew Kinney, Jimin Park, Mark Graham, Pete Anthony, Philip Klein, Richard Bronskill, Rossano Galante
- Conductor – Sarah Hicks
- Orchestra contractor – Janet Ketchum, Peter Rotter
- Concertmaster – Kay Stern
- Scoring crew – Danielle Adams, Dann Thompson, Sean Royce Martin, Steve Veilleux
- Instruments
- Bass – Sean Hurley
- Bassoon – Stephen Paulson, Steven Braunstein
- Cello – Andrés Vera, Angela Lee, Emil Miland, Michael Graham, Miriam Perkoff, Nina Flyer, Stephen Harrison, Vanessa Ruotolo
- Clarinet – Jerome Simas, Jose González Granero
- Double bass – Alden Cohen, Andy Butler, Charles Chandler, Michael Minok, Michel Taddei, Robert Ashley
- Drums – Victor Indrizzo
- Flute – Janet Ketchum, Linda Lukas, Stephanie McNab
- Guitar – Andrew Synowiec, Buck Sanders
- Harp – Jieyin Wu
- Horn – Bruce Roberts
- Oboe – Gabe Young, Russell De Luna
- Percussion – Allen Biggs, Stan Muncy, Timothy Dent
- Piano, celeste – Brenda Vahur
- Timpani – Alex Orfaly
- Trombone – Bruce Chrisp, David Ridge, John Engelkes, Mark Lawrence
- Trumpet – Guy Piddington, John Freeman, Mark Inouye
- Tuba, brass – Jeffrey Anderson
- Viola – Alexandra Leem, Chad Kaltinger, Clio Tilton, Jason Totzke, Katherine Johnk, Marcel Gemperli, Margaret Eldridge, Margaret Tichener, Natalia Vershilova, Patricia Heller
- Violin – Adrienne Sengpiehl, Caitlyn McSherry, Emanuela Nikiforova, Evan Price, Hande Erdem, Jennifer Cho, Jeremy Cohen, Joseph Christianson, Joseph Edelberg, Josepha Fath, Julie Kim, Kayo Miki, Lylia Guion, Lyly Li, Matthew Szemela, Michael Grossman, Michelle Maruyama, Natasha Makhijani, Nelly Kovalev, Rachel Noyes, Rick Shinozaki, Rita Lee, Shaleah Feinstein, Yasushi Ogura, Yuri Cho
- Violin, Soloist – Sandy Cameron
- Choirs
- Vocal contractor – Desiree Goyette
- Vocals – Alison Ewing, Carolyn Fluehr, Dana Anderson, Desiree Goyette, Gretchen Klein, Heidi Waterman, Jennifer Mitchell, Leslie Darwin O'Brien, Rachel Songer, Silvie Jensen
- Management
- Production manager for Back Lot Music – Zach Grossman
- Music production supervisor for Universal Pictures – Natalie Hayden
- Music business and legal affairs for Universal Pictures – Sarah Hallbauer, Tanya Perara
- Executive in charge of music for Universal Pictures – Mike Knobloch
- Marketing manager for Back Lot Music – Nikki Walsh
Accolades
| Awards | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturn Awards | February 4, 2024 | Best Music in a Film | Marco Beltrami | Nominated | [11] [12] |
References
- ^ a b "Marco Beltrami Scoring Chris McKay's 'Renfield'". Film Music Reporter. January 27, 2023. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
- ^ Wagman, Jed (April 12, 2023). "Director Chris McKay Talks Making Renfield". Filmhounds. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c Film Music Live with MARCO BELTRAMI. Film Music Institute. April 18, 2023. Archived from the original on September 25, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Renfield". marco-beltrami.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (April 11, 2023). "'Renfield' Review: Nicolas Cage Is a Stylishly Overwrought Dracula, But This Ultraviolent Vampire Action Movie is Mostly a Flip Grab Bag". Variety. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (April 11, 2023). "'Renfield' Review: Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult Can't Quite Save This Bloody Mess of a Vampire Comedy". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
- ^ Hammond, Pete (April 12, 2023). "'Renfield' Review: Nicholas Hoult Emerges From Shadow Of Nicolas Cage's Needy Dracula In Amusing If Bloody New Take On Classic". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
- ^ Popovic, Lara (June 9, 2023). "'Renfield': A Fang-tastic Horror Comedy". Fordham Observer. Archived from the original on July 11, 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
- ^ Bell, Nicholas (April 14, 2023). "Count Mockula: McKay's Vampire Comedy Renfield Suffers from Low Blood Sugar". Spin. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
- ^ Marco Beltrami. Renfield (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Media notes). Back Lot Music.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 6, 2023). "'Avatar: The Way of Water', 'Oppenheimer', 'Star Trek' Series Lead Nominations for Genre-Focused Saturn Awards". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ Melzer, James (December 6, 2023). "Saturn Awards Nominees Unveiled, Highlighting Best Sci-Fi and Horror of 2023". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2023.