INTERVIEW – EDWARD DOUGLAS talks Midnight Syndicate

Published on: 10th March, 2010

INTERVIEW - EDWARD DOUGLAS talks Midnight Syndicate  | read this item

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One of the key elements to a good horror movie is an atmospheric score. For over a decade, Edward Douglas and his group Midnight Syndicate have been creating music straight out of old school gothic horrors, whilst also directing his own movies. His upcoming flick The Dead Matter is set for release later this year and is an update of one of his earlier films

Edward Douglas discusses his love of horror and his career to date…

You are primarily known for your music through Midnight Syndicate, yet your new feature The Dead Matter is a remake of a short film you produced before your debut album. Do you consider yourself a musician first or a filmmaker?
“Music, horror, and the supernatural were my first loves but most of my formal education has been in theatre and filmmaking. Like a lot of filmmakers I was borrowing my parent’s camera and shooting “horror” movies at a young age. My first feature was an EC Comics and Creepshow-style film I did in college called Journey Into Dementia. The next project was the original The Dead Matter movie in ‘95. At that time I was looking for a way to combine all of my interests and that’s how Midnight Syndicate developed. Creating CDs that were soundtracks to imaginary films and then producing concerts that would combine live music, theatrics, and films I directed. I did one series of live concerts in March of ’98, but then (due to the sheer amount of time and resources involved in producing the shows) I shelved that element in order to focus on just developing the music. Midnight Syndicate was my only focus for the following eight years until Ethan Dettenmaier and Robert Kurtzman brought me back along the film track when they asked me to score their films. Scoring The Rage helped put the pieces in place for a return to directing which I eventually did with the remake of The Dead Matter (coming this July). Everything has come full circle for me but the wild thing is that doesn’t end there because just this past weekend Midnight Syndicate wrapped production on our first music video. It was directed by my friend and Mushroomhead video producer David Greathouse and co-produced by Kurtzman’s Precinct 13. Gavin and I couldn’t be more stoked about how it went. It definitely sets the stage for more video productions and possibly a return to the type of live shows I was producing back when we started.”

Your music features gothic elements and are structured like horror movie soundtracks. Was this your intention and how inspired by film scores is your work?
“From the beginning it was always my goal for Midnight Syndicate to create “soundtracks to imaginary films.” CDs that blend music and sound effects designed to transport you to a world or a movie of your own creation. Similar to film scores each CD tells a story only with our discs that story is left entirely up to the listener. We try to give enough details to spark your imagination without imposing our own interpretation. Film composers like Bernard Herrmann, Danny Elfman, John Carpenter, James Horner, and Hans Zimmer are big musical influences for both Gavin and I. That and the classical composers who influenced them as well as artists like Black Sabbath, Sisters of Mercy, King Diamond, and early Genesis. I’m also a fan of the old radio dramas and their use of sound design to create environments.”

You have collaborated several times with FX artist/filmmaker Robert Kurtzman, most notably on The Rage. How did you come to score the music for that movie and how does this differ to creating music for your own movie?
“I love working with Bob because not only is he an incredibly talented artist but he’s a great person. In addition to his team at P13, he introduced me to Gary Jones who ended up co-producing The Dead Matter with us. Bob first approached me to score The Rage because he was a fan of Midnight Syndicate’s music. Scoring that film was a good challenge for me. For one, it demanded a much more aggressive style than anything I had done with Midnight Syndicate to that point. Additionally, as a composer (and not the director or producer) I had to continually double check my work to make sure that what I was doing was best for the film and furthered the director’s vision. Quite different from the workflow on a Midnight Syndicate disc. The Dead Matter was easier to score because the film is very much in the style of Midnight Syndicate’s music. In fact, many of the first Midnight Syndicate tracks I wrote (on Midnight Syndicate and Born of the Night) were taken from my scoring sessions (and outtakes) from the original 1995 The Dead Matter. On the new score, I had some definite ideas heading into it, I also had great contributions from Gavin and was also able to hijack some Syndicate tracks that I felt really worked for certain scenes.”

When you are writing a screenplay, are you always conscious of what kind of music you would want to use for a specific scene and in what ways does your music influence your films?
“I co-wrote The Dead Matter with Tony Demci who really contributed a lot of his own scenes and vision to the new version. I suppose in some cases I definitely have strong ideas about what music I will want to use in particular scenes. For the most part though, at the writing stage I’m just trying to create a compelling story and script that will make for a film that’s strong enough to stand on it’s own without any music. That way when I finally do add the music it just takes the whole thing to the next level. Midnight Syndicate is very influenced by classic horror so as far as the music influencing the type of films I do, I would say I tend towards producing similar classic Universal, Hammer, EC Comics-influenced horror.”

You have hosted several competitions through its website, including the chance for filmmakers to make a music video or silent film to a Midnight Syndicate track and be featured on the upcoming The Dead Matter DVD. How important is it for you to interact with your fan base and have them involved in your work?
“It’s everything to us. Hearing from our fans about how they enjoy the music or use it for inspiration in their own work whether it’s drawing, writing, designing haunted houses, sculpting really fuels us. Additionally we never had the support of any major labels or commercial radio stations and we’ve never toured so we owe our success to all of our fans and supporters who bought our CDs and then turned their friends on to our work. We’ve always enjoyed MySpace but we’ve also just now started up on Facebook as well which I’m really liking.”

What are your thoughts on the current horror climate and how does The Dead Matter fit in with the current trends?
“I love horror films and I especially love old horror films – not only the way they looked but the way they were shot.. everything. I’m a huge fan of Hammer films. So that being said, I’m not really into all the remakes although I understand why they are the norm right now. The financial climate in the film industry is tenuous at best – and any type of financial success outside the blockbusters is becoming more and more rare. I think that there are still a lot of great horror films being made today. I thought Let the Right One In was brilliant. Dead Girl, End of the Line, Grace, The Burrowers, The Abandoned are just some that come to mind recently.

To answer your question, I don’t think that The Dead Matter fits in with current trends. A lot of those movies I just listed really push the boundaries – very visceral, in your face. The Dead Matter is a bit of a throwback. As I mentioned, I am heavily influenced by Hammer Horror films and EC Comics and you can tell that by watching The Dead Matter. The shooting style is a bit retro (as is our Super 16 footage) and when you take that and mix it with the classic horror influences of Midnight Syndicate’s music, you have a bit of an anachronism. However, although our themes are nothing new it’s how we present those themes along with the twists and turns we throw the audiences’ way that will engage them and keep them guessing throughout the movie. I’m really proud of how it came together. If you like classic horror and classic horror themes (vampires, zombies, séances) with a bunch of unexpected twists and turns, then you are going to like The Dead Matter. We’ll have a new trailer up in a few weeks as well as a killer, new interactive website at www.TheDeadMatter.com. The DVD will be released July 30th, and will be available at Hot Topic stores. We’re building a new Midnight Syndicate website (www.MidnightSyndicate.com) as well as releasing that new music video (for Dark Legacy off our Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates CD) in early April. It’s Midnight Syndicate’s 13th Anniversary so we have a ton of stuff planned this year including a “best of” CD, contests, and more. Hopefully some good things for folks to consider when they are looking for Halloween music this October.”

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