Passenger, from Paramount Pictures, is a supernatural horror film from director André Øvredal. Released on May 22nd, the film follows a young couple, who witness a gruesome highway accident and are then followed by a demonic presence. Passenger stars Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell and Melissa Leo.
Christopher Young (pictured) composed the film's original soundtrack. Here, he shares with Post his experience working on the film and how he collaborated with the director.
Christopher, how did you get involved in this project and what was your initial understanding of its musical needs?
“Director André Øvredal had wanted to work with me for years, but never had the opportunity until Passenger. He had envisioned the film with a more conservative, traditional score, and I suggested that we try something very different.
“He was reluctant at first, but I used a process I call ‘studies.’ Instead of writing directly to the picture, I write about the picture. These studies serve as demonstrations of what the score could be – not specific music for scenes, but examples of the musical language the film might use.
“I invited André over, and I had created probably eight or nine studies, each about three minutes long. He would comment on what he liked and didn't like about them, and that feedback became the foundation for the score. As a result, the score became essentially non-thematic – the first truly non-thematic horror score I had written.
“There are a few themes in it, but they do not play as important a role as they do in my other horror films. For example, there is a theme for the couple at the beginning of the film, when everything is happy and life is going well. But once things become dark and bad things start happening, that theme never returns because the romance effectively disappears from the story.
“There is also a theme associated with Saint Christopher - the patron saint of travelers and children - that represents a spiritual and positive presence. However, that presence is only briefly felt and does not return until the end of the film. His theme appears at the conclusion of the movie and is performed by a men's and boys' choir.
“The majority of the score is made up of sounds I recorded on field trips, capturing material from the natural world that I later manipulated and transformed into musical elements for the score.”
Tell us about the instrumentation you used and some of the unique sounds.
“I generally avoid using factory or industrial sounds in their original form. When I do use them, I manipulate them until they no longer resemble the source material. Most of the sounds I use come from field recordings – going out and capturing sounds from the natural world that I think might be useful – or from my collection of unusual instruments.
“For me, the use of acoustic instruments is critical. I think it's important that the sound comes from something alive – a music-producing or pitch-producing instrument. Then I can twist and transform those sounds until they are no longer recognizable.
“That's not a new technique, but the way these sounds were used in the Passenger score felt different from anything I'd done before – or heard in another score. One sound, in particular, became a kind of musical motif for the antagonist. It wasn't deployed as relentlessly as the famous two-note motif in Jaws, but it served a similar function. The inspiration came from a childhood memory of playground swings: metal chains rubbing against steel loops, creating a distinctive creaking sound as you swung back and forth. That creaking sound became the character's motif. Anytime you heard it, it was a signal that he wasn't far away. Even when he wasn't visible on-screen, the sound reminded you that his presence was nearby – an unseen threat lurking in the background. That was just one of many sound-based ideas I created for the film, and the approach felt very different for me.
“Another crucial element of the score was the relationship between music and silence. Music would often appear briefly, almost as if it were carried in on the wind, and then disappear, leaving only silence behind. This was important because the story follows a couple traveling on a road trip in a van. They venture into remote wooded areas where there is virtually no one around. Most of the locations are isolated and free from any signs of humanity. When they turn off the car, there is an overwhelming sense of quiet.
“Because of that, we intentionally left space in the soundtrack. There were scenes I would normally have scored, but the director felt they worked better in silence – and I agreed.”
How many cues or themes did you create, and how much screen time does that represent?
“In terms of the amount of music, I think I wrote a little over 50 minutes.
As for themes, there are really only two. The first is the couple's theme, which appears at the beginning of the film and then gradually disappears as the story takes a darker turn. The second is the Saint Christopher theme, which appears at the very end of the film and is performed by a men's and boys' choir.
“Beyond those, there isn't much that would qualify as a traditional theme. There is, however, the recurring swing motif I mentioned earlier. That sound reappears throughout the score, surrounded by other sound-based elements, and functions as the primary recurring musical idea.
“When assembling a soundtrack album, I always try to shape the music into its own narrative. Many people buy film score albums because they want to revisit the experience of the movie, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I always ask myself: Is there a way to remind listeners of the movie while also presenting the music in a way that transcends the traditional soundtrack format?
“Traditionally, soundtrack albums are presented as a sequence of individual cues – a main title, a love theme, an action cue, another dramatic cue – often arranged chronologically as a collection of short tracks. For this film, André even warned me that assembling the album might be challenging because many of the cues were so brief. He encouraged me to combine them in a way that didn't necessarily mirror the film's structure.
“For the Saint Christopher material, I originally wrote four different choral themes and submitted them to André. He chose his favorite, but I liked all of them, so I recorded all four with the boys’ choir at Sony. Each had its own lyrics, and together they became the structural foundation of the album.
“The album opens with a string orchestra prelude, followed by St. Christopher No. 1, establishing a ritual, processional atmosphere – reminiscent of a Catholic ceremony, with bells, incense and ceremonial movement. The swing motif then introduces the first Passenger section, which runs for several minutes before returning to another Saint Christopher piece. This alternation continues throughout the album between the Passenger material and the choral works. The soundtrack ultimately concludes with the choral theme that appears in the film itself. That's how the album evolved into its final form.”
Can you talk about your recording setup?
“Yes. All of the recording was done at home – everything except the field recordings, which were captured by me and an assistant. All of the studio work took place in my home studio, which is set up in my garage. The only material recorded elsewhere was the choir.
“After the film had been completed and mixed, we recorded the men's and boys' choir at Sony. I'm always interested in doing weird things during the mix, particularly with panning. I love moving sounds around the listening space. It's also worth noting again that what I created for the soundtrack album differs from what's heard in the film. In fact, the album is titled ‘Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture,’ which is somewhat unusual, but that's the approach we took. The music functions differently on the album than it does in the film.”
Are there two or three scenes that were elevated by the music?
“There are two or three scenes that stand out. One is the climax of the film, when Tyler (Jacob Scipio) and his fiancée Maddie (Lou Llobell) race through the desert toward the church. It’s one of the few moments where the music really has room to open up. The score builds into a cacophony that resolves in the choral theme as they reach the statue of Saint Christopher. We never see Saint Christopher himself – only the statue. The Passenger is pinned to the hood of the car and ultimately becomes almost crucified against it. There's this madness in the music carrying us toward that moment, where the connection between The Passenger and Saint Christopher is finally made. It's the triumph of good over evil. Saint Christopher prevails, and immediately afterward the score shifts into this choral piece. That's probably one of the strongest examples of the music playing a major role in the storytelling.
“Another scene that stands out – and really shows the importance of the relationship between music and silence – is when Maddie goes out into a parking lot at night to get back into the van they’ve been traveling in. She thinks she’s hearing something, and the score plays with that uncertainty. Music appears, then cuts out, returns and disappears again. It constantly fades in and out.
“It's an exciting sequence, and I think the score does exactly what it needs to do. I'm not a big fan of relying on drones or low pedal tones that just hang there forever. Instead, as she becomes increasingly unnerved and eventually runs back to the van, the music becomes much more active and intense.
“That’s also one of the scenes where the strings feature prominently. I only use strings in a handful of moments in the film, drawn from what I call my ‘mumbo-jumbo’ string library – recordings from orchestral sessions I’ve accumulated over the years that I later sample and manipulate. I like pushing them to the point where you’re not quite sure they’re strings anymore, even though that’s exactly what they are.”
What gear did you use for recording these cues?
“The main microphone we use for recording is the Neumann TLM-49. The speakers we use are a pair of ATC SCM 100 A speakers and a 12-inch Adam subwoofer.
“On the software side, we like to use the Omnisphere. That's how we combine electronics and acoustic scores together to make something unique. We also use UAD plug-ins for compression, EQ and reverb. Lastly, we use Cubase and M-Audio MIDI keyboards.”
Tell us about the closing sequence with The Passenger and Saint Christopher.
“Most of the main electronic elements in the final sequence were created using Korg synthesizers, supplemented with Omnisphere and Zebra software patches. Fifteen years ago, I spent hours sampling a full string orchestra, and I still draw from those recordings today. I’m always modifying and reshaping them to create something unique.”