Sofia Frasz, the mastermind behind Exiled Hope, has elegantly crafted a chilling and haunting soundtrack, out November 17, for the short film What Happens After Midnight.
The film follows a lonely, overworked hotel clerk who finds both his motivation and sanity starting to slip as a series of increasingly bizarre events unfold after the clock strikes 12 every night.
On her music and contribution to the short film, Sofia says,
My main goal with Exiled Hope is to tell stories through my music and to take my audience on a larger than life cinematic journey. Working on film scores feels like a major step toward accomplishing that goal because the music, whether it’s metal, folk, electronic, or otherwise, has a chance to explicitly serve a story. What Happens After Midnight is not my usual metal sound, but I believe in having an overall signature style and then being flexible in applying that style. Exiled Hope’s signature style is atmospheric, moody, and epic, and this can translate to a variety of genres outside of metal. It’s a fun challenge to draw from different genres to create a score that conveys the story and atmosphere of the film.
Having only heard the soundtrack and not seen the film, I can only assume the clerk isn’t finding fun bizarre events unfolding each night.
Opening with the title track, “What Happens After Midnight” is eerily irritating. The irritation comes from the repetitive notes on the song that starts out slow, speeds up, quietens, gets louder, disappears and reappears. It hits the ear in such a penetrating way that one can’t shake it. I don’t have to see the scene it’s used in to know that something bad is going to happen. As the song builds, a brooding bass appears, further letting on that doom and gloom are abound.
Furthering that mood is the bass line in “Get Out”. It’s haunting and foreboding as if being stalked by a demon just out of sight in the edges of the dark.
Closing out the soundtrack is “Helena Rose” which combines the moody elements of the previous two tracks into one. I can say from the song, I’m sure Ms Rose is up to no good and as the song abruptly ends, I find myself curious as to what happens to the clerk and what is going on at the Boca Grande Hotel.
