‘Hope’ Composer Michael Abels Played Even The Gross-Out Comedy Parts Like A Thriller – Sound & Screen Film

Composer Michael Abels says he scored Na Hong-jin’s alien film *Hope* with a serious, tense sound even during scenes built around comedy. The approach lets the humour come from the situations themselves, without music signalling to viewers when to laugh.

Abels said director Na asked him to work on the film after using his scores for Jordan Peele’s horror films as temporary music. The score begins with a textured, suspenseful style before shifting into pounding action music; the story follows a police officer and locals confronting aliens, with three more extraterrestrial characters appearing in the second half.