We got an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one of the most unsettling film scores you’ll hear this year. Composers Noga Kedem and Mark Yaeger are pushing boundaries with their work on “The Paralytic” (formerly titled “It’s Okay, Go Back to Sleep”), the upcoming psychological horror starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
Currently in post-production, this psychological horror-drama promises to be a mind-bending experience – not just for its visuals but for its innovative soundtrack that aims to get under your skin and stay there.
“We Want the Audience to Feel Uncomfortable”
“We didn’t want background music. We wanted something that would crawl inside your head,” says Kedem, whose impressive resume includes orchestration for “Valensole” and original compositions for “Forbidden Holiness” and “Kidney Trial.”
This isn’t your typical horror score with predictable jump-scare stingers. Kedem and Yaeger have created something that actively fights with what’s happening on screen – sometimes even drowning it out completely.
“The main character has this binary way of thinking,” Yaeger explains. “So we built the music mathematically to reflect his madness.”
The duo took their inspiration from French composer Olivier Messiaen’s technical handbook “The Technique of My Musical Language.” They developed a custom seven-note scale based on Messiaen’s concept of the “shattering glass” effect – a term the legendary composer used in his book that deeply resonated with them.
“When we encountered Messiaen’s ‘shattering glass’ concept, we immediately knew it was perfect for our protagonist’s fracturing psyche,” Kedem explains. “His modal approach to scales and chords gave us a modern framework that fit the film’s psychological themes perfectly.”
They Recorded Actual Screams for This Score
The pair didn’t just rely on traditional instruments. They recorded stones smashing together, and yes – actual human screams in the studio.
“The recording sessions got pretty intense,” Kedem admits with a laugh. “You should have seen the looks on people’s faces when they walked by our studio during the scream recordings.”
These sounds were then digitally mangled beyond recognition using cutting-edge synthesis techniques and processing effects. The result? Something that sounds both familiar and deeply alien.
For the more emotional moments, they assembled a cello ensemble to perform what can only be described as musical torture – scraping, moaning, harsh strikes – all processed to sound like “consciousness unraveling.”
“We pushed those cellists to their limits,” Yaeger notes. “We wanted every disturbing sound you could possibly get from those instruments – anything that sounded stretching, alarming, moaning, or dissonant.”
A Score That Defies Expectations
Throughout the film, Kedem and Yaeger constantly play with the audience’s expectations, creating moments of delicate emotional resonance that suddenly shift into overwhelming dread.
“We worked with these contrasting sonic palettes,” Kedem reveals. “Sometimes we needed to create an emotional human connection, other times we wanted pure psychological horror. The music had to travel between these extremes seamlessly.”
This approach required developing distinct musical identities that could interact and transform throughout the film’s runtime.
“The electronic sound design represents the more sci-fi and horror elements – heavy, disturbing, with deep low-end frequencies and sometimes these deliberately annoying high-end pedal points,” Yaeger explains. “Meanwhile, the processed celli bring that human element, even when they’re performing these extreme extended techniques.”
They Want You to Hate the Music (Sometimes)
What makes this score truly revolutionary is its willingness to be deliberately annoying. Extreme bass frequencies you feel in your chest. High-pitched tones that make you want to cover your ears.
“Sometimes we want the audience to wish the music would stop,” Kedem says bluntly. “Because that’s exactly how our main character feels about what’s happening in his mind.”
This approach treats the score almost like another character – one that actively torments both the protagonist and the viewer. It’s a bold choice that few composers would dare to make.
“It gave space for all my rage to have an outlet,” Kedem admits. “I was initially scared to get so deep into the film’s darker themes, but I found that writing music for big fears actually gives me peace.”
From Metal Singer to Film Composer
Kedem’s musical journey is as unconventional as her compositions. Classically trained as a soprano from childhood, she later fronted metal band “Venus in Fear” before composing for theater productions across Israel and even writing her own mini opera.
This diverse background gives her a unique sonic palette that few film composers can match. The raw emotional intensity of her metal days combines with the technical precision of her classical training to create something entirely new.
“I get scared every time that the magic won’t come,” she confesses about her creative process. “But it always does… those are the most amazing moments. It really is magic – I’m just here to give it a path out.”
The technical side was equally challenging. “This film needed tons of technical work – complex software systems and audio processing chains with tons of original sound design,” Kedem explains. “We were pushing our tools to their limits, creating systems within the software that haven’t really been done before.”
With “The Paralytic” wrapping post-production, get ready for a soundtrack that’ll haunt your nightmares long after the credits roll. Next time you hear a horror score that actually makes you want to rip your headphones off? That’s not a mistake – that’s Kedem and Yaeger showing Hollywood how it’s done.
