Track listing
- Title Card [0:20]
- The World Is Wrong [0:47]
- Bomb Scare [0:21]
- High Rise / Puppet on a String [0:51]
- Timer / End Credits (Unused) [1:00]
Straw Man is a thriller from 2011 focusing on a man forced to read out his kidnapper's proclamations while strapped to a ticking time bomb. In researching the kinds of statements made by infamous killers I read up on Charles Manson and his so-called "Helter Skelter" scenario. As the song of the same name wasn't quite as easy to insert into the score, I included a brief reference to the melody of the Beatles' "Because" over the film's establishing shots -- itself a version of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" played backwards, which already lends it a somewhat creepy atmosphere. The remainder of the score is moody ambiance, with rising dread as the protagonist's situation is slowly revealed to the audience.
The score as presented here is split into five tracks, taken from a full, suite version available on Bandcamp. The last two tracks feature two cues each; the last track includes a version of "Title Card" intended as end credits music. In the finished film, the credits play over musical silence, with only the echo of the bomb blast heard in the background.
The score as presented here is split into five tracks, taken from a full, suite version available on Bandcamp. The last two tracks feature two cues each; the last track includes a version of "Title Card" intended as end credits music. In the finished film, the credits play over musical silence, with only the echo of the bomb blast heard in the background.