Augustus Muller (Boy Harsher) announces the score for the movie My Animal, written by Jae Matthews (Boy Harsher), directed by Jacqueline Castel, starring Bobbi Salvör Menuez (Euphoria) and Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies).
My Animal world premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
The score marks Muller’s debut as a feature film composer.
My Animal is a genre-bending horror romance that tells the story of Heather. Tormented by a hidden family curse, she is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny, their connection threatens to unravel Heather's suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within.
Augustus Muller wrote and recorded the score at his home studio in Northampton, MA, where he primarily used hardware and analog synthesizers. With director Jacqueline Castel, Muller pays homage to Klaus Shulze’s music for Angst and John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 as major influences. Muller utilizes a sparse, but efficient palette of sounds, combining modern soundscapes with quintessentially 80’s sounds to create a score that’s fresh, while still making a nod to 80’s B movies.
Muller embarked on his composing career in 2019, crafting captivating scores for two short films for the adult film site, A Four Chambered Heart. The scores, titled 'Machine Learning Experiments', were released in 2020, showcasing his talent. In 2023, Muller joined forces again with A Four Chambered Heart, composing two more scores, entitled Cellulosed Bodies.
Jacqueline Castel is a longtime music video and short film director at Sacred Bones Records, and has directed work for musicans Alan Vega (Suicide), The Soft Moon, Zola Jesus, and for directors David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, and John Carpenter.