By JEFF SZPIRGLAS
Mystic Vault‘s series of beautifully packaged and remastered horror soundtracks (The Alien Factor, Bloodsucking Freaks, Parasite) continues with its latest offering, a two-LP set of the score Jess Franco’s 1981 slasher, BLOODY MOON, lovingly restored on splatter vinyl with lurid gatefold art.
The music comes courtesy of composer Gerhard Heinz, who made a name for himself in the ’60s and ’70s scoring a bevy of adult films and comedies. Although BLOODY MOON is one of Heinz’s rare forays into horror, he ably scores both the synth-heavy kill sequences, the throbbing disco underscore, and sets up an unusual atmosphere, making use of strings, vocals and wavering tonalities. It’s an enjoyably varied score, and RUE MORGUE was lucky enough to speak with Heinz, now 97, and look back on the score and his storied career.
You’ve mentioned that working on the Hammond organ changed your life. Can you elaborate on that a bit?
Cult film composer Gerhard Heinz
I first became acquainted with the Hammond organ when my bandleader, Horst Winter, presented me with a large wooden box on my first day with his orchestra. When I opened the box, out came a Hammond organ. I had never played an organ before; I was a pianist, so I had to figure out what could be done with a Hammond. I began accompanying the band when they were singing or playing “Flight of the Bumblebee,” which became my signature piece on the Hammond. It was always performed whenever the orchestra played.
However, the era of big orchestras was ending, with electric guitars making it possible to fill a large room with sound from just four or five musicians instead of twelve. This shift led venue hosts to prefer smaller groups. As a result, big orchestras were becoming less viable, and Horst eventually shut down our orchestra.
With the last bit of money I had, I bought the Hammond organ from him and started a career playing for commercials. This led to a long-lasting career in Austrian television, specifically in the children’s section. I accompanied various shows and also began composing music for commercials, often with the Hammond.
In recent years, we’ve seen a vinyl resurgence of some of your ’60s, ’70s and ’80s output. Music On Vinyl issued the catchy theme for Schamlos, Private reissued your music for The Joy of Flying; Now, Mystic Vault has BLOODY MOON. What does it feel like to see this resurgence and rediscovery of your music?
It’s funny. I feel like I’m back in those days. My taste in music hasn’t changed with age, and it’s lovely to have all the music coming back to me.
Listening to your scores from the 1960s through the ’80s, there’s a palpable energy and a real sense of experimentation with different sounds and styles. You seem to have moved easily through the experimental, psychedelic ’60s to various funk and disco styles. How did you stay with the musical flow of those times?
Popular music evolved, shifting from orchestral arrangements to incorporating various keyboards and pre-recorded sounds – like voices and strings. This change was facilitated by a Viennese company that produced sound samples playable on a specialized device. Additionally, film productions, often seeking to minimize costs, favored these methods over large orchestras. One of the later films featured music composed and performed entirely by myself, using diverse sounds and sources.
You scored a trio of movies with Jess Franco. BLOODY MOON and Linda were both released in 1981. I’m curious as to what kind of direction he would have given you when spotting and scoring, and what your experience of working with him was like.
I didn’t have any contact with Jess Franco. It was Hubert Frank, who was the director responsible for finishing those movies, which were bought by Lisa Film. I had to create new music for them. The originals were replaced with my compositions.
I never heard the original score, so I created what I felt suited the subject. No one ever told me what to do. I simply did what I thought was right, and they accepted my work without question.
In some ways, BLOODY MOON is also a bit of an outlier from other films you scored in that it is rooted more firmly in horror. What challenges did you face working on the film?
Like with other projects, I created music that I felt was appropriate for the theme. There was original music, but I was asked to replace it, so I did my best to fit the style of those kinds of movies. The result was quite different, but I
hope it worked well. I did my best to make sure it suited the theme.
Having composed music for well over 100 films in your career, do any specific scores stand out?
Yes, the record for which I won a gold record and platinum award. It was Summer Night Fever, and it was popular in Japan and China, especially in Hong Kong. It was produced by a Swiss record factory that distributed music in China and Japan.
