09/05/2020
An original electro-acoustic score for short film, Bloody Mary was conceived as a series of twenty compact miniature compositions that segue without pause between sections, with recurring themes and motives interwoven throughout.
Bloody Mary is a folklore legend historically consisting of a ghost, phantom, or spirit conjured to reveal the future. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is chanted repeatedly. The Bloody Mary apparition may be benign or malevolent, depending on historic variations of the legend. Bloody Mary appearances are mostly "witnessed" in group participation play.
Historically, the divination ritual encouraged young women to walk up a flight of stairs backward holding a candle and a hand mirror, in a darkened house. As they gazed into the mirror, they were supposed to be able to catch a glimpse of the face of their future husband. There was, however, a chance that they would instead see a skull (or the face of the Grim Reaper), foreshadowing that they were going to die before they would have the chance to marry.
In the urban ritual of today, Bloody Mary allegedly appears to individuals or groups who ritualistically invoke her name in an act of catoptromancy (divination via use of a crystal or mirror). This is done by repeatedly chanting her name into a mirror placed in a dimly-lit or candle-lit room. In some traditions the name must be repeated a specified number of times (often recurring as 3, 7, 13). The Bloody Mary apparition reputedly appears as a co**se, witch or ghost; can be friendly or evil; and is sometimes covered in blood. Much lore surrounding the ritual states that participants may endure the apparition screaming at them, cursing them, strangling them, stealing their soul, drinking their blood, or scratching their eyes out.
The short film Bloody Mary (written and directed by Chris Prime) proposes a world in which the apparition is not simply the one-dimensional horror character of classical urban lore. Rather, she is a complex, dynamic woman who lives like many of the rest of us. She is a regular person, walking among us. She experiences and shares in many relatable frustrations with the tedium of day-to-day life. However, many of her problems- relationships, jobs, bills, etc.- all stem from the same root: her inconvenient position of being the chosen one who blinks from existence in one space, instantaneously teleporting to another point in space to commit acts of unimaginable horror without hesitation or evidence of empathy or mercy; often without joy, but out of obligation. She seems alone; aware of peoples’ inability (or unwillingness) to empathize with the role she must play.
At its core, the musical accompaniment to "Bloody Mary" is designed to function as an audio extension of the blend of setting and character- as a product of the interactions in each particular scenario- so as to expand and enhance the quality and dimension of connection between the audience and the story.
Inspiration and motivation for the creative direction of this compositional project come from many influential modern composers including Bernard Herrmann, Angelo Badalamenti, Ennio Morricone, John Carpenter, Brian Eno, John Zorn, and Trey Spruance.
credits
released September 20, 2019
composed and recorded by Ken Topham at Beef Studio
June-July 2019
1 track album
Modular creative hotspot located in the middle of the western part of Massachusetts. Audio and video
