Round-Up: New BRIDE OF CHUCKY Doll from Mezco Toyz, Q&A with CABIN FEVER Reboot Composer Kevin Riepl, THE CRUSH Blu-ray

Kevin Riepl Q&A: "Cabin Fever follows in Eli Roth’s original footsteps when a group of college students, who rent a cabin in the woods to do some partying, begin to fall victim to a flesh-eating virus and all hell breaks loose."

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Kevin. How did you get involved as a composer for Travis Zariwny’s Cabin Fever remake and what attracted you to the project?

Kevin Riepl: Hey, my pleasure. Travis saw a short film online that I scored and really liked the end credits cue. He brought it to the attention of the producer Evan Astrowsky. Evan worked with me on Cabin Fever: Patient Zero so knew who I was and they got in touch with me. At first, I was surprised they were rebooting such a cult classic. Being that I enjoyed working with Evan on Patient Zero and I was intrigued to see what they could do with the script and Travis’ vision, I agreed to meet them for a viewing of a rough cut of the film. I was quite impressed with what Travis had done. Yes, it is a reboot and yes there are many similar moments but to me, it was a new interpretation of Eli Roth’s film. There was no dark humor. I thought the acting was good. The cinematography was beautiful but the one thing that got me more fired up more than anything else about working on the film was Travis’ passion for filmmaking and making his mark on this franchise.

Did your previous work as the composer for Cabin Fever: Patient Zero affect how you approached the new Cabin Fever in any way?

Kevin Riepl: Not at all. Since it was a reboot, Travis and Evan wanted this version to start with a clean slate, to have its own sound. So I approached this one with new sounds, a new palette, and new melodies.

What types of instruments and sounds did you utilize to create unease in Cabin Fever?

Kevin Riepl: A lot of the unease was created using many synth elements, a full string section and a processed Double Wind Wand Bull Roarer which you can actually hear in its raw unprocessed form in the opening cue of the film and soundtrack (releasing soon).

Looking back, what was the most challenging scene to score in Cabin Fever?

Kevin Riepl: I wouldn’t say it was the most challenging as in scoring it, but more of a challenge as to “should I do this”. But the scene in the beginning of Cabin Fever was, to me, a total homage to Kubrick’s opening scene from The Shining. In The Shining, the composer Wendy Carlos’ cue was heavily influenced by a section of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. So to coincide with Travis’ visual homage, I tailored my cue as an homage to Wendy, Berlioz, and Kubrick. And it’s not something that is subtle. It is pretty obvious.  

With Cabin Fever out now, what projects do you have on deck that you can tease for our readers, and where can they find you on social media?

Kevin Riepl: I recently finished up scoring my third Batman animated feature for Warner Bros. which should be released in late 2016. Two other films I scored in 2015 should be releasing this year, Get The Girl directed by Eric England and The Night Crew directed by Christian Sesma. Both having coinciding soundtrack releases as well.