Episode 125: M. Night Shyamalan On The Music Of Unbreakable, Split, Glass & The Sixth Sense
Soundtracking with Edith Bowman - A podcast by Edith Bowman - Mondays
18 years after he brought us the lo-fi superhero thriller Unbreakable - and a mere 3 since the surprise sequel Split - M Night Shyamalan finally completes his so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy with Glass. All the key players from the pervious films return, led by Bruce Willis's blue collar vigilante and Samuel L Jackson and James McEvoy's super-villains. Much of the action takes place in the mental institution where the trio are incarcerated and probed by Sarah Paulson's sceptical psychiatrist. Glass is scored by West Dylan Thordson, who also provided the music for Split. It's an edgy, minimalist affair - with the ambient gloom and agitated strings reminiscent of Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow's incredible work on Alex Garland's Annihilation (see episode 85!) And it's with West's cue Backfire that we begin, as Night reflects upon the history of a trilogy nearly two decades in the making. We should say that if you haven't seen Split and intend to do so anytime soon, you might want to wait before listening to this, though it wouldn't be the end of the world ...