Werwulf, a meticulously researched period gothic horror feature from Robert Eggers—the director behind The VVitch and Nosferatu—is due to arrive next month. Robin Carolan, the founder of Tri Angle and the composer who scored Eggers’ last two films, crafted its soundtrack, and he enlisted Ethel Cain for the original song “Wynter Waxeth.” Werwulf unfolds in 14th-century England, so Cain delivers the track in Middle English to suit the era. Cain explains:
Music has always felt like the natural lane for my creativity, and collaborating with Rob and Robin on a Werwulf song represents the perfect first foray into scoring a horror film. From the outset, our visions meshed effortlessly, making the process feel instinctive and unforced. It felt like returning to the heart of the music I began making early in my career, which was a liberating experience. Robin kicked things off by sharing a trove of ancient medieval tunes and showed a particular fondness for the psaltery, a traditional instrument that introduced me to a new timbre. I picked up one online, and a simple harp-like line emerged from my playing—that became the seed of the song.
Carolan adds:
I’d send Ethel Cain medieval melodies, prayers, and odd ambient pieces, and we talked through it all. It was one of those rare collaborations where we seemed to be on the same wavelength about everything. At first we discussed her contributing textures to the score, but it didn’t take long before we started shaping a full-fledged song. Her talent and willingness to explore different approaches are genuinely extraordinary. She performed the piece in Middle English, and with Rob’s guidance she mastered the pronunciation in what felt like a single session. She brought a grounded, feral, haunted beauty to the score, and it’s hard to imagine it without her presence.
Listen to “Wynter Waxeth” below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Werwulf”
02 “Huntere Moone”
03 “A Gyft”
04 “Swere”
05 “Delven”
06 “A Child Of God”
07 “Delivere Me Fro My Synnes”
08 “Persecucioun”
09 “Come To Me My Child”
10 “Hunteres”
11 “Kepeth Thee Sauf”
12 “Englonde”
13 “Y Swer”
14 “Fenden Thee From Evel”
15 “Nyghtmare”
16 “Funeral”
17 “Amen”
18 “Cursid Kinde”
19 “Transformen”
20 “Dark Moone”
21 “One More Moone”
22 “The Hangynge Oak”
23 “Hovel”
24 “Wynter Waxeth I”
25 “Is Not This Love?”
26 “Cold Moone”
27 “Wicches”
28 “Trappes”
29 “Slaughtre”
30 “Kille, Kille”
31 “Uncurseth Me”
32 “Uncursid”
33 “Wulf Moone”
34 “Dore”
35 “Fader!”
36 “Evermore”
37 “Wynter Waxeth”
Carolan’s Werwulf soundtrack album will be released on 12/18 through Back Lot Music and Sacred Bones, with the film hitting theaters a week later on 12/25.
