GFF 2010: Things That Go Bump in the Night

John Carpenter once summarised his reputation internationally thus: “In France, I’m an auteur; in Germany, a filmmaker; in Britain; a genre film director; and, in the USA, a bum”. He’s hardly in a minority there: it would take the writers of Cahiers du Cinema (who would become the auteurs of the Nouvelle Vague) to recognise the artistry and craftsmanship of the golden age directors that Carpenter cites as influences. In fact, Carpenter is one of very few American directors who can truly lay claim to auteurship, being that he writes, directs, produces, appears in and of course, scores his films. In keeping with the French tradition of appreciating American authorship, Parisian electro duo Zombie Zombie will be paying homage to the works of the great auteur/bum at Mono on 18 February, with a spectacular set devoted to the best music from Carpenter’s best movies.

Zombie Zombie debuted in 2006 and consists of Etienne Jaumet and Cosmic Neman. Neman seemed relaxed and sanguine when I spoke to him in anticipation of the event. He even has a few good things to say about Glasgow: “I love Glasgow very much! I always try and visit Mono Records. I love the places, the people, I love certain parts of the city, the dark side of the city; the weather’s always interesting! And I wish we were there on Sunday so I could go to Optimo at the Sub Club!”

As their name suggests, Zombie Zombie have a passion for horror movies and the music that has made many of them so memorable (and so terrifying). “I just remember growing up watching all these horror movies late at night”, Cosmic says. “We first heard these songs and music late at night, so they really got to us”. Influenced by the music of Carpenter and Dario Argento/George A. Romero regulars Goblin (who sadly disbanded last year), the twosome share a profound enthusiasm for old-school arrangements and instruments. As Neman puts it, “Carpenter and Goblin were using the same instruments we were using – we wanted to know what they were doing there, how they got all these emotions from these instruments, and how that works when you put it to images and put it on the big screen”.

It’s set to be a unique and original evening of music, but how did the project begin? “The idea came from GFF, from the people who run the Music and Film festival. We loved the idea, we love all the old horror movies, and we’d thought about doing something like this, but when the festival asked us, we started working on it with real intensity”.

Cosmic was still working on the project when I spoke to him, which may explain his reticence when I ask what audiences can expect from the show. “We’re not ready yet! We’re still deciding exactly what we’ll be doing. But we chose our favourite movies of John Carpenter: Halloween, The Fog, The Thing (a rare electro work by Ennio Morricone), Assault On Precinct 13 - the four major ones, of course, so you should be hearing something of those. It would be good to do some of the other stuff, like the stuff he did with Anthrax, but we’ll just be using keyboards and drum machines. But I’m sure we’ll pick things up as we go along”.

While Giorgio Moroder and Tangerine Dream would become the most famous of electronic film composers throughout the seventies and eighties, Neman, and many others, are keen to address Carpenter’s pioneering spirit and under-appreciation in the same field. “It’s worth noting that Precinct 13 was one of the first electronic soundtracks, I think he just used one synthesiser and a drum machine. These are the kinds of things we use, so we have a lot in common - though he’s so good, I don’t want to compete or compare us! The influence his film music has had is that it’s really simple but really efficient and powerful, it shows that you don’t have to do so much to have that effect”.

He’s hardly been on top form in the last few years, but Carpenter is all set for a major comeback this year with The Ward, and his early works remain as popular as ever. What is it about the man that just keeps people tuning in and freaking out? “I really like it when you’re a director – it’s like you see in his [interview with] Rodriguez – it’s best to just ignore the stupid Hollywood stuff, all the politics and money and things, because in the end it’s your own project and you have to be true to that. I guess the best compliment you could give him is that he’s an amateur - it’s the best thing you can be in making art – just do it yourself and do what feels right for you”.