John Hawkins is at the tail end of his career as Chief of Police in the small Canadian town Lone Crow. As a mangled body appears from the river, he’s pulled into incomprehensible horror and mystery. The Breach stars Allan Hawco, Emily Alatalo, Mary Antonini, Alex Lifeson, and Natalie Brown. It’s directed by Rodrigo Gudiño and written by Nick Cutter and Ian Weir. Famed Guns N’ Roses guitar player Slash executive produced and composed the score.
“I really liked the script. Rodrigo sent it to me when he was looking at developing this thing, and I thought the script was really good," explained Slash, "then he asked me if I wanted to commit to it as a producer and get it off the ground. So I was like, ‘Yeah, I would love to do that.’”
Slash has been working on producing horror movies for just under a decade now, so seeing one through to the end, he expressed, was a delight. Especially considering that production took place during the pandemic, which served as a serious obstacle. As for composing, Slash has worked on a number of remarkable projects before The Breach including Hulk, The Italian Job, Fantastic Four, and Coneheads.
Making of the Score
“It was really influenced by the story itself,” said Slash, “I didn’t have any outside film influences. Although, I listen to a lot of scores in my car… I’m sort of a nerd for movie scores. So, I mean, that has a subliminal influence on how I do things, but really, the inspiration just came from the script and the dailies that they were sending me during the production.”
During the pandemic, Slash was unable to attend the set because he couldn’t enter Canada, where the film was shot, due to the restrictions. “They did the entire production on this one location and everybody was sort of communally living together and staying COVID-free. No outsiders, just the crew and the cast. And it’s really a special aspect of this movie. I think it translates on the screen in the acting. I think it’s unforced. A lot of the acting is really, really natural, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that they were really living together.”
Differing Score from Rock and Roll Writing
“It’s very different,” explained Slash when asked how making a score for a movie differs from making the music that he’s widely known for. “Writing for a rock and roll band, and for a rock record is something I’ve been doing ever since I was a kid. But when you are presented with a visual or a concept for a story, or even just the story itself, and then you start to write with that in mind, it’s a completely different outlet for me. And I actually feel very comfortable doing it. It's refreshing for me because I’ll go into a different place that I don’t normally go. It’s sort of new, and I do stuff in that capacity that I wish I did when I did it with rock bands, but it’s a whole different animal.” Slash continued, explaining that he’s most excited for fans to experience the score in the overall package, the combination of all the music and the visual elements of the film delivered at once, noting that it’s about the whole thing.
As for what’s next, Slash commented that he has a couple of projects in the works that are currently unannounced, but that he’s really excited about them and that he’ll be working with Raven Banner Entertainment (distributors of The Breach) again. “I’ve known those guys. I think we first met in 2013, and I was really happy to work with them because I think they have done really quality work all these years… so it was really exciting to be on board with Rodrigo and with Andrew Hunt and Michael Paszt.”
The Breach is a production of Hangar 18 Media, a subsidiary of Raven Banner Entertainment. It recently saw its world premiere at the 2022 Fantasia International Film Festival.