Images
Mondo to Release Three Howard Shore/David Cronenberg Film Scores to Vinyl
Mondo has just announced that they will be releasing Howard Shore‘s scores to three David Cronenberg films on vinyl: Naked Lunch, Dead Ringers, and Crash. This will mark the first time that these scores have ever been released on this format.
Naked Lunch, which features original artwork from Rich Kelly, will be up for sale tomorrow. Dead Ringers, which features art from Randy Ortiz, will go up sometime in June, and Crash, also featuring art from Kelly, will be available in July.
Below are details for each release as well as officially provided artwork.
NAKED LUNCH (available May 25)
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the score for Naked Lunch was composed by three-time Oscar-winner Howard Shore collaborating with both jazz legend Ornette Coleman and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Based on the novel by William S. Burroughs, Cronenberg takes the character of William Lee (Peter Weller) through his drug-fueled escapades through the fictional land of Interzone, while also blending it with a semi-autobiographic story about Burroughs himself.
Once referred to as an unfilmable novel, the film Naked Lunch is one of the great book-to-film adaptations, in no small part due to the wildly inventive score by Shore and Coleman. Their collaboration transports you seamlessly into Burroughs’ world.
“Naked Lunch is one of the great film scores” wrote Royal S. Brown. “The whole thing, which has been recorded with exceptional depth and warmth, gives a simultaneous impression of simplicity and complexity, of harmony and dissonance, of reality and half dream, rather like Burroughs’ own disturbing visions.”
Available for the first time ever on Vinyl, with original artwork by Rich Kelly.
DEAD RINGERS (available this June)
Based on the novelTwins by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland, Dead Ringers tells the story of identical twin gynecologists-suave Elliot and sensitive Beverly, bipolar sides of one personality-who share the same practice, the same apartment, and the same women. It is a chilling tale, but a high-water mark for the shared filmography of Cronenberg and Shore.
Shore’s score creates a beautiful yet mysterious atmosphere. However, Shore uses the beauty of a string orchestra to represent the sinister. Howard Shore has said that “the music in Dead Ringers works all around the edges. It’s all about subtext.” Shore won the Genie Award for the Dead Ringers score.
We are thrilled to be highlighting Dead Ringers on vinyl for the first time, and featuring original artwork by Randy Ortiz.
CRASH (available this July)
Crash is an utterly audacious piece of work from Shore-using 6 electric guitars, 3 orchestral harps, 3 woodwinds and 2 percussionists. Shore crafts a meticulous sonic landscape.
Based on the novel by J.G. Ballard, Crash deftly explores the complex interpersonal relationships of a select few, who find themselves colliding head-on with the world of car-crash fetishism.
Crash is the first Cronenberg film to premiere at Cannes. John Bender wrote “Shore’s calculated instrumentation, mostly electronically manipulated guitars, harps and percussion, give Crash a cold and burnished metallic sound.” The perfect companion to an uncompromising filmmaker like David Cronenberg.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of this complex film, Mondo and Howe Records are pleased to present Howard Shore’s score for Crash for the first time ever on Vinyl, with original artwork by Rich Kelly.
We have an exclusive first look at A Man in the Woods With an Axe, a blood-soaked, genre-twisting homage to 1980s slasher films.
Spanning four decades, A Man in the Woods With an Axe begins in the summer of 1987 before pushing into the modern era, weaving together timelines and perspectives in a way that builds both dread and intrigue.
Drawing inspiration from genre standouts like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Hatchet, and The Cabin in the Woods, the film blends visceral horror with moments of dark humor, creating a uniquely balanced experience that honors tradition while carving its own identity.
Writer-director Dillon Brown (Primal Darkness) aims to deliver everything fans crave from a slasher while boldly subverting expectations with a mid-film twist that redefines the story.
“This is an unapologetic love letter to the films that made me fall in love with horror,” Brown tells Bloody Disgusting. “But I didn’t just want to recreate that feeling; I wanted to challenge it. About halfway through, the film takes a turn that completely changes how you view not only this story, but the genre itself.”
Brown describes the vintage-inspired production as “far and away the bloodiest film I’ve ever made,” with practical effects helmed by Cody Ruch (The Mill, Pig Hill), an instructor at Tom Savini’s Special Make-Up Effects Program.
From Horror Dadz Productions, A Man in the Woods With an Axe is currently in production and targeting an early 2027 release.
You must be logged in to post a comment.