Fans got a rare insight into how the sounds for horror movies are made when they saw film composer Mark Korven show off his Apprehension Engine, and you might just not sleep tonight after hearing it in action. The bizarre contraption is made up of unusual components like rulers, strips of metal, and a wheel that grinds on strings, which produce disturbing sounds.
Korven has scored hit horror movies such as Cube and The Witch, but over time he grew tired of using digital samples, which led to scores with repetitive sounds. His solution to this was to commission the Apprehension Engine, which can create unique sounds acoustically. He said the Apprehension Engine is “an instrument that creates a variety of really creepy and some would say horrifying sounds.” Hear it in action for yourself below, if you dare.
Korven said he “was looking for something more experimental, more acoustic, that would give me a little bit more of an original sound.” In search of this, he contacted guitar maker Tony Duggan-Smith, who delivered what he called “a crazy instrument for horror films”. Duggan-Smith really went all out, creating the bizarre Apprehension Engine, which is capable of some truly nightmarish sounds.
A video by Great Big Story showcasing the sounds of the Apprehension Engine and interviewing the creators was a hit on YouTube, attracting 10.8 million views. After watching, be sure to check out the comments, as horror fans came up with some hilarious reactions to the video, such as “I bet your neighbors love you” and “Imagine this starts playing by itself at night.” If you just want to hear the instrument without any talking, you can watch Korven demo it in the video below.
You’ve got to hand it to Duggan-Smith for creating such a unique instrument, and also to Korven for his creativity in finding new and inventive ways to scare the pants off people with it.
Korven gave some interesting insights on how he works with the Apprehension Engine, saying, “It expresses what really can’t be expressed any other way. It’s not music in the traditional sense at all, but let me put it this way: The Apprehension Engine definitely evokes an emotion, so I would call it music.” Whether you call it music or not, all I know is that it’s definitely the stuff of nightmares.
Enjoy the eerie, unique sounds of film composer, Mark Korven. Known for his work on hit horror films like Cube and The Witch, Korven was searching for a way to create more original and experimental sounds. His solution was the Apprehension Engine, a fascinating instrument capable of creating spine-chilling sounds perfect for the horror genre. So, if you’re a fan of the unnerving and the uncanny, tune in to Korven’s channel and experience the dread-inducing melodies of the Apprehension Engine.