There are a few notable directors who have tried their hands at music over the years. The most notable probably being John Carpenter, who kept composing “Halloween” movies long after he stopped directing them. There’s also David Lynch who uh…well, just look up the video for “Crazy Clown Time” and you’ll see where there’s an “uh…” earlier in this sentence. Rarer still is a composer who becomes a director.
Michael Giacchino is already an Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy winner for his musical works across media, and will direct his first feature film. And it’s all thanks to “Them!.”
Much to Giacchino’s credit, he’s already had a degree of success as a director. In October of 2022, Giacchino scored positive reviews with his Marvel Studios special, “Werewolf by Night.” It’s fitting he set his sights on another horror related project with “Them!.” If you’re not familiar with the 1954 creature feature, picture a bunch of giant radioactive ants with the US Military trying to stop them. It was very much a product of its time. While its aged poorly in many respects, elements of the film’s social commentary still hold up well enough to where a remake could actually do well for itself.
Why would Giacchino choose such a film to be his big screen debut? According to a recent interview, it’s pretty much because of how memorable it was for him growing up. “There’s always a movie in your mind that never leaves your head. For me, that’s ‘Them!’ It wasn’t until much later in life until I learned what it was about — the nuclear age.”
He goes on to say as well that the name of the film is also something he admires because of what it symbolizes. When you have a “them” that you categorize, it’s indicative of seeing something as an “other” or an unknown. He then ties this into the current issues with immigration without elaborating on how that’s going to tie into giant ants. Were ants the metaphor all along?
Currently there’s no other news about the project other than that Giacchino will be doing the score for the film; which is clearly the most obvious thing mentioned in this article. Additionally, Anthony Giacchino (Michael’s brother) is set to be involved in some capacity as well. Anthony was responsible for the Disney+ documentary about his brother, “Director by Night.” The film was a tie-in to “Werewolf by Night” which chronicled Michael’s journey from composer to director.
For all of it’s 1950’s cheesy glory, “Them!” is still a cinema classic. Here’s hoping Giacchino will do it justice. No word on if he’ll also be composing for it.
