Composer Charlie Clouser Breaks Down the Music of the Saw Franchise

Charlie Clouser is a recording artist and composer for film and television who lives in Los Angeles.
The recipient of sixteen BMI Film & TV Music awards, Charlie has also received ten platinum and gold record awards for his work as a member of the band Nine Inch Nails, and as a producer, programmer, and remixer for David Bowie, Rob Zombie, Killing Joke, Helmet, Marilyn Manson, Jamiroquai, White Zombie, and many other artists.
His scores for all nine films in the "SAW" franchise combined brutal electronics and homemade bowed metal instruments with tortured orchestral washes and became landmarks in industrial-strength horror, and his "Hello Zepp" became a trademark of the franchise and a minor icon in the world of memorable horror themes. His scores for "Dead Silence", "Death Sentence", "The Stepfather", "Resident Evil:Extinction", "The Collection" and other films expanded upon these ideas and produced dozens of memorable themes, terrifying ambiences, and tension-filled rhythmic climaxes.
With over two hundred hours of television underscore to his credit, Charlie's scores to the CBS series "Numb3rs" and the NBC series "Las Vegas" spanned a wide range of styles, from ticking-clock hostage dramas and high-energy car chases to comedic casino capers and delicate heartbreak. More recently, his main title theme from the Fox/FX series "American Horror Story" was widely praised and helped to establish the creepy vibe of the very successful series, and his theme and underscore for the Fox series "Wayward Pines" provided another thick dose of unsettling atmospheres and powerful action-adventure themes.
As the keyboardist in the band Nine Inch Nails during most of the nineties, he toured the globe and contributed to their landmark albums "The Downward Spiral" and "The Fragile", as well as numerous singles, remixes, and other projects undertaken by the band during his tenure. During that era, he remixed and collaborated with artists from Atari Teenage Riot to White Zombie, and as an early adopter and long-time user of Moog and other modular synthesizers, he has appeared in documentaries about Dr. Robert Moog's life ("Moog") and about the recent resurgence of synthesizer culture ("I Dream of Wires").
Drawing from his thirty years of experience as a keyboardist, synthesist, and programmer, he brings to the table a huge palette of sounds and an unusual collection of instruments, including many one-of-a-kind electronic devices and hand-made sculptural metal instruments, all of which combine to create a huge range of emotional textures, from outright aggression to disorienting dissonance.
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[@kmklapatch5841]

The first Hello Zepp , the ending ..nothing has resonated with me the way that has!! I'm sure we all felt something like that ...I have just about all of Charlie's interviews on playlist and was in need of another. I got Hammers as soon as it came out.. Most definitlely the biggest influence the last 20 or so years! I can only write and record like me of course, but loving and studying all the work over the years , you don't hear sounds like this. I could go on and on,.....Great interview ......And if you scroll through these, Sir,. Mr. Clouser, Charlie.... Thank You , I have .learned so much from interviews and the scores, and you're a really cool, nice guy ! Making the score for Jigsaw showing exactly how you did it...Wow ! Really, Thank You!!

[@EricSkwarczynski]

One of the most impactful pieces of music ever made!

[@hawksgoated3613]

Let Go from Saw 4 is actually pretty good it just goes so badass with Rigg bleeding out hearing he failed while Hoffman gets up out of the chair love or hate the saw films the endings are the best and the music is a big part of it

[@spookiidollie]

absolutely amazing interview!! Charlie is one of my favorite composers and so happy to see you come forward to him about the whole Saw franchise! love it!

[@EricSkwarczynski]

I really appreciate you watching - dude is a legend and I’m honored he gave me the time!

[@MindOfJigsaw1]

Great interview man, this is my first time seeing any kind of picture or video of Charlie and he's exactly what I imagined

[@EricSkwarczynski]

Thanks for watching! Charlie is super cool!

[@kennethminear6739]

aside from the first three scores to the franchise my favorite is the sixth one and still hoping with my fingers crossed that it gets a physical/digital release listening to it on youtube is fine but if it gets taken off for some reason i still have the physical.

[@EricSkwarczynski]

I love the Saw VI soundtrack too - Zepp Six just keeps going and going and getting bigger and bigger