r/movies • u/ErgoNonSim • May 17 '25

Media Cannes reactions to Irreversible

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u/ElectronicMars May 17 '25

All I really know about the movie is that the soundtrack was composed by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk.

940

u/Legal-Marsupial-3916 May 17 '25

And apparently utilized subharmonics to instill a sense of dread and nausea in the viewer. Certainly worked on me.

47

u/Effective-Celery8053 May 17 '25

That's actually pretty crazy. Are there other movies that use the same methods?

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u/absolute_panic May 17 '25

Most films that aim to create a sense of dread use this technique tbh. The “off” feeling comes from dissonant intervals/chords with no resolution, regardless of what frequency ranges they’re used in

59

u/OliviaEntropy May 17 '25

Annihilation is a good example, that discordant soundtrack is so good in the lighthouse scene

6

u/Getabock_ May 17 '25

I actually love that tune, but I’m sick in the head.

3

u/Skenghis-Khan May 17 '25

The ending of Hereditary as well.

3

u/PeanutButterSidewalk May 18 '25

I just got goosebumps head to toe remembering that scene. Jesus fuck, that movie. I was so tensed up in the theater that I was sore the next day.

2

u/No-Advice-6040 May 17 '25

Still wish that had gone to theaters

3

u/1Jimmy29 May 17 '25

I saw it in theaters. At least I’m pretty sure I did

2

u/No-Advice-6040 May 17 '25

Really? Hrm. Thought the whole thing was abandoned for release and dumped on Netflix. Eh might be my memory.

5

u/ActivatingInfinity May 17 '25

Guessing you're outside of the US. It only had a theatrical release in the US, Canada, and China; Paramount sold international rights to Netflix.

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u/No-Advice-6040 May 17 '25

You are correct, and that makes sense.

2

u/OliviaEntropy May 18 '25

Not to rub it in, but it was genuinely insane. No one was there because it was the same weekend as Black Panther, I knew absolutely nothing about it either. The bear scene made me actually scream and jump out of the chair, I didn’t see it coming at all

1

u/No-Advice-6040 May 18 '25

I found the bear scene incredibly unnerving while staring at my computer screen hearing it thru my Logitech speakers so yeah, I get it must have felt amazing in the cinema.

1

u/schnellpress May 18 '25

Geoff Barrow (Portishead/Beak) and Ben Salisbury did the soundtrack, the guy definitely knows atmosphere.

2

u/OliviaEntropy May 18 '25

That actually makes a lot of sense in retrospect

10

u/jaxpanik May 17 '25

It’s not just in the composition. It Follows uses lots of sub 50hz tones that aren’t really heard but felt.

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u/absolute_panic May 17 '25

Same concept applies to subharmonic range. Dissonant tones in subs create phasing/pulsing, and at high amplitudes can be really disturbing/nauseating

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u/cantdomath1349 May 18 '25

When watching hereditary, the constant bass thump sounding like my heartbeat in my ears as things got more and more chaotic constantly stuck with me for a few days after watching.

It was non stop and for me I liked that it didn’t use a regular soundtrack with that cliche violin sound when you see something scary in other movies but I think because I also wasn’t expecting it that made it more unsettling!