The Making of Night Music: Chapter One

I came up with the concept of an opening chapter in which a boy is eaten by a piano shortly after coming up with the idea of the entire book. It made sense to have a scene in which the supernatural terror of instruments coming alive was established and in which the lethal threat was made clear. These instruments can kill. Think of Spielberg's classic Jaws. Yes, there is the iconic opening scene in which the swimmer Chrissie is eaten by the invisible shark (one of the most effective and least violent horror scenes of all time); however, I was more thinking of the horrifying scene in which a boy, Alex Kitner, is eaten by a shark. This is probably the most ghastly scene in the film, apart from Quint's death, and is sad and gruesome in equal measure. The way Spielberg, a young twenty-something filmmaker at that point, stages and executes this scene with such flare it exceeds even his idol Hitchcock's Psycho shower scene.

I could go on and on about this sequence, but it made an impact on me seeing it at a young age: A. it was terrifying. B. it was tragic. C. it evoked a loss of innocence as well as horror. That tragedy, the death of a young boy, elevates Jaws beyond the schlocky monster flick it could have been, and it hammered home the point I try to make in all my books. The sudden death of a person at the hands of a monster, even a stupid monster like a piano, is horrifying and tragic. This was the vibe I went for with Michael's death.

I've got a good idea of Michael as a quiet, studious boy, more used to staying inside and practising piano, than being out and drinking or vaping etc. Hence that's why he's at home, alone; the perfect prey. That he is a quiet boy, reclusive, resentful, even, of Kate's attention, makes his death all the more tragic.

The inspiration for the opening sentence and its in-your-face weirdness, strangeness, came from J.G. Ballard's High Rise. If you don't like weird books, look away now. I feel like Michael's response, taking an Instagram, is realistic. People post all kinds of shit online, don't they?

The writing style, and general tone of Night Music, came from a great book of Joyce Carol Oates horror short stories called The Doll Master; these were both classy and nasty horror shorts, whose writing style I really appreciated.

The most obvious influence is that of the opening fifteen minutes of Wes Craven's Scream. The rest of the film is very good but it can't compare to how incredible that opening fifteen is, in which a normal night along with popcorn and a scary movie, quickly becomes a nightmare; the way this is executed, complete with long takes and a brilliant performance from Drew Barrymore, feels realistic and a genuine American horror story. I don't believe Craven ever cuts outside the house until Drew Barrymore runs outside, adding to the claustrophobic feel.

Early on, I decided the best way to make the instruments scary was to give them characteristics of the various scary animals we share the planet with. We're not alone here, after all. I myself have a dislike of reptiles, such as crocodiles, alligators and snakes -- anything that makes us feel like prey. It was quite easy, early on, to equate a piano with an alligator and crocodile, its moans, grunts and heavy body similar to that of the huge reptile.