Exclusive interview: Composer Harry Manfredini recalls transforming SWAMP THING comic book into film

In 1981, comic books were extremely popular, so much so that the era could be considered the second wave of comics branching out into other forms of visual media (since the television boom of the 1960s). Superman had two successful box office films in 1978 and 1980 respectively, the Super-Friends, Batman, Spiderman and His Amazing Friends, and Plastic Man had been keeping children glued to television sets on Saturday mornings, and The Incredible Hulk brought them back to the living room in prime-time.

 DC Comics, Embassy Pictures, and Wes Craven felt it was time to branch out and take a risk. They culled the annals of the rich comic history it had established and decided to bring Swamp Thing to the silver screen.

On paper, it was a no-brainer. DC had achieved success after success with the visual medium (save the unfortunate live-action pilots for Legends of the Superheroes – which almost made the Star Wars Holiday Special look good), and Wes Craven was already a proven master of horror, with Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes under his belt.

Basing the screenplay on a combination of comic book sources, they set to work creating a film that blended action, horror, science fiction, romance, and camp humor in a Frankenstein-ian mold. The movie was released in February 1982, and while it wasn’t exactly a blockbuster, the film yielded enough mystique to garner a devoted fan following, which resulted in a sequel, a live-action television series, and even a cartoon series.

Scoring the music to Swamp Thing fell upon the shoulders of Harry Manfredini, who had already become known as a versatile composer, though his claim to fame was enhancing the scare-factor of the first two Friday the 13th films.

In celebration of this year’s Comic Con, we tracked down Mr. Manfredini to chat about how he helped bring ink-and-paper to vibrant motion picture life in 1982’s Swamp Thing!

Were you familiar with the comic book prior to coming on the project?

I was somewhat familiar with the comic book.

Since Swamp Thing was a DC Comics property and Superman had just taken off, and the Batman cartoon was very popular, did you feel some sense of urgency or extreme importance with the Swamp Thing project?

I didn’t feel the urgency at all. I thought it was a cool idea, and relished the idea of scoring it.

Was the prospect of working with Wes Craven what drew you to Swamp Thing?

Well, actually, Wes contacted me and asked me to do the project. But when he did, I was excited about working with him.

Swamp Thing was also among the first movies to blend the horror, action, and sci-fi genres. How did you cope with the different sensations and elements of the film?

The genres were not much a thought for me. I took it for what it was, and really did not consider the music to be genre based. What I did was combine a couple of elements that spoke to me concerning the film - one being the comic book origins which spoke to the “cue-based” type of scoring.

What I mean is that there were many “on the nose” hits, and stings that were very specific to the picture. The second aspect of the score was an almost “operatic” approach. The story has a very serious and heavy element to it. It is bigger than life - fantasy and myth with very human and honest qualities.

The liner notes in the LP stated that Wes said “he needed music with the suspense impact of JAWS and the intensity of RAIDERS.” How much weight did that statement put onto your shoulders, and what was your reaction?

Wow, I should read the liner notes. He did write me a congratulatory letter subsequent to the score in which he praised my work, for not only its quality, but for dealing with the time and budget constraints that went along with the project.

You really brought a lot of emotion to the table with the score. Was anyone surprised at how versatile you were with this one?

Thank you. I think some people were at that time in my career. The players had a great time and enjoyed the operatic approach. I remember one or two of them called it “Ein Swampenleben” making a play on words of Richard Strauss. I was blushing being used in a pun with one of my favorite pieces of music.

A lot of the music blends or relates directly with the nature-centric sound effects, giving it a fluid, gentle, almost liquid sound. Did you find yourself focusing on basic earthy elements or getting back to nature?

Thank you again. I think while I did not think of the music that way, my operatic, narrative approach had to include these characteristics in the overall effect of the music

You also instilled a lot of creativity regarding theming. During the chase sequences, the snare drum is very prominent, giving Ferret and the band guys a military tone. Did you intentionally try to send a message equating the military with evil?

Well, that’s more thought than I really put into it. They were evil, and they happened to be the military. Hence, a bit of snare drum, and a militaristic sound.

Also, there is the very poignant love theme. Was this the first time you had done one? I found it interesting that there is a lot of brass in Swamp Thing’s character theme, while Cable’s makes use of heavy woodwinds. On paper, wouldn’t it have made more sense to do the opposite – making Swampy earthy and Cable rigid?

No, I had written many love themes and songs in the past. As far as the complimenting colors of the two major characters. I think my use of brass for Swamp Thing, was that he was the hero, hence brass… and that Cable was in love and in awe of the man, who would become Swamp Thing. I think I tried to get a combination of the tragic and romantic in that theme, and that while it was her theme, it was more their theme. I thought of it as more of the overall theme.

Did you find it challenging to entice an audience to feel for a monster? It seemed a lot like what would happen if Dr. Frankenstein and his monster were trapped in the same body – minus the doctor’s “over-zealousness.”

Monster? Hmm… I never felt the Swamp Thing as a monster. I think you were more on the money with both the Doctor Holland and Swamp Thing being trapped in one body. He was still the person he was; hence the tragic, and loving character…never monstrous.

There are a couple of moments, like midway through “Cable’s Capture / Fiery Escape” and the first appearance of the Swamp Thing monster, the music eerily lulls into a bit of JAWS-iness. Was that a direct reaction to Wes’ earlier remark?

I think it was more my idea. The remarks Wes made were after the score was completed.

One of the standout moments, and I don’t mean in the eye-candy sense, was Cable’s bathing scene. The cue exudes a very impassioned sense of innocence and purity. Do you remember what you were thinking when you put that piece of music together?

I was just scoring. There is, of course, a sense of her bathing in the swamp, and I guess you can make certain inferences if you wish. You are good at those inferences.

There are a lot of dialogue-heavy scenes throughout the movie with no music, like most of the lab scenes and when we visit Arcane’s house. Was it you or Wes who decided those scenes would be stronger without music?

Mostly my idea. We did spot it together. It is always better if you can keep the music under dialogue to a minimum.

Bruno’s transformation is easily one of the scariest pieces of music I’ve heard since Herrmann. Is that clarinet or oboe in the lead? How did you come to choose that instrument to represent the theme?

Thank you again. As I remember, it was E? clarinet and oboe. But I may have forgotten after all this time. The idea was to evoke his essence and aurally predict that he was going to be a squealing pig. So I guess maybe it worked!

Arcane’s transformation sequence is not as much a musical theme as it is a collection of jabbing, startling effects and runs. Why did you go that route with him?

This was a difficult scene for me in that it had to happen over cuts and time. So I created a rhythmic jabbing piece that could have a sense of energy, but at the same time be “cued” to the various levels of the transformation.

Was it difficult for you to take final battle sequence seriously, since it was a couple of goofy monsters going at it?

You are correct in part of that question. It was difficult because I thought the Swamp Thing was a pretty cool visual, in that it had a certain human, realistic quality - facial expressions, and eyes and mouth, etc. The “goofy” costume for Arcane was just way too stiff and seemed to be just silly. But that is the picture. I think the music helped.

Did you also write the Arabic party music, which does not appear on the soundtrack?

I did, and I just didn’t think it needed to be in the soundtrack, or maybe Varese Sarabande decided on not including it… I can’t really remember.

The score as a whole seems structured like a classic serial with chapter transitions and little cliff-hanger moments. Was that how it was written, or did that fall into place in editing?

I believe that it was the structure idea from the start; in a way, like reading the comic.

Of course, it is difficult to think of your name without conjuring that hockey-masked fellow. And throughout Swamp Thing, a few staples of Friday the 13th musicality seep in, like the twinkling high notes on the piano and the “stabbing” string section. Was that intentional or incidental, since you were embedded in that franchise at the time?

I think “twinkling high notes and stabbing strings” were staples in film scoring many years before the hockey guy appeared. I did not think of these things at the time.

Were you surprised that Varese Sarabande wanted to release the Swamp Thing soundtrack? I know you can obtain it through Dark Delicacies, but do you know why Varese never released it on CD?

Thanks for the plug. You would have to ask Varese about that release. I think they abandoned it before CDs were really the fad. I think they liked the idea of the film and felt there would be some sales, so they released it in limited supply.

Swamp Thing was released during the time when movie success actually did help comic book sales, unlike today, when they simply translate into toy sales. What would you want people to remember about Swamp Thing?

Most people do not know that AVCO Embassy was either sold, or went out of business the weekend of the release of the film. I don’t remember which, but it really hurt the advertising and promotion of the film. Also, Swamp Thing happens to be one of Roger Ebert’s favorites - one of his guilty pleasures. So that alone makes me feel pretty good.

Were you ever called upon or spoken to about being involved with the sequel or the TV show?

I think my agent had some talks with the producers, but it seemed there were too many questions, and hurdles involved with the deal. It never got passed those elements; I think they wanted me to audition for the job, as I remember.

In April, director Vincenzo Natali (who did Splice) announced that he was planning to direct a 3-D remake of Swamp Thing. Is that something you would be interested in being a part of, or are you happy leaving your experience with Swampy in the past?

Wow, did not know that. It would be definitely something I would be interested in doing. He is Italian. Maybe that opera thing could really get a reasonable budget and a chance to become a legend. Thanks for the info.

Check out Examiner’s previous interview with Harry Manfredini here!