Making Sounds of Mayhem for ‘The Monkey’ – with Eugenio Battaglia

Coming off the success of Longlegs, Director Osgood Perkins delivers another fun horror film, The Monkey, based on a Stephen King short story of the same name. The film tells the tale of a mechanical toy monkey that causes a series of outrageous deaths. Here, sound supervisor/sound designer/re-recording mixer Eugenio Battaglia talks about working with Dir. Perkins to find the sound of the Monkey, creating comical elements for the over-the-top death scenes, making gore sounds, recording bespoke effects, creating novel effects processing chains, and more!

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Interview by Jennifer Walden, photos courtesy of Neon; Eugenio Battaglia

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Director Osgood Perkins brings an element of fun to his horror film The Monkey — based on the Stephen King short story. The outrageous deaths allow for a bit of comedy in the sound, to emphasize the over-the-top nature of them. In contrast, the sound of the Monkey is less over-the-top evil and more like an everyday toy.

Here, Eugenio Battaglia (re-recording mixer/sound designer/ supervising sound editor) talks about his collaboration with Director Perkins and how this film compares to their work together on Longlegs. Battaglia talks about the sound work on the different death scenes, creating the sound of the Monkey, designing the sound of Hal’s dream scene, creating fun effects processing chains for “monkey madness,” and so much more!

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

THE MONKEY – Official Redband Trailer

You recently worked on Longlegs with Director Osgood Perkins. The Monkey was your second collaboration with him. How do the two projects compare? What were some of the initial ideas for sound in this film?

Sound supervisor/sound designer/re-recording mixer Eugenio Battaglia

Eugenio Battaglia (EB): The Monkey was such a different movie than Longlegs. In Longlegs, I wanted to give the whole movie a layer of subliminal sound design to give it that ominous and abstract feeling. Whereas in The Monkey, we needed to keep it a bit less subjective and think about the absurdity of the film.

One of the ideas Oz and I discussed while working on The Monkey was to not make the monkey sound overtly evil like some mystical villain but instead more real and raw to accentuate the theme of the film that death is common and part of existence like an everyday mundane object, like a toy. Other than that, the fact that when it starts working, terrible stuff happens and I think that gives it a comically creepy undertone.
 

What went into the sound of The Monkey? There are mechanical elements and musical elements. Can you talk about how these were created? (And did they evolve as you were working on the film?)

EB: The monkey sound consists of recordings I made of personal items I inherited from my grandpa and retro wind-up and mechanical toys, which helped to give it that intricate analog contraption sound. Shout out Andy from Owen Oddities in Vancouver who hooked me up with lots of these toys.

I also used a toy my wife thrifted for our (at the time) unborn baby. The toy was actually broken so […] it spins really fast and sings chaotically through all the notes at once.

I also used a toy my wife thrifted for our (at the time) unborn baby. The toy was actually broken so once you wind it, instead of putting out a normal tune, it spins really fast and sings chaotically through all the notes at once. I thought that was a very haunting, cursed, circus-sounding thing that matched the vibe of the monkey.

The drum sound is one of the many snares I auditioned for Oz. Since he wanted the monkey to have a very normal sound, we opted for the most common-sounding snare, nothing too boomy or ominous.

The tune it plays was chosen by Oz I think, it’s called “I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside.”

There are so many creative and gory deaths in the film! Can you share some highlights about your sound work on:

The pawn shop harpoon death?

EB: Yeah, definitely.

Firstly, I would like to give a shout out to my fellow sound designer, studio mate, and frequent collaborator Humberto Corte who helped me with most of the sound effects for this project. Without his expertise, none of these scenes would have the same impact.

It was fun to play around with different mouse sounds and the way the harpoon cable reverberated in a comically almost ‘Looney Tunes’ way.

The pawn shop harpoon death was actually one of the last scenes we received, so by then we had a pretty good idea of how absurd we wanted to go with everything. We wanted the deaths to be impactful and brutal, but at the same time introduce some comedy and absurdity. It was fun to play around with different mouse sounds and the way the harpoon cable reverberated in a comically almost Looney Tunes way. That scene is the first death in the film so it helps set the mood for the rest of the film.

The hibachi head removal?

The hibachi head removal was one of the kills that Oz was most specific about.
Originally, I had created a very wet and squishy sounding head slide, but he was interested in a particular sound he had in his head, which surprised me at first.

he wanted to drop all wetness and gore and instead use the sound of concrete being rubbed

He mentioned he wanted to drop all wetness and gore and instead use the sound of concrete being rubbed, like the friction that concrete makes when you scrape it.

I thought that was pretty odd, but once I put it in there, it matched the sound perfectly. I still don’t understand why, but it makes a sound that’s both very satisfying and matches the picture very well.

The aneurysm in the kitchen?

The aneurysm in the kitchen was the first scene that I sound designed. It was important to me to make that scene impactful because it’s the most serious and realistic death in the film; it hits in a different way than the others.

We ended up altering the monkey music to make it sound ethereal, like a memory.

It was also a way for me to come up with the idea of how it sounds when the monkey is about to kill. I started by covering the scene with tons of sound ideas and then subtracting from there, almost like sculpting. I feel like that’s mostly the way that I sound design.

We ended up altering the monkey music to make it sound ethereal, like a memory. When the music stops, she gets the aneurysm and blood starts from her eyes and ears. All you hear are just low frequencies and subtle drowned mechanical sounds, but it was important to not overdo it because we wanted to conserve the rawness of that specific death.

The hunting trip horse stampede (and sleeping bag full of ‘cherry pie’)?

The horse stampede kill was one of the most challenging ones during the mix. I really wanted to convey the force and weight of 67 horses stomping down on a body. But at the same time, the scene had a voiceover on it, so I had to sneak the impact right before the voice started. I had to “wrap” the voiceover around this really loud sound, which made it challenging for both to play. What we ended up with was the initial impact of the stampede, which quickly drops for the voice to come through. So, it becomes like a jump scare, which I felt was a good solution.

The hotel pool electrocution?

The hotel pool electrocution scene is definitely my favorite kill in the film. At that point, any hope for the movie to make logical sense is completely abandoned, and the movie becomes an “anything goes” sort of film.

I came up with a really fun chain of effects that functioned like a multi-channel delay/pitch shifter.

That scene is just so funny because it does the opposite of what you think is going to happen. So, it was especially fun for me and Humberto to go comically over the top with the explosion; we added sounds of multiple body parts flying around, hitting walls and windows, and then a rain of blood afterwards.

I particularly like the sound of electricity in this scene. I came up with a really fun chain of effects that functioned like a multi-channel delay/pitch shifter. Anytime I wanted to add extra zaniness to a sound effect, I would send the signal to this chain of effects that I dubbed “monkey madness.” It basically made everything over the top, panned all around the room with different pitches. This became the signature monkey craziness sound that I eventually used in almost every death scene.

Shoutout to Freakshow Industries for making the wildest sounding plugins out there! I made that effect by chaining 6 different instances of Dumpster Fire among other effects.

Mitch McDonald’s lawn mower incident?

The lawnmower incident is a quick little scene, but at this point in the film, we’ve reached maximum absurdity. So, it was fun to go extremely over the top with the amount of blood spraying everywhere, and at the same time, contrast it with the sound of the beer getting gulped.

Barbara and the closet shotgun?

In the Barbara shotgun scene, I used a lot of the “monkey madness” effect I mentioned.

This effect made the splatter and the explosion very interesting; every bit of flesh got pitch shifted and panned across the room. This really helped to enhance the effect of the splatter spraying the entire room, making it extra gross and immersive.

Cheerleaders vs. Tractor Trailer?

The last scene I designed and mixed was the cheerleaders’ kill. My favorite part of this scene is the heads rolling on the ground at the end. I think the foley team did an amazing job here. Their attention to detail was incredible. I believe they used cabbages and wet chamois leather.

There are also longer death sequences like Aunt Ida meeting her end. For the longer death sequences, did sound help to inform the cut? How did you use sound to help add to the story?

EB: Yeah, actually, this scene was the first one that I got my hands on because it was used for promotional material. I think it played at the end of Longlegs when it screened again over Halloween.

Because I was able to work on it so early, once it came out, the edit team was able to re-edit and adjust with the sound included.

Because I was able to work on it so early, once it came out, the edit team was able to re-edit and adjust with the sound included.

I’m very good friends with both editors, Graham Fortin and Greg Ng. So we try to collaborate early on in the process, whenever we can — whether it is me sharing some sounds with them, sound designing moments, or them sharing early footage for me to get inspired on and hit the ground running when it’s time to sound design the whole film.

At Bill’s house, there’s a Rube Goldberg machine/series of traps, which ultimately ends with a cannon blast that sends Mom/Lois’s bowling ball through Bill’s head. What went into your sound work for this Rube Goldberg machine?

EB: This scene is very Looney Tunes inspired. It was actually quite complex because there are a lot of mechanisms and elements at play here.

From the tension of the cables to the way the ball hits the metals and rolls, we tweaked it a lot during the mix. We decided it would be funnier to give it a more broken, rackety sound, so we made it sound like the contraption got jammed at the end.

There’s a massive bee hive outside Bill’s place, and the kid posing as a cop accidentally shoots it through the car’s windshield. The bees come streaming in, straight into the kid’s mouth. Can you talk about your sound work here?

EB: The hornet scene was really fun to mix. It’s probably the gnarliest kill. It’s such a crazy way of dying that I found it hard not to giggle the whole time I was working on it. Having that first hornet zoom by the camera was really fun as it pans across the room. It was a lot of different sounds competing for each other in this scene, so it required some time to finesse and allow each sound to come through without being too overly chaotic.

The Monkey beats furiously on the drum and there’s a plane crash. A skydiving bride falls through the ceiling. Can you talk about your sound work for this scene?

EB: This scene was probably the most laborious. I had to sync every drum beat and have them all play in a natural way that makes sense for the ramp up.

But the combination of that with the amazing work from the foley team on the surrounding objects that vibrate made it an exciting sound moment.

I had to sync every drum beat and have them all play in a natural way that makes sense for the ramp up.

I also love when sound is heard in the distance or when you can hear something but not see it because it gives a very interesting depth to the content and leaves the rest up to imagination. Having all the surrounding explosions and deaths was really satisfying to my ears.

And being able to mix the airplane flyby using the ceiling channels was awesome.

What went into your sound work for Hal’s dream of the Monkey in the hotel?

EB: Since I’ve worked on Longlegs, I’ve become fascinated with hidden messages and subliminal sound work. I’ve started putting little easter eggs and hidden messages on every project I’m working on, including this one.

I’ll leave it up to the audience to find out what the surprise is.

This scene is probably where I used the “monkey madness” effect the most. I built that up with sound bites from dialogue moments earlier in the film to make it seem like they’re memories in Hal’s dream. I then over-processed them with my “monkey madness” effect and panned them drastically around the room, creating a really trippy effect.

This scene is probably where I used the ‘monkey madness’ effect the most.

Also, while we were mixing it, our producer showed us this funny recording he did of his dryer shaking and rattling. The composer thought it was so funny and interesting that he ended up incorporating it into the score at that moment. So, it’s funny that there will be this random easter egg from the producer as part of the music cue.

Hal hacks the Monkey apart with a meat cleaver. Can you talk about your sound work here?

EB: This scene is probably the one that reveals the most about the Monkey.

It shows the dark liquid, an organic matter inside the Monkey, serving as a void of unknown darkness. We also experience this void every time we zoom into the Monkey, seeing it right before he’s about to kill. The void is also present in the moments of darkness, such as inside the well of water and the spiral dream sequence.

I ended up using a recording of trumpets, drastically pitched down.

I thought it would be interesting to give this dark matter its own sound and voice. I ended up using a recording of trumpets, drastically pitched down. This choice gave an ominous, yet still circus-esque feeling to the Monkey. The sound of the trumpets became part of my sound palette, and I used it often when I wanted to shift the tone from comedic to creepy.

Eugenio Battaglia on ‘The Monkey’ sound mix at MAVERICK

I love the sound of lights, and there are so many cool buzzing and flickering sounds in The Monkey. Can you talk about your sound work on these?

EB: I really love the sound of buzzing lights and flickering sounds in films. I tend to play lanterns, lamps, and any kind of light a little louder than usual because I think it gives a very nice sense of space once all these elements are panned around the room. It brings the room to life.

And I guess I do the same with foley. I like to keep it quite loud in the mix, like if we were listening through the character’s perspective.

Who did your foley on the film? What were some key foley sounds for The Monkey? Did your foley team help with the gore?

EB: The foley was done by my friend, Javier Ivan Perez, and his colleagues Tim McCann and Jesse Barden. They did an incredible job, especially when it comes to the kills.

They brought in all the juicy details. The producers were so pleased with their work that they sent a camera team to record some of the process for promotional material. I’m hoping that footage comes out soon because I’m stoked for people to see what went behind the sound of all these zany kills.

Were there any helpful indie sound libraries for this film? Also, did you do any custom sound effects recording?

EB: Yeah, definitely. I always go to A Sound Effect for my sound effects shopping, and this case was no exception.

I recorded all the sounds that the Monkey toy makes with its body — the arms grinding, the teeth chattering, the key spinning, and the stick as well.

I got some good libraries this time. One that comes to mind was Mutant Insects – Flying by Red Libraries. I really needed exciting sounding insects flybys for the hornet scene and this one had just the right sounds. I can always trust A Sound Effect to have the type of sounds I’m looking for.

I recorded all the sounds that the Monkey toy makes with its body — the arms grinding, the teeth chattering, the key spinning, and the stick as well. Like I mentioned earlier, I used a combination of vintage toys from my friend Andy and family trinkets.

What was your favorite scene for sound design? Can you talk about your sound work on it?

EB: I think probably the dream sequence as it’s very heavy on sound design, has hidden messages, and it’s very trippy.

Eugenio Battaglia (left), and Oz Perkins (laying down right) mixing ‘The Monkey’ at MAVERICK

What was your favorite scene to mix? Or, was there a scene that you’re most proud of mix-wise? What went into it?

EB: It’s tough to choose just one. I’m going to have to go with the hornets and the harpoon.

I really like extreme dynamics and wild panning in a mix. I think I got the chance to play around a lot with that on those scenes.

Editor Graham Fortin, Eugenio Battaglia, and Editor Greg Ng on ‘The Monkey’

What have you learned while working on the sound of The Monkey? Any helpful tips or tricks for crafting horror film sound?

EB: I definitely learned a few tricks while experimenting with extreme effects in Theatrical Dolby Atmos and trying to push the limits of how wild I could spread the sounds across the room.

It also challenged me by trying to achieve drastic tone shifts between comedy and horror.

I think the best tip I could give when working on a horror or any genre of film is to explore outside the box and get inspired by other mediums such as cartoons, video games, music, and even everyday objects around you.

A big thanks to Eugenio Battaglia for giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the sound of The Monkey and to Jennifer Walden for the interview!

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