The Final Apostle was unlike anything I’ve ever worked on—music wasn’t just a part of the film, it was the heartbeat of the story. As the premise revolves around a local punk rock band auditioning for a mysterious producer, the music had to feel authentic, diegetic, and completely integral to the plot. Without the right song, performances, and editing working seamlessly together, the film simply wouldn’t hold up.

Given the constraints of the 48 Hour Horror Film Project in Greensboro, the stakes were high, and time was short. I wrote and performed the film’s core song in just a few hours on a Friday night, ensuring the cast and crew had what they needed to film the next day. The challenge was creating a song that sounded like it came from a small-town punk band, using instruments that matched what appeared on screen—synth, bass guitar, drums, and vocals. Inspired by the raw energy of indie punk bands like GRLwood, the track had to balance chaotic authenticity with cinematic feasibility.

The film also called for unique musical moments: a “30-second nutty ‘end of Whiplash’ type drum solo,” as producer Marshall Little put it, and a series of off-kilter synth notes for when a band member messes up. These elements added layers of tension and chaos to the film’s climactic scenes.

For the end credits, we made a deliberate tonal shift to reflect the lone drummer’s emotional state. The lo-fi, stripped-down track captures the hollow triumph of survival—he’s alive, but at what cost? The sparse instrumentation leaves space for the weight of the story to linger.

The film’s editor, Marshall Little, won Best Editing at the festival, which I see as a testament to how well he blended the music with the film, particularly in its frenzied, heart-stopping final moments.