More than the fatalities, more than the superpowered moves, more than Johnny Cage punching bozos in the private parts, the thing from Mortal Kombat that zaps itself into my brain the most pervasively and effectively is its theme song. With propulsive techno rhythms, alternating poly-ostinatos over a bangin' minor key scale, and a human man screaming "MORTAL KOMBAT" with a commitment level I'll never know, The Immortals' "Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat)" was originally released in 1993, and has since underscored the 1995 film, its 1997 sequel, and so many fans' memories of the MK franchise as a whole.
The new, 2021-released Mortal Kombat film has one of my favorite working composers, Benjamin Wallfisch (The Invisible Man), on the score. I have no doubt he will do excellent, interesting work. But one question lingers in my brain: Will it use that iconic Immortals theme tune in any way? As, say, the trailer does?
As it turns out, that was Wallfisch's very first question, too. And during our set visit to Mortal Kombat, director Simon McQuoid spoke with us about working with Wallfisch on the score, and how he began composing even before he was hired. McQuoid also played Collider a snatch of Wallfisch's score. And rest assured... it uses the Mortal Kombat theme song.
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McQuoid met with Wallfisch early on in pre-production, and thought that he was "gonna go into this meeting and have to really convince this incredibly talented, amazing composer to be on my movie." But when the two began chatting, "it was an instant connection, it was fantastic." And wouldn't you know it, Wallfisch asked immediately, since "the music in Mortal Kombat is such a big part of it," how McQuoid would feel about using the pre-existing themes. McQuoid then explained how he and Wallfisch led to their conclusion:
"The word I use a lot, one of the things we've been talking about all through development, is respect. For the fans and respect for the characters and respect for the canon of the game. So the execution ultimately takes that into consideration from the absolute bedrock, and really listening to and understanding the fans and understanding a broader audience, and thinking of all those things. So [Wallfisch] came in knowing that, and then we started talking about the respect for the fans and the material. And he said, 'Do you think there's anything we can do with the distinct music?' And I said, 'Well, yeah, I think through this whole process, what we're doing here is we're taking material that's well-known and we're moving it and we're elevating it. We're taking it seriously, very seriously — doesn't mean there's not comedy and levity through the film — and we're really considering it and we are making sure it's really thought through.' So he said, 'Well, I think it'll work, and I've done a demo track. Do you want to hear it?'"
Yes, that's correct. McQuoid walked into the meeting thinking he would have to give Wallfisch the hard-sell, and found that Wallfisch had already started composing for the film he wasn't even hired on yet! After McQuoid "fell off my chair," he got back up and listened to the tune Wallfisch wrote for him. "And then when he played me this, I literally had sweat on my forehead. It was incredible. And so this piece of music allowed me to, when I started talking to prospective actors, it made my life so much easier. I could talk less, I didn't have to pitch them so hard, I just played this bit of music for them, and they knew exactly the movie we were making." And McQuoid wasn't lying; Lewis Tan, who plays lead character Cole Young, later revealed that "it was hearing the score that made me [join the movie]. Simon sold me on that, because the score gave me an idea of where he was gonna take this, how tasteful it was gonna be done."
And then, McQuoid played the reporters gathered the piece of music Wallfisch wrote. And my friends, I promise you this... you will hear the classic Mortal Kombat theme in it, and it will make you literally start sweating, too.
Mortal Kombat comes to theaters and HBO Max April 16, 2021.