Yes, that was a “Jaws” reference in the latest “The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror” episode, and it very much riffs off John Williams’ iconic score.
Composer Kara Talve confirms “Jaws” was the main reference. Talve is no stranger to scoring “Treehouse of Horror,” the annual horror-themed episode of “The Simpsons,” which is now in its 37th season. She is part of Bleeding Fingers Music, a collective founded over a decade ago by Hans Zimmer. Talve is on her sixth go-round with fellow composer Russell Emanuel.
In the episode, Springfield is “menaced by a mysterious murdering monster from out of the sewers, Krusty has a demonic special guest on his live Halloween special, and we are transported a thousand years into the town’s poseable plastic post-apocalyptic future.”
The episode is split into three segments, the first titled “The Last Days of Crisco.” Fatberg is the monster who draws fat from his victims and parodies “Jaws.” Emanuel explains, “The music to Fatberg had to be delightfully distasteful and disgusting. So we had to score disgusting.”
Talve adds, “‘Jaws’ was the biggest reference for Fatberg. So we got to go really John Williams, with heavy orchestral music, and we used big, over-the-top brass.” The duo moved around notes to create a sound that was dissonant, amplifying the disgusting effect.
“Clown Night with the Devil” sees Krusty the Clown’s show go haywire when the Devil (voiced by Idris Elba) shows up and causes chaos. Unlike the previous segment, the music veered away from orchestral sounds and leaned into synth-heavy tones. Talve points out, “It references ‘Late Night With the Devil.’” She went back to revisit the 2023 horror film by Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes. Talve says, “We watched it because, on the spotting call, Mike Price, the showrunner, kept referencing this demonic hum that he wanted to come out of the characters possessed by the devil.” When watching the film, she finally understood the rumble Price was referring to. “He really wanted the music to feel like it was coming internally from the characters, rather than it being scored.”
“Plastic World” leans away from horror and more into a dystopian depiction of Springfield, imagining a world covered in Buzz Cola bottles. For that segment, renowned woodwind player Pedro Eustache was brought in with his extensive arsenal of woodwinds. Talve says, “He used the Wilding Horn,” and, in addition to that, Eustache — who is known for making many of his own instruments — brought in a pipe.
Emanuel says, “He had made this giant thing out of PVC pipe, and he was a key part of the sound of ‘Plastic World.’”
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