Original Motion Picture Score from The UNWILLING Music by © STEPHEN MELILLO, IGNA 18 June 2016 Dedicated to the Loving Memory of Bruce E. Melillo 31 May 1935- 18 June 2016

Jonathan Heap’s horror-thriller gathers a fractured family to hear the reading of a patriarch’s Will, portrayed by the indomitable Lance Henriksen.

As I scored the film, life and art collided. My Dad passed away on that Father’s Day, 2016. I was the executor of his Will. The parallels were eery…. and sad.

This marked my first collaboration with Jonathan since 12:01 PM, the Academy Award–nominated short from thirty-five years ago. Time had circled back.

In the opening scene, we see David the Character and David Lipper the Actor as he cleans a mirror and touches a photo of his little dog.  Somewhere in “David’s” innocent smile was the inspiration for 3 simple notes that became, “OCD, Uno Minuetto per Davide, for String Quintet & Piano.” Even the tempo of the work emanates from David literally “conducting” his life.

The Minuetto appears as Source Music in the opening sequence—suddenly shattered by the violent hiss of television static. The 3 notes spiraled outward, obsessively, inexorably, generating the entire 69.5-minute score. What begins as fragile simplicity expands into mounting tension, culminating in the full reckoning of Epilogue from The UNWILLING.

Like David’s OCD, the Musical OCD of the Score is not caricature. It is strength. His compulsion becomes discipline. His order becomes courage. He confronts not only the monster without, but the one within the box he has built around himself. In doing so, he faces the oldest fear of all: that evil might go unchecked.

That and more… is the Musical Journey of the Score.

Complete liner notes download with the album. A complimentary Libretto (PDF) is always available under “Digital Libretti” in RESOURCES & STORMAficionados.

Godspeed!  Stephen Melillo Composer