Finn Wolfhard heads back to the Nineties (again) for his new song, “Getting Better (Otherwise),” from The Turning soundtrack.
Wolfhard stars in the upcoming adaptation of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw as Miles, a wealthy orphan who lives alone in a massive manor with his sister, Flora, and their housekeeper Mrs. Grose. Things start to unravel when a new governess, Kate, moves in to tend to Flora. It’s a tale as old as time (or the 1800s): Is the house haunted or is Kate just insane?
The original book takes place in the 1800s, but for the 2020 adaptation, director Floria Sigismondi decided to bring the story into the Nineties — complete with a era-matching soundtrack. For that, she enlisted Lawrence and Yves Rothman to produce an album featuring artists like Mitski, Courtney Love, Empress Of, The Aubreys featuring Wolfhard, Vagabon, Cherry Glazerr, Lawrence Rothman, Kim Gordon and Warpaint.
Wolfhard’s song premieres Wednesday with a video featuring scenes from the film. “It’s about someone who has a completely negative outlook on life but somehow — through weird and dark things that they like — they’re always getting better,” he tells Rolling Stone.
His character, Miles, turns to music for comfort throughout the movie — while simultaneously freaking viewers out as he grows more and more hostile toward Kate. Miles is a fan of both Nirvana and Daniel Johnston (both make cameos in his bedroom décor), so it’s safe to say he fancies himself a misunderstood outsider. “Music is Miles’ escape,” Wolfhard says.
Producer Lawrence Rothman says of the song: “Finn and his bandmate Malcom came to my studio and we had a chaotic eight-hour session where it all came together fast. Jay Reatard’s Nineties band The Reatards, we blasted [them] in the studio during our session breaks, and a bit of that influence came into the recording of the song.”
Both the soundtrack and the movie will drop January 24th.
As for Wolfhard, despite the fact his band Calpurnia split in November 2019, he’s still making music — this time with a new band called the Aubreys. “I started a new thing that’s more independent, that’s less pressure and a little more music,” he says.
The reigning prince of nostalgia is also set to appear in the gritty Ghostbusters: Afterlife, out in July, and the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, which doesn’t have a release date yet.