If anyone’s going to score a horror movie, it should be Girl in Red. Norwegian singer-songwriter Marie Ulven wrote the spooky-sweet “Kate’s Not Here” for the new Henry James adaptation The Turning, which is out Friday — along with its Nineties inspired soundtrack.
Ulven’s characteristically haunted vocals implore the song’s namesake to “not disappear” against a soundscape that’s somewhere between a waking dream and a nightmare. Her voice is the ghost in the dark, the voice in your head telling you to keep it together while simultaneously mocking your inability to do just that.
Ulven clearly pulls straight from the story of The Turning for this song, asking the main character, Kate, “Who’s gonna check up on you tonight?/Will you be sleeping with open eyes?” Ulven’s voice clashes with her ominous message in a way that the best horror movies juxtapose innocence with malevolence. You’ll get a chill for sure.
The Floria Sigismondi-directed video further cements the connection between song and movie, as Ulven wanders through the world of The Turning, aping the actions of Kate, governess to two willful (and creepy) kids. Sigismondi also directed the movie, as well as music videos for the likes of David Bowie and Leonard Cohen.
The moody track is par for the course for Ulven, who’s previously written pop songs about accidental drownings (“Dead Girl in the Pool”) and making mistakes (“Bad Idea!”). Not to mention the fact that she cast herself as a “Dramatic Lil Bitch” in yet another track. Her last EP, Chapter 2, dropped in 2019. She’s expected to release an LP in 2020.
Find a playlist of all of our recent Songs You Need to Know selections on Spotify.