“Written and directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (whose acclaimed “Rabies” put Israel on the horror movie map), “Big Bad Wolves’” cunning plot and ghastly reversals of fortune that The Master of Suspense would no doubt have appreciated is given a brilliantly Herrmann-esque score by Israeli-born composer Frank Ilfman. He’s seemingly learned much from an American musician whose memorable themes were jollily macabre accomplices at turning shower slashings, strangulations and assassination into works of cinematic art that shamed our moral sensibilities as much as they delighted our inner sadists, Ilfman has a similarly devilishly sense of melody in unleashing the pain and payback. Continuously driven by a truly great main theme, Ilfman walks the musical razor’s edge between humor and horror. Conveying the fable like idea of an eater of innocence through child-like bells, Ilfman’s rhythmically brings on the Gothic violins and doom-ridden orchestra, with a military march that unearths “Wolves” whole other level of conveying a country where savagery is the ho-hum norm on all sides. It’s a pluckily stormy attitude at once breezy and awful, not afraid to break from black humor to reflect an outright comedy of torture errors, or the truly awful deeds of a seeming murderer that would incur such biblical wrath – and lower his tormentors to that level. But unlike the dissonance of many American scores when approach similar subjects, the one sin that Ilfman is happily free from here is lacking in harmony. For whether brooding or bouncy, “Big Bad Wolves” proves itself as one of the most tastefully thematic “horror” scores in many a moon.” – Daniel Schweiger
Full interview here: