SELF-HELP

Original score from the 2025 horror thriller feature film directed by Erik Bloomquist, starring Jake Weber, Landry Bender and Madison Lintz, produced by Mainframe Pictures and released by Cineverse Entertainment (USA).

THE STORY: A young woman infiltrates a dangerous self-actualization community after her mother becomes entangled with its enigmatic leader.

THE SCORE: "Self-Help marks my second collaboration with Erik and Carson Bloomquist, following our first project together, their short film She Came from the Woods. From the beginning, we wanted the music to live in the uneasy space between healing and horror, where comfort and dread constantly intertwine. Olivia's theme grows out of the on-screen guitar she plays in the film, a simple motif that becomes a voice for both her inner world and her friendship with Sophie. We built the score around that idea, blending the familiar warmth of acoustic instruments with something much darker and more unsettling. The palette includes processed acoustics, low drones, tension strings, and layers of cello (which I performed and manipulated), fused with intricate sound design to create an atmosphere that feels intimate yet ominous. Pulsating, rhythmic textures drive the flashback and action sequences, amplifying the story's heartbeat and heightening its sense of anxiety and inevitability. The relationship between Olivia and her mother, Rebecca, is echoed through female vocal textures, manipulated and fragmented into chaotic layers to reflect Rebecca's emotional descent and the haunting pull of the cult. While a few moments offer emotional stillness, the score ultimately reflects our shared intent: to explore fear, trust, and the haunting question of what it truly means to be saved." - Haim Mazar

THE COMPOSER: Composer Haim Mazar is best known for his critically acclaimed score for The Iceman, a biopic thriller starring Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, James Franco, and Chris Evans. The film was an official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, and the Telluride Film Festival. His more recent credits include the West African-infused score for Jonathan Stein's Out of the Village as well as the Bryan Singer-produced horror hit The Taking of Deborah Logan. His score for I Am Wrath, the action film starring John Travolta, was released by MovieScore Media in 2016. His other recent credits include Half Baked: Totally High, Rise and Desperation Road.
Official CD-R pressings