Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One – Press Release – Soundtrack

WaterTower Music has just officially released the original score soundtrack for the two animated features Batman: The Long Halloween Part One and Batman: The Long Halloween Part Two.

Both films feature music by multi-talented film and television composer Michael Gatt. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the movies were released earlier this year, garnering widespread critical acclaim. The feature-length animated film was inspired by the iconic mid-1990’s DC story from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.

The soundtrack album is titled Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One & Two (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Michael’s score is unique in that it is created almost entirely from synthesizers and sound manipulation which makes for an unexpected juxtaposition against the movies’ distinctive film noir atmosphere.

“From our very first meeting, producer Butch Lukic and I were aligned on the direction for the score,” explained Michael. “We wanted to create something that would be signature to the world of the Long Halloween, and in that pursuit we chose an approach that lacked any real world or orchestral instrumentation. From there the idea arose to flip realities and that we would keep to this rule with the exception of whenever we are inside Bruce’s/Batman’s hallucinations invoked by Poison Ivy. For these moments, everything is real world instrumentation as opposed to the rest of the film.” An example of this can be heard in the “Poison Puppet” track, which begins in Bruce’s hypnotic state until shifting into reality roughly a minute in.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have been a part of these films,” added Michael. “It was a long held dream for me to score a Batman story and this one is so iconic.” Notable tracks include the opening credits for both films (Track 1 “The Long Halloween Begins,” and Track 13 “The Long Halloween Part Two Main Title”), which are designed to build a distinct sonic identity for the film and immediately immerse the audience into the story world. Other highlights include love themes like Track 2 “It Isn’t Forever,” and Track 19 “Selena’s Secret,” as well as horror-leaning score pieces such as Track 13 “Knight Terrors” and Track 17 “You’re Dead Dent.”

In recent years Michael has had a meteoric rise, notably scoring SyFy Channel’s Blood Drive, for Universal Television. A true anthology, each episode leaned into a different grindhouse genre and the score followed suit covering everything from Spaghetti Western, to 80’s horror, to classic Kung Fu. After Blood Drive, Michael went on to score Braid, a psychological thriller starring Madeline Brewer (Handmaid’s Tale/Orange is the New Black).

Other past credits for Michael include numerous collaborations with Illumination and Universal, including 8 short form projects featuring characters from Despicable Me, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, and SING. From this, Michael went on to score music for the Minions Mayhem theme park ride at Universal Studios Japan. He also has scored a string of shows for Discovery Channel, including four of the highest rated Shark Week shows of all time.

Currently Michael continues collaboration with Warner Bros. having recently completed his 78th episode of the DC Super Hero Girls series and is currently scoring the Team Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse film for Warner Bros.

The full album Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One & Two (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is now available. The animated films, Batman: The Long Halloween Part One and Part Two are available to stream on HBO Max or purchase on Digital and Blu-ray™.