PopHorror Let's Get Scared
They Will Kill You is a 2026 American action-comedy horror film directed by Kirill Sokolov and co-written with Alex Litvak. The film stars Zazie Beetz (read our interview with her HERE), Myha’la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette. It follows an ex-convict who takes a housekeeping job at a mysterious New York City high-rise, only to discover a history of strange disappearances.
We spoke with composer Carlos Rafael Rivera about crafting the film’s bold, genre-blending score.
[NOTE: This interview was edited for clarity and length.]Horror Roots and Influences of They Will Kill You
PopHorror: So, we’re here to talk about this new movie that you’re a part of, and They Will Kill You is the title. It’s obviously like a horror movie sort of thing. How much experience have you had working on horror movies in terms of scoring?
Carlos Rafael Rivera: Well, the first movie I did was for Disney called Just Beyond and it was a TV show that came out on Disney+ like three years ago. It was based a book that’s very famous and it’s kind of a horror thing. One of the episodes was very much a horror-based episode.
That was the first time I actually did something, and I got a lot of learning from that. But my love comes from the Carpenter days. Absolutely. All that stuff from the 80s I grew up listening to and watching and those kinds of scores, the Charles Bernstein score for the Freddy Krueger stuff.
PopHorror: Oh, yeah. The original Nightmare on Elm Street score seems to be underrated, actually. Everybody mentions Wes Craven, but the score is also great.
Carlos Rafael Rivera: Yeah, absolutely. It’s literally kind of quintessential of the time. I think it was a big influence on this – the approach, the idea of doing Carpenter-style-influenced music, really just unhinged and balls-to-the-wall kind of sound.
I started with piano music. I was just doing pretty things for the sisters and sister themes that would be connecting their core. And then the director, Kirill, kept saying we have to keep our middle finger in our pocket. That was kind of the thing he kept saying.
And I was like, okay, so what does that mean? Leaning into the synths, into the style, the hyperviolence, it dictated something that wouldn’t be so elegant. So it was more of a real explosion. It was great for me, because I learned so much.
Guitars, Synths, and Sound Design
PopHorror: There’s a guitar focus as well in the score too, like electric guitars. Do you think the guitar is making a comeback as a popular instrument?
Carlos Rafael Rivera: Yeah, I actually I’m a fan, because I’m a guitarist first. I grew up playing guitar, and I was in rock bands in the 80s. And the fact that this had a blend… it wasn’t just synths. It was more like a retro synth wave homage kind of thing going on.
We even had classical guitar from Maria Reeves. There’s a little bit of that. But then there’s also when Asia is talking, we went straight up for Les Pauls and Stratocasters to really drive ideas home.
So along with the Carpenter-style synths, hopefully it was an eclectic kind of mix. And to answer your question, I do hope so. It’s fun to grab the orchestra and blend it with classical guitar or rock guitar and synthesizers. That’s what the score kind of is.
PopHorror: Instrumental music should make a comeback as well. I recently saw Flea perform an instrumental on a late-night show. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that.
Carlos Rafael Rivera: Yeah, the idea of like a new “Classical Gas” coming out would be cool. Progressive rock bands did that — instrumental tracks that stood alone. Film scores do that too.
This one was interesting because a lot of the action ended up being driven by songs. So it became character story-driven music that I had to come up with and somehow go along with. There are chase scenes, some scored fights, but also moments where songs take over.
It’s about knowing your place in telling the story.
Breaking the Rules and Finding the Sound of They Will Kill You
PopHorror: Were there any moments where you were throwing out the rulebook? Music is usually more interesting when people do that.
Carlos Rafael Rivera: Yeah. Even if you hear the first thing, “The Sisters,” that first version was piano. Very pretty. The idea was playing against what we were going to see.
And now when you hear it, it’s literally a synthesizer. That changed everything. There’s also a waltz—“The Virgil Waltz”—that started as piano too.
I ended up going for like 10 days to work with Kirill at the post house. We couldn’t find the sound. I said, I’m just going to go work with you. It was 10 days of very little sleep. He just said, go—start writing.
I had never written in front of anybody before. It was surreal. But it yielded so much. We understood each other in real time, and that became the foundation of the score.
PopHorror: It felt aggressive and modern, but I could still hear that gentler piano motif in there.
Carlos Rafael Rivera: Yeah, it’s still there. It just transformed. And I kept thinking, I don’t know, I don’t know… but the reactions have been great.
The producers even said, lean in on the synths. So we did. We even had pig sounds in the score. That was Kirill’s idea—“I want to hear pig.” So we incorporated them into the music. It’s crazy.
Tone, Balance, and Musical Choices
PopHorror: This is a blend of horror, comedy, and action. How did you balance the tone without it becoming parody?
Carlos Rafael Rivera: I think leaning into the campiness and hyperviolence was the way through it. The movie is unapologetic. So you can’t be elegant about it.
The balance comes from connecting the sisters emotionally. And also from how the score works with the songs. The music supervisors and director bring in songs, and then I pick up that thread and continue the story.
It was about leaning into everything — orchestra, guitar, synths — and just going for it. And I really feel like I’m a better composer for having gone on this journey.
PopHorror: What can you tell me about the track “The Eyeball?”
Carlos Rafael Rivera: I don’t want to say too much, but it’s a moment people will remember. It uses the Virgil theme, which started as a waltz, but here it’s synthesized and in a different meter.
It’s quirky, cute, stringy, and very odd. And there’s a reason for that.
Musical Origins and Career Path
PopHorror: What first inspired you to get into music?
Carlos Rafael Rivera: I think it was being in church when I was six, listening to “Ave Maria” and crying without knowing why.
Then my older brother introduced me to music — he was the cool one. Eventually Ozzy Osbourne, metal bands, all that 80s stuff.
I saw a commercial for a Fender guitar and realized — you can buy that? I thought musicians were just born somewhere else.
So I started playing, joined bands, then studied music seriously. I got my doctoral degree in composition. And then one of my students, Scott Frank, became a director and gave me my first opportunity.
So yeah — teach everyone. It might come back around.
What’s Next and Final Thoughts
PopHorror: What other projects do you have going on?
Carlos Rafael Rivera: I’ve been very blessed. There are a couple I can’t talk about yet, but one I can is Hacks. We’re finishing the fifth and final season.
It’s bittersweet. We just had our last spotting session. It’s been a five-year journey.
Also, Department Q season two is coming up on Netflix. That’s been fun — very dark.
PopHorror: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Carlos Rafael Rivera: I’m just grateful to talk about this. I hope people go out and see it and listen to the music. It’s something new for me.
And one of the coolest things was to be at the premiere of South by Southwest…the audience was phenomenal. And getting to be in the audience with that energy and sincere laughs and shocks and screams and…I almost cried, man.
