Leigh Whannell’s songs you can see

Leigh Whannell is a guy who likes to scare you.

Back in 2004 he wrote and starred in Saw; it was a horror movie done on a budget, it’d go on to make millions, and it got Hollywood’s attention. Pretty soon, Leigh and his mate James Wan were on a role; they’d make sequels and new horror films, and these two guys from Melbourne were all of a sudden the talk of the town.

Fast forward to 2020, and Leigh is writing and directing his take on the classic HG Wells story, The Invisible Man. It’s a modern twist on a classic; the focus is much more on the victim, played by Elisabeth Moss, than the villain… and it fits into that emerging genre of social horror where often real life is far more frightening than fantasy.

We met Leigh way before all of this. Every Saturday morning, many of us would wake up early and watch Recovery; a TV show of ramshackle proportions, with live music, an even livelier host, and a 19 year old Leigh Whannell reviewing the latest blockbusters. That’s the Leigh we met again, when he joined me to Take 5. After years on both sides of the camera, I asked this local boy made good to tell me about five “songs you can see”. Music has a way of completely changing a film’s feel, and vice versa. In so many of the films we love, it’s the sounds that cement those images in our brains. From Blade Runner to The Breakfast Club, this is a heartfelt and joyful ride through a film buff’s brain.

Vangelis – ‘Main Title’ (from Blade Runner)

Simple Minds – ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ (from The Breakfast Club)

Jóhann Jóhannsson – ‘Prisoners’ (from the soundtrack to Prisoners)

Survive – ‘Hourglass’ (from The Guest)

Air Supply – ‘All Out of Love’ (from Animal Kingdom)