“Probably not good for the film”: the horror movie inspired by Billie Eilish

The connection between music and cinema goes back to the very beginning of the medium. Before movies had sound, movie theatres regularly had live musicians – usually pianists – to perform a score to complement and enhance the drama on-screen. Since then, the two have been inextricably linked. It’s hard to imagine a Christopher Nolan film without a booming score from Hans Zimmer or Ludwig Göransson, and the idea of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey with anything other than Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra is inconceivable.

Then there are those singular moments in cinema that are defined by their soundtrack. Think of the screeching violins in the Psycho shower scene or the simple tuba line in Jaws that can still make repeat audiences swear off open-water swimming for good.

But beyond these obvious associations between music and cinema, there are less conspicuous ones. For some filmmakers, music isn’t just a soundtrack within a film, but the soundtrack to the creative process. Luc Besson, whose films The Fifth Element and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets are operatic in their own right, has discussed his use of music to fuel his screenwriting, specifically in relation to his upcoming film, an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Speaking to Collider earlier this year, the Léon: The Professional director said, “There’s some music that I have on my phone that I’m listening to that inspired me, who are probably not good for the film, but a good inspiration — the last album of Billie Eilish, for example. I’m just listening on a loop, and it’s exactly the mood that I need for the movie.”

The album in question, Hit Me Hard and Soft, was released in May of this year and features the artist’s signature ethereal vocals and sticks within her usual bedroom pop lane. However, it received near universal acclaim for its deeply personal exploration of sexuality, love, and heartbreak, marking a more intimate chapter in Eilish’s body of work.

It’s easy to see how the album might have a bearing on Besson’s new film. Based on his previous comments about the project and its title, Dracula: A Love Tale is an exploration of the more romantic elements of Stoker’s oft-adapted story, in which Caleb Landry Jones will star as the titular vampire.

“It’s a totally romantic approach,” Besson told Deadline in July. “There’s a romantic side in Bram Stoker’s book that hasn’t been explored that much.” He added that the story centres on Dracula’s grief over the death of his wife and the 400 years he waits for her to reincarnate. In the process, he meets a woman in the Belle Epoch of Paris who reminds him of her.

“That’s the true heart of the story,” Besson explained. “[W]aiting an eternity for the return of love.”

At 22, Eilish doesn’t exactly embody a world-weary search for love in her music, but there is an overriding sense of wistful longing, of nostalgia and timelessness, that dovetails perfectly with the Gothic romance that Stoker created. When asked whether he’d be including Eilish’s music in the film’s soundtrack, however, Besson dismissed the idea. “No,” he said, “It would be strange.” Then he acknowledged that it might be worth calling the artist up and asking.

Dracula: A Love Tale is expected to be released in 2025.

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