Trent Reznor the multi-instrumentalist frontman and founding member of Nine Inch Nails has been in the music industry since the mid-80s. In his early career, he was a member of several synth-pop bands such as Option 30, The Innocent, and Exotic Birds, until he started Nine Inch Nails in 1988. Acting as the sole member for years, Reznor wrote, arranged, and produced most of the band’s material. In the mid-90s, Reznor put his talent to use in the movie industry, working as a producer on the soundtracks for the films Natural Born Killers, and Lost Highway. Reznor wrote the song “A Perfect Drug” for the film, which would later prove one of the band’s greatest hits. He also produced a cover of Joy Divisions Dead Souls for The Crow Soundtrack.
In the early 2000s, Reznor was asked to compose an original score for the Robin Williams film One Hour Photo. Despite his work ultimately being scrapped, the opportunity presented a new career path for the musician. Former Nine Inch Nails collaborator Atticus Ross would eventually join Reznor, and the duo has since produced many unforgettable scores for equally unforgettable films. Here are the best film scores composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, ranked.
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8 Patriots Day
CBS Films
Patriots Day is a raw and unflinching film that explores the devastating Boston Marathon Bombings and the manhunt that followed. It is the fifth film score collaboration between Reznor and Ross. In a 2017 interview with Deadline, Reznor stated, “What lured us in was the challenge of seeing if we could try to color outside the lines a little bit of what music might be expected to do in a picture like that.” Having celebrated a huge success with the 2010 soundtrack to David Fincher’s The Social Network, the talented duo was looking to explore some unfamiliar territory.
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7 Waves
Guy Grand Productions
Waves is an emotional teen drama written and directed by Trey Edward Shults that chronicles the trials and tribulations of an American family in the wake of a tragedy. In an interview with The Ringer, Shults shared his expectations of Reznor and Ross in terms of scoring the film. “I was like, ‘My dream is if you could give me the most terrifying and scary shit you’ve done, and the most beautiful shit you’ve done.” If you’ve seen the film, you know they delivered.
6 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Columbia Pictures
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a neo-noir psychological thriller based on the Stieg Larsson novel of the same name. In the film, Reznor and Ross experiment with different styles of music blended for a spectacular effect, telling Fresh Air’s Terry Gross, “We wanted to create the sound of coldness — emotionally and also physically. We wanted to take lots of acoustic instruments … and transplant them into a very inorganic setting, and dress the set around them with electronics.”
5 mid90s
A24
mid90s is a coming-of-age dramedy written and directed by Jonah Hill. The film is inspired by Hill’s own upbringing and marks his directorial debut. The soundtrack features The Pixies, Morrissey, and Nirvana, as well as an array of 90s hip-hop. In addition to the stellar soundtrack, Reznor and Ross score mid90s with bright and beautiful musical interludes that are as far removed from Nine Inch Nails as one could imagine.
4 Mank
Blue Light
Mank is a David Fincher-directed biographical drama about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz at the time he developed the screenplay for Citizen Kane. Fincher reunites with frequent collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who composed the score. The duo steered clear of their usual synth music and instead opted for instrumentation truer to the sounds of the 1940s.
3 Gone Girl
Regency Enterprises
Gone Girl is a murder mystery-style psychological thriller based on Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel of the same name. It follows Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) who becomes the prime suspect after the sudden disappearance of his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike). Reznor shared some insight into Fincher’s expectations for the score in an interview with USA Today: “So here’s what happened. David was at the chiropractor and heard this music that was inauthentically trying to make him feel OK, and that became a perfect metaphor for this film,” he says. “The challenge was simply, what is the musical equivalent of the same sort of façade of comfort and a feeling of insincerity that that music represented?”
2 Soul
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios
Soul is a Disney Pixar animated film that follows Joe Gardner a jazz musician and middle school band teacher, who dies unexpectedly before his big break, and seeks to reunite his soul with his body. The film examines themes such as the afterlife, the origin of human personalities, and following your dreams. The film features original jazz compositions by Jon Batiste, during the New York segments of the film, while featuring an ethereal and ambient score composed by Reznor and Ross for the otherworldly segments of the film. The score was praised by critics and won both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Score for the composing duo.
1 The Social Network
The Social Network is a David Fincher-directed biographical film that chronicles the creation of Facebook. It is adapted from the 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. The film is critically acclaimed and is widely regarded as the best film of 2010. Reznor initially declined to be involved in the film due to a grueling touring and recording schedule, but ultimately asked Fincher to revisit him for consideration. The best scenes in The Social Network are made even better by the impactful score, which helps set the tone of the film. The score received high praise from critics and won nine major awards, including the Golden Globe and Academy Awards for Best Original Score.
