Creating Tension and Anxiety with Volker Bertelmann’s Score in ‘A House of Dynamite’

Kathryn Bigelow’s film “A House of Dynamite” is now available for streaming on Netflix, and it’s a gripping watch from start to finish. The story follows the urgent threat of a nuclear missile heading for the United States, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. The tension and anxiety that drive the film are expertly crafted by a team of skilled artisans, including composer Volker Bertelmann, editor Kirk Baxter, and sound designer Paul Ottosson. They worked behind the scenes to ensure the film’s impact was felt in every frame.

The film is divided into three chapters, each told from a different perspective. We start in the White House Crisis Room with Captain Olivia Walker (played by Rebecca Ferguson) and Major Daniel Gonzalez (played by Anthony Ramos) at a military base in Alaska. With only 20 minutes to react to an incoming missile, the stakes are high.

Ottosson admits that reading the script was an anxiety-inducing experience in itself. “As I was reading it, I was really tense, and I was curious to see how it would come together because the structure was different.” Bertelmann knew that the score needed to evolve in each chapter to heighten the tension. “The opening presents the whole palette of music of what we can expect and what film this will be. You hear those first sounds and know where we are. We are not in a romance. We are in a thriller that will be quite dark in certain areas.” Crafting the score took several attempts to get it just right, with Bertelmann emphasizing the need to shape the music to match the intensity of the scenes.