Soundtrack Review: Gunpowder Milkshake (2023)

Gunpowder Milkshake is a futuristic sci-fi thriller set in 2023 and follows a family of four as they struggle to rebuild their lives after a global catastrophic event. Gunpowder Milkshake is directed by Frank Coratolo and stars Nick Kroll, Wyatt Cenac, and Kate Lyn Sheil.

As I’ve said before, some films are just a bunch of random scenes strung together. Other times, a film establishes a world, characters, and bizarre, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater. When this happens, an effective soundtrack can make the experience that much more immersive.

Milan Records today releases GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) by composer Frank Ilfman (Big Bad Wolves, The Operative, Rory’s Way). The album is available now and features the music Ilfman wrote for Navot Papushado’s film Powder Cocktail. The film is a female-driven thriller with a rich mythology and generational narrative that gives it a fresh take on the traditional 21st century killer film. Gunpowder Cocktail, directed and written by Navot Papushado (Big Bad Wolves), launches today on Netflix in the U.S., Canada and the Nordics. It comes out in theaters worldwide on the 15th. July.

In Powder Shake, Sam (Karen Gillan) was only 12 years old when her mother Scarlet (Lena Headey), an elite murderer, was forced to leave her. Sam grew up in the company, the ruthless crime syndicate his mother worked for. Now, 15 years later, Sam has followed in her mother’s footsteps and become a ferocious killer. She uses her skills to solve the company’s most dangerous malfunctions. He is as efficient as he is loyal. But when a risky mission goes awry, Sam must choose between serving the company and protecting the life of an innocent 8-year-old girl, Emily (Chloe Coleman). With a target on his back, Sam has only one chance to survive: Meet his mother and her deadly henchmen, the librarians (Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett and Carla Gugino). These three generations of women must learn to trust each other, stand up to the company and its cronies, and rebel against those who can take everything away from them.

Speaking about the soundtrack, Gunpowder Milkshake director Navot Papushado said:

Because this film mixes so many different genres and ideas, the music was always the glue. When I went to talk to the composer Frankie (Haim Frank Ilfman), I told him that I had in mind the westerns of Ennio Morricone, the Italian chic of Stelvio Cipriani and the brutal suspense of Bernard Herrmann. The result is a western mixed with Italian retro chic, with the serenity of Bernard Hermann and the electronic vibes of Frankie. The soundtrack is retro but modern and can be listened to on vinyl or Spotify.

Due to a busy schedule, I haven’t had a chance to watch Gunpowder Cocktail on Netflix yet (though I plan to do so in the next few days), but when I saw that the soundtrack had landed in my inbox, I couldn’t wait to check it out and get a taste of what to expect.

God, this music is so good!

The director nicely describes this score as a western mixed with retro Italian chic, with the addition of Bernard Herrmann’s suspense. Gunpowder Milkshake’s music is a delightful hodgepodge of all this and more, it’s the kind of soundtrack you can sink your teeth into and find something new every time. In fact, I would call this score neoclassical, in the sense that it sounds like a modern interpretation of a classical score. Or to put it another way: Imagine someone adapting a classic film score from the 1930s or 1940s into something of our time – that’s what this music reminds me of.

This might be one of the best movie soundtracks I’ve heard in 2023, because I can hear the influence everywhere. Even without the director saying it, I can hear the influence of Ennio Morricone very clearly, especially in Goonfight at Gutterball Corral. And, as I said, there’s a fair bit of Bernard Hermann in this score. But much of this music reminds me, perhaps coincidentally, of Daniel Pemberton’s score for the film Man of UNCLE. I can’t name a specific song, but more than once I was reminded of this movie while listening to this soundtrack. That’s not a bad thing, by the way; Pemberton’s scores are among my favorites, and if Frank Ilfman’s score for Powder Cocktail reminds me of that style of movie music, all the better.

I can also say that the Gunpowder Milkshake soundtrack is very easy to listen to, as most of the tracks are relatively short, so they can be listened to at a fairly quick pace. I love how thick some of these themes are. The music gets to you pretty quickly, and it didn’t take long for me to appreciate the score of this film.

Listening to the music of Gunpowder Milkshake makes me want to see the movie itself more than ever, and I can only hope that the movie is as good as the music written for it.

GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)
TRACKLISTING –

1. Appropriations
2. Home sweet home?
3. Scarlet theme
4. Powdered cocktail
5. The big bad mother.
6. New books and clean weapons
7. Dressed to kill.
8. The Candy
9. Cautious whispering
10. The company
11. Rollin roars
12. Fight at the Gutterball Corral
13. Monsters
14. Rock Monster
15. Yankee and the Goons
16. Salvation for the unwary
17. 13:8 In 60 seconds.
18. Balada de los charros
19. Are you a serial killer?
20. 944 bullets
21. Sam and Emily’s story
22. Escape route
23. To cheat you!
24. Bare fists and gold bars
25. Fight against libraries
26. Good overview
27. To death.
28. Adagio Madeleine
29. Subject by McAlester
30. Confrontation
31. The red dot marks the location
32. Sam’s theme
33. Together forever

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