Christopher Young

For other persons named Christopher Young, see Christopher Young (disambiguation)

Christopher Young
Christopher Young in May 2007
Background information
Born	(1958-04-28) April 28, 1958 Red Bank, New Jersey, USA
Genres	Film score
Occupation(s)	Composer
Years active	1982–present
Website	officialchristopheryoung.com

Christopher Young (born Robert Gilchrist Ilsley Young; April 28, 1958) is an American music composer for both film and television.

Many of his music compositions are for horror films, including Hellraiser, Tales from the Hood, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Urban Legend, and Drag Me to Hell. Other works include Lucky You and Spider-Man 3, for which he received the Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for a Dramatic Feature Film. He also made three cameo appearances in Spider-Man 3.

Young was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2008 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music.

Life and career

Young was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. He graduated from Hampshire College in Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Arts in music, and then completed his post-graduate work at North Texas State University. In 1980, he moved to Los Angeles. Originally a jazz drummer, when he heard some of Bernard Herrmann's works he decided to become a film composer. He studied at the UCLA Film School under David Raksin. He teaches at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California.

Filmography

Film

1980s

• The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982)
• Highpoint (1982)
• The Oasis (1984)
• The Power (1984)
• Avenging Angel (1985)
• Def-Con 4 (1985)
• Wheels of Fire (1985)
• Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (1985)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
• Barbarian Queen (1985)

• Getting Even (1986)
• Torment (1986)
• Invaders from Mars (1986)
• Trick or Treat (1986)
• Hellraiser (1987)
• Flowers in the Attic (1987)
• Robby (1988)
• The Telephone (1988)
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
• Bat*21 (1988)
• Haunted Summer (1988)

• Vietnam War Story: The Last Days (1989) (Segments "The Last Outpost" and "Dirty Work")
• The Fly II (1989)
• Hider in the House (1989)

1990s

• Bright Angel (1990)
• The Vagrant (1992)
• Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back (1992)
• Rapid Fire (1992)
• Jennifer 8 (1992)
• The Dark Half (1993)
• Dream Lover (1993)
• Judicial Consent (1994)
• Murder in the First (1995)
• Tales From the Hood (1995)

• Species (1995)
• Virtuosity (1995)
• Copycat (1995)
• Unforgettable (1996)
• Set It Off (1996)
• Head Above Water (1996)
• Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996)
• Murder at 1600 (1997)
• The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
• Hard Rain (1998)
• Hush (1998)

• Rounders (1998)
• Judas Kiss (1998)
• Urban Legend (1998)
• Entrapment (1999)
• In Too Deep (1999)
• The Big Kahuna (1999)
• The Hurricane (1999)

2000s

• Wonder Boys (2000)
• Bless the Child (2000)
• The Gift (2000)
• Sweet November (2001)
• Swordfish (2001)
• Scenes of the Crime (2001)
• The Glass House (2001)
• Bandits (2001)
• The Shipping News (2001)
• The Tower (2002)
• The Country Bears (2002) (co-wrote)

• The Core (2003)
• Shade (2003) (co-wrote)
• Runaway Jury (2003)
• The Devil and Daniel Webster (2004) (Shortcut to Happiness)
• Something the Lord Made (2004)
• The Grudge (2004)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004) (additional music)
• Beauty Shop (2005)
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
• The Grudge 2 (2006)
• Ghost Rider (2007)
• Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• Lucky You (2007)

• Untraceable (2008)
• Sleepwalking (2008)
• The Informers (2008)
• The Uninvited (2009)
• Drag Me to Hell (2009)
• Creation (2009)
• Love Happens (2009)

2010s

• The Black Tulip (2010)
• When in Rome (2010)
• Gone with the Pope (2010) (co-wrote)
• Priest (2011)
• Box of Shadows (2011) (theme only)
• The Rum Diary (2011)
• Sinister (2012)
• Scary or Die (2012)
• The Baytown Outlaws (2012)
• Killing Season (2013)
• Gods Behaving Badly (2013)
• A Madea Christmas (2013)
• The Monkey King (2014)
• The Single Moms Club (2014)
• Deliver Us from Evil (2014)

External links

• Official website
• Christopher Young at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Christopher Young at FilmMusicSite