The best thing about Chris Hemsworth’s new movie on Netflix is undoubtedly the playlist of his character.
Director Joseph Kosinski has already been behind the camera of the biggest box office hit of 2022 so far, ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ and now he’s trying to turn it into a winning streak with Netflix’s ‘Spiderhead.’ Based on a short story by George Saunders, “Spiderhead” features a star-studded cast that rivals, if not exceeds, that of “Top Gun: Maverick,” but contains a decidedly more intimate story. The film still allows Kosinski to put his visual prowess to work (it’s set in a top-secret prison on a mysterious island, which means lots of beautiful shots of the ocean and sky), but it focuses primarily on the characters played by three key stars (Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett) in opposition to the huge cast of ‘Maverick’.
At its core, ‘Spiderhead’ tells a story that almost feels like a play. That secret prison is called Spiderhead, and inside we meet our characters, which include a couple of prisoners named Jeff and Lizzy (Teller and Smollett) and a man named Steve (Chris Hemsworth) who perform drug-based experiments on them, presumably as part of his sentence. What they did to earn that sentence, however, we do not know. But one thing that is clear is that these experiments are not always pleasant.
As we progress through ‘Spiderhead,’ it’s unclear what’s going on in this facility, but tensions are high, and sometimes environmental factors can help ease things like that. And that’s where the Yacht Rock-laden soundtrack of ‘Spiderhead’ comes into play. “I liked the idea of Steve programming a playlist of background music for Spiderhead that gave the whole facility a calm, relaxed, safe feeling, like a dentist’s office,” says Kosinski: “It would be to mask the true nature of what goes on within its walls.
The film also has an intimate relationship with its music; if the songs you’re listening to seem to be vital to the story being told, well, that’s because they are. When The Staples Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” plays during a flashback scene, Kosinski says, that same song was playing on set, with no post-production decisions made yet. This is what happened with another key moment in music; Chris Hemsworth himself came up with the idea of having Roxy Music play when Steve is alone in his suite.
It might seem a little strange that a movie with such a complex plot, and can turn so dark at times, is filled with these kinds of upbeat, karaoke-worthy songs. But that is exactly the point. The last song of the movie? Well, it’s one you’ve certainly heard before (we’ll let you see for yourself at the end of this article). But does it fit in with what we’re seeing in ‘Spiderhead’ doesn’t it? Kosinski wouldn’t do it any other way: “It’s absurd and totally inappropriate, which makes it the right choice for this particular film.”
Netflix’s ‘Spiderhead’: All Songs
“The Logical Song” – Supertramp
“Feelin’ Like” – Bad Colour, Jarv Dee
“Blitzkrieg” – Blitzgrieg
“I’ll Take You There” – The Staple Singers
“What a Fool Believes” – The Doobie Brothers
“Feels So Good” – Chuck Mangione
“More Than This” – Roxy Music
“She Blinded Me With Science” – Thomas Dolby
“Breezin'” – George Benson
“Rise” – Herb Alpert
“Crazy Love” – Little
“You Make My Dreams (Come True)” – Daryl Hall & John Oates
Source: Fotogramas
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
