The Bride! (soundtrack)

Jonny Greenwood was initially announced as the film's composer, before he was replaced by Hildur Guðnadóttir in May 2025.^[1] Guðnadóttir considered the score to be a mix of punk and romance due to numerous things happening in the world, which intrigued her as a composer.^[2] The initial discussion with Maggie was about the love theme as it was the crucial element to establish the musical landscape and once that clicked, the duo discussed about a larger and complex nature of the multifaceted nature and the elements which naturally did not complement each other.^[3] From the first place, Guðnadóttir decided to establish a punk and classical world and blend together, and to achieve this, she decided to record the orchestra like a punk band by using stacks of amplifiers and live distortion and in locations that were traditionally used by bands in New York, such as David Bowie, Lou Reed and other iconic pank bands.^[4]

Guðnadóttir worked with Amedeo Pace, lead guitarist of Blonde Redhead, Lee Ranaldo, the co-founder of the defunct band Sonic Youth, Mark Ribot and Guðnadóttir's brother Tóti Guǒnason, she considered all the guitarists as "amazing" and had different sensibilities that stand out individually to make them more recognizable and each of them played the guitars in a different way that makes the sound more unique. To achieve the tensions and psychoacoustic elements that provide an electric sensibilities, she preferred utilizing amplifications and distortions while recording a live orchestra or use tense and electric elements to bring an organic tension.^[4] Besides the score, the film also featured original songs by Fever Ray as well as Jake and Buckley performing few songs.^[5]

The film score was released through WaterTower Music on February 27, 2026.^[6][7]

Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK considered "The Bride is the best score of Guðnadóttir’s career to date, by a considerable margin."^[8] Nikki Baughan of Screen International wrote "Hildur Gudnadottir's expressive score also takes in these conflicting notes, which converge in a strange, almost otherworldly harmony."^[9] Codie Allen of The Curb wrote "Hildur Guðnadóttir’s music magnifies this intimacy, elevating glances, silences, and touches into seismic emotional moments."^[10] James Mottram of NME wrote "Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, who did such good work on Joker, delivers a raucous score".^[11]

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Hildur Gudnadóttir’s big string-energy score does the job, but the movie is more committed to its anachronistic use of contemporary music to shake up the attitude".^[12] Kimberly Leszak of Fangoria wrote "Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score is a cautionary, flickering nervous system, paired with contemporary soundtrack moments from Swedish artist Fever Ray, threading the film with a pervasive warning that while the story may be set in the 1930s, the danger is timeless".^[13] Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent called it a "keening score".^[14] Bill Pearis of BrooklynVegan called "The Lake" as a "a patented Karin Dreijer banger, all squelchy, swirling synthesizers that recall Knife jams like 'We Share Our Mother’s Health' and 'You Take My Breath Away'."^[15]

Credits adapted from WaterTower Music:^[16][17]