Robert Eggers has made a werewolf movie, and he asked Ethel Cain to sing in Middle English for it. The Werwulf soundtrack includes an original song, “Wynter Waxeth,” written with composer Robin Carolan and performed by Cain, Pitchfork reports. The film opens in theaters on Christmas Day from Focus Features. Watch the second trailer below.
Carolan, who also scored Eggers’ The Northman and Nosferatu, wrote most of the music. He says the song grew out of an exchange of reference material. “I’d send [Cain] medieval music, prayers, weird ambient stuff, and we’d talk through it all,” Carolan said. “It was one of those rare collaborations where we just seemed to be on the same page about everything.” They first talked about textural vocals for the score, then a full song.
The recording was quick. “She sang the song in Middle English, and with Rob’s help she mastered the pronunciation on the hop, practically in one session,” Carolan said. “She brought so much earthy, feral, haunted beauty to the score, and it’s hard to imagine it without her presence.”
The song itself isn’t out yet. Back Lot Music releases the soundtrack digitally on Dec. 18, and Sacred Bones follows with CD and vinyl editions on Jan. 29, per Film Music Reporter. Its 37 tracks include two versions of “Wynter Waxeth,” a short one and a six-minute one. Carolan’s title track, “Werwulf,” is streaming now, and Nylon, working from a snippet, describes the song as creepy, gothic and strings-forward. It wonders whether it could be a best original song contender.
The pairing makes sense on paper. Pitchfork guesses Eggers was drawn to the atmospheric left turn of Cain’s 2025 dark ambient album Perverts. His fifth feature stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe and Lily-Rose Depp. Eggers described the film to Esquire as “haunted and in great pain,” per Fangoria. It joins a busy season for film music on our pages, from Hans Zimmer and Timothée Chalamet’s “Desert Chant” to the Practical Magic 2 soundtrack.
Cain’s latest album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, came out in 2025. Werwulf arrives in theaters Dec. 25.
- Song
- “Wynter Waxeth,” Ethel Cain and Robin Carolan
- Soundtrack
- 37 tracks; digital Dec. 18, CD and vinyl Jan. 29
- Film
- *Werwulf*, in theaters Dec. 25 from Focus Features
- Director
- Robert Eggers
Added to the High Grailed archive on November 10, 2026.
