If You Liked the Music of Tron: Ares, Here Are Other Movie Soundtracks by Nine Inch Nails

1-14

Ignacio Weil

Entertainment - October 24th 2025, 15:30 GMT+2

Cropped Quake — Quake (1996)

Before Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were Oscar winners, they were redefining what video game music could sound like. *Quake* wasn’t just another ‘90s shooter with looping tracks – it was a full-blown ambient nightmare, dripping with industrial dread and tension. Reznor’s sound design blurred the line between score and soundscape, creating a mood that was both oppressive and hypnotic. The distant machinery, the guttural drones, and the subtle mechanical hums felt alive, like the game’s world itself was breathing. It’s no exaggeration to say *Quake*’s atmosphere influenced decades of horror and sci-fi design. | © id Software

Cropped the social network — The Social Network (2010)

Who would’ve thought a movie about Facebook could sound this cold, this pulsing, this *alive*? Reznor and Ross turned what could’ve been a sterile tech drama into an existential synth opera, all sterile pianos and electronic pulses that mirrored ambition turning toxic. Their score didn’t just underline the mood – it *defined* it, giving David Fincher’s film an anxious heartbeat that’s still instantly recognizable. The track “Hand Covers Bruise” became a cultural touchstone, used everywhere from trailers to documentaries. It set a new bar for modern film scoring – minimalist, emotional, and deeply unsettling. | © Columbia Pictures

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo — The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

If cold had a sound, this would be it. Reznor and Ross’s collaboration with Fincher reached new depths here – industrial noises that sliced like wind through steel, whispers of melody buried under layers of dread. Their cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” with Karen O set the tone perfectly: familiar yet feral. The rest of the score keeps that same energy – meticulous, punishing, and strangely beautiful. It’s music that crawls under your skin and stays there, matching Lisbeth Salander’s intensity beat for beat. Few soundtracks have ever made winter feel this dangerous. | © Columbia Pictures

Cropped Gone Girl — Gone Girl (2014)

It starts serene – almost soothing – and that’s exactly the trick. Reznor and Ross took the artificial calm of suburban America and twisted it into something deeply rotten for *Gone Girl*. The duo reportedly found inspiration in the hollow comfort of “spa music,” then corrupted it into an eerie, pulsing menace that mirrors Amy Dunne’s perfectly controlled chaos. It’s a score that sneaks up on you: gentle tones that slowly mutate into something unrecognizably dark. Beneath the picture-perfect surfaces of Fincher’s film, their music hums like a warning signal. | © 20th Century Fox

Patriots Day 2016 — Patriots Day (2016)

By the time they reached *Patriots Day*, Reznor and Ross had mastered emotional restraint – and it shows. Instead of leaning on bombast, their music captures quiet resilience and the uneasy aftermath of trauma. Working with Peter Berg, the duo built a soundscape that feels raw yet respectful, balancing industrial textures with haunting strings. There’s tension, yes, but also humanity – a pulse beneath the chaos. Their score helps the film steer away from simple heroics, grounding it in something more reflective and real. It’s an understated gem in their ever-evolving catalog. | © CBS Films

The Vietnam War 2017 — The Vietnam War (2017)

For Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s epic documentary *The Vietnam War*, Reznor and Ross stripped their industrial edge down to something raw and hauntingly human. Their score flows like memory itself – ambient textures, melancholic drones, and ghostly echoes that hang in the air long after each episode fades. It isn’t about spectacle or sentimentality; it’s about the quiet, gnawing weight of history. By weaving subtle motifs beneath archival footage, the duo managed to make familiar images feel new and unnervingly personal. It’s one of their most understated, mature works – proof that emotion doesn’t always need distortion to hit hard. | © PBS

Cropped Watchmen 2019 — Watchmen (2019)

Leave it to *Watchmen* to let Nine Inch Nails go full superhero deconstruction mode. Reznor and Ross’s score for Damon Lindelof’s HBO series takes their signature sound – glitchy, synthetic, and deeply moody – and filters it through a strange Americana lens. One minute, you’re hearing warped gospel; the next, a robotic pulse that feels like the future eating the past. The music became a character in itself, underscoring the show’s themes of identity, power, and legacy. It’s sprawling, weird, and impossible to categorize – exactly what *Watchmen* deserved. | © HBO

Cropped Waves 2019 — Waves (2019)

Trey Edward Shults’s *Waves* is already a sensory overload – vivid, intimate, and emotionally volcanic. Reznor and Ross matched that energy with a score that feels more like an emotional current than background music. Every beat pulses with the rhythm of heartbreak, redemption, and quiet reflection. Their electronic minimalism melts into the film’s vibrant visuals, guiding you through chaos and calm without ever overstating the emotion. It’s one of their most quietly devastating works, blending seamlessly with the film’s pop soundtrack to create something deeply immersive. | © A24

Cropped Mank — Mank (2020)

Trading distortion for elegance, Reznor and Ross surprised everyone with their jazzy, big-band-inspired score for David Fincher’s *Mank*. Instead of industrial noise or haunting synths, they went full Hollywood Golden Age – complete with smoky brass, lush strings, and vintage recording techniques. It’s not parody; it’s a loving, meticulous recreation of a bygone sound filtered through their modern sensibility. The result feels both nostalgic and alien, like stepping into an old dream that never really existed. It earned them another Oscar nod and proved they could master any era they touched. | © Netflix

Soul (2020)

Pixar might’ve seemed like an odd pairing for Nine Inch Nails, but *Soul* turned out to be one of their most inspired detours. Reznor and Ross handled the film’s ethereal, existential plane – the “Great Before” – crafting delicate, otherworldly textures that complemented Jon Batiste’s lively jazz compositions for Earth. The result was a breathtaking fusion of sound and emotion: cold electronic wonder meets warm, human rhythm. It’s music that feels both infinite and intimate, wrapping the audience in a cosmic hug while asking what it really means to live. | © Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Pictures

Bones and All 2022 — Bones and All (2022)

There’s something both tender and terrifying about *Bones and All*, and Reznor and Ross understood that balance perfectly. Their music hums with longing – soft guitars, fragile melodies, and ambient tones that echo across the film’s eerie Americana landscape. It’s not horror in the traditional sense; it’s sadness in slow motion, a love story steeped in dread. Each cue feels like a ghost of a memory, always beautiful, never quite safe. The score gives the film its emotional spine, turning a story about outsiders and hunger into something heartbreakingly human. | © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Cropped Empire of Light 2022 — Empire of Light (2022)

For Sam Mendes’ *Empire of Light*, the duo traded their trademark grit for warmth and melancholy. The result is a score that glows softly, like light flickering through dust in an empty cinema. Reznor and Ross use delicate piano lines and hushed electronic textures to mirror the story’s fragile optimism and loneliness. It’s restrained but deeply emotional, showing a confidence in subtlety that only comes from masters at work. Their music doesn’t just accompany the film – it breathes life into its quietest moments. | © Searchlight Pictures

Cropped Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem 2023 — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

When Reznor and Ross were announced for a *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* movie, everyone did a double take – and then the soundtrack dropped, and it made perfect sense. The duo injected the film with an electric mix of crunchy beats, neon synths, and pure youthful chaos. It’s dirty, energetic, and brimming with attitude, just like the turtles themselves. Their sound brings the city’s grime to life while keeping that rebellious, skateboard energy alive from start to finish. This isn’t your nostalgic Saturday morning TMNT – it’s stylish, loud, and absolutely alive. | © Paramount Pictures / Nickelodeon Movies

Cropped Challengers — Challengers (2024)

When *Challengers* hit theaters, half the internet was talking about the movie – and the other half was talking about that *soundtrack*. Reznor and Ross built a feverish pulse of techno-driven tension that turns tennis matches into gladiator duels. It’s sensual, relentless, and wildly addictive, mirroring Luca Guadagnino’s hypnotic direction. Every beat feels like a taunt, every drop like a confession. It’s rare for a score to make people want to dance *and* spiral at the same time, but this one does exactly that – and with precision. | © Amazon MGM Studios / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

1-14

Tron: Ares might not have blown anyone’s circuits with its story, but that soundtrack? Pure digital gold. The pulsing synths, the industrial undertones, that perfect blend of menace and melancholy – it’s the kind of music that makes even reboot fatigue feel cinematic. And, of course, that’s no accident. The score came courtesy of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the minds behind Nine Inch Nails, who’ve quietly built one of the coolest film-scoring résumés in Hollywood.

For this list, we’re spotlighting soundtracks where both Reznor and Ross worked together, not the solo detours. Their work spans everything from moody biopics to sleek thrillers, often turning simple scenes into unforgettable sensory punches. So if Tron: Ares had you googling “why does this soundtrack slap so hard,” here are the other times NIN made movie magic happen – without ever needing a Daft Punk helmet.