John Ottman served as both film editor and music composer for "Apt Pupil". When he edited the film, he found it a challenge to create the proper musical score. Ottman recalled, "Normally, an editor will score scenes with temporary music from CDs, and so forth, and nothing I could find worked for this film." The composer sought a mix between the scores of the science fiction film "" (1968) and the military-based comedy "1941" (1979) to create an "otherworldly pastiche". Ottman said of his approach: