Last Fall I saw a trailer for this weird looking horror movie. I saw Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones, and even Brooke Shields. The trailer made this movie look uber-creepy, dark, and violent. Then the title appeared: The Midnight Meat Train, complete with that spooky trailer voice. The title made me chuckle, but in a good way. I did not see the trailer again until January, with Rambo I believe. I have to say that I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. Considering when I was seeing the trailer, it appeared that it was heading towards a wide release. Now, it does not look like that is going to happen. I will just have to wait for a DVD release, and imagine what it will look like while listening to this score.The movie has more going for it than just a cool trailer and Brooke Shields (has she done horror before?). The biggest thing is probably the fact it is based on a short story (from Books of Blood) by Clive Barker, and if there is one thing we know, it's that Barker can write horror. It is also the English language debut for Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura, director of such films as Versus, Azumi, Alive, Sky High and Godzilla: Final Wars. The guy has a distinct look to his films and I am looking forward to seeing how he does here. However, it seems Lionsgate has not seen the strengths and pretty much killed the promotion and dumped it into budget theaters. Why? Who knows, but from what little I have seen, it is easy to see it deserves better.
Now, if I had known who the composers were, I would possibly have mentioned them among the things that the movie has going for it. I couldn't because I have never heard of Robert Williamson or Johannes Kobilke. After doing a little looking into their filmographies, I could not find anything I had seen before. Well, nothing except for Crank, which Williamson worked on, contributing "additional score programming." I did find The Midnight Meat Train is not the first time these two have worked together. They previously scored the horror/thriller Pathology (another film that was dumped into theaters for a terribly brief run).
I like this score. This duo steps away from the use of traditional orchestral elements in favor a variety of synth flavors. It is a rather sedate score that does not follow the usual build in volume as tension increases. Yes, there are portions where the volume increases, but it isn't the same. This score is in stark contrast to another horror score I recently listened to, Mirrors by Javier Navarrete, which employs an orchestra and has that recognizable flow from mellow elements to build an aura of tension that increases in volume and complexity as tension is increased.
The score does a strong job of creating an atmosphere of dread, with moments of quiet reflection as it builds to a frenetic pace later on. The music is engrossing and even works outside the confines of the film (mainly because I like it and have not yet seen the film). I like the fact that is is not orchestral based, this allows it to venture in different directions using sounds that would be out of place in a traditional score.
I found it very easy to just sink into the aura created early on in the album. I can imagine listening to this in a dark room and being completely creeped out. Yes, it is that kind of score.
Among my favorite cues are: "Leon and Maya," "I Love You - Taking Photos," "Retrieving the Camera," and "Im Untergrund."
Bottomline. From start to finish, Williamson and Kobilke have crafted an engrossing score that encompasses sensitive moments as well as out and out fright inducing tones. This is well worth spending a dark evening with.
Recommended.
0 comments:
Post a Comment