Comments on: Soundtrack Review: My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)

By: Jorn Tillnes

Jorn Tillnes — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:58:48 +0000

I spoke to Wandmacher about this and he could do nothing else than what the director told him to do. I also spoke to another composer about it, and he said the same thing. It seems to be the norm unless you are Hans Zimmer. It’s a shame that the composers can’t have their own voices heard when scoring movies.

I agree with you on Slither. Not a great score in my opinion. He does scores like 300 and Watchmen well.

There are some great thematic horror scores out there like The Uninvited and The Eye for example which proves that it doesn’t have to be random noises and horrific sounds just to scare.

I’m sure Wandmacher is in a position to choose his movies though and perhaps this wasn’t the best career move from him. By the way, he did a great horror score for Cry_Wolf.

By: Maddy

Maddy — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:40:25 +0000

Don’t worry, dude, I’m in 100% agreeance with you really. I know the review is based on what you listen to when listening to the CD alone, not when combined with movie.

I think with most horror movies for the most part, this type of quality is standard, but I think with what Wandmacher had to deal with – lack of prep time and it’s a slasher movie, most eerie scenes require simplistic build ups and crucendos without taking over – he did a good job. I actually liked the lack of random loud bangs and clashes to cover parts designed to make you jump, there was better use of build ups to quick cut offs coinciding with the “jump” part.

I actually LOVE the theme for Tom, Prodigal Son – which is brought back for First Responder. Something about when the main theme hits just gets me excited, and better still – desperate to see the movie again! lol.

You’re right though – other than about 4 ocassions, none of the cues really meant anything to me.

Horror just doesn’t open up much scope for a composer as say a romantic or heart warming story would but at the points in this movie where a proper melodic piece could be used were utilised well.

I like a fair bit of Tyler Bates stuff too, but I was mostly unimpressed listening to the SLiTHER soundtrack compared to say 300 or Watchmen which opened up more scope for him as a composer. I guess horror doesn’t bring out the best in most composers.

By: Jorn Tillnes

Jorn Tillnes — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:06:46 +0000

I agree with you Maddy. It’s true that a lot of the ‘boring’ horror scores out there is made especially for the scenes of the movie. Still, I wonder if it was different, would you still feel the same after seeing the movie? It’s hard to judge. It might be unfair to judge it based on listening to the soundtrack alone, but in the end that’s what you will be listening to if you buy it. So keep that in mind when reading my reviews. In 95% of the cases it will be judged solely on listening outside of the movie.

I highly doubt that when you listen to a particular cue here you will go “aha!” and remember it fondly from a scene from the movie. Or am I wrong? It hasn’t happened to me yet with scores and movies such as this.

By: Maddy

Maddy — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:50:10 +0000

I just managed to get this soundtrack. I agree that overall, it’s a boring CD to listen to. However, I sometimes think it’s quite difficult to judge a horror soundtrack out of context. I’ve seen the movie a few times and I think the music is just perfect for the scenes. On its own, yeah it’s boring, but the point in the music is to move the scenes along and heighten the tension. When judging on that note, it works fantastically.

I do agree with the top choices, it is those tracks that I’ve selected to play in my soundtrack playlist. However I think it is important to remember that Ennio Morricone, one of the finest composers ever imo, has very few enjoyable single tracks to listen to. I think his music is genius in a film setting, but other than a few choice tracks, the music is boring to listen to out of context.

Just my two cents. Not a great soundtrack to listen to on its own, but in context – it’s fantastic and that’s how I always think it should be.

By: Timothy E. RAW

Timothy E. RAW — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:11:16 +0000

Still haven’t made my mind up about that score (The Uninvited). Will be interesting to hear your take!

By: Jorn Tillnes

Jorn Tillnes — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:37:11 +0000

Fair enough Tim, I’ll try to incorporate that in my future reviews.

Tonight Christopher Young is back in the horror genre with The Uninvited, so be sure to check that out.

By: Timothy E. RAW

Timothy E. RAW — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:28:26 +0000

Perfect response! Too often these thoughts that get down to nitty, gritty specifics in the comments after the fact, don’t make it into the reviews, which is a shame. Questions are raised and not answered in full, or points are made without examples to back them up, which you obviously can do, but for my money are not doing enough of. Giving examples of what you’re saying (which you’ve done above) is ALWAYS a good idea. Not bustin’ your balls Jorn, i simply want more thorough details in the reviews that are particular to the reviewer, not just the basics covered in reviews on other sites.

Looking forward to the next slew of horror reviews!

By: Jorn Tillnes

Jorn Tillnes — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:42:42 +0000

I would say composers like Wandmacher and Haslinger are unique for being such high profile composers. I just can’t think of any composer that has a similar style. They often use very rough, edged music, sometimes themeless, ambience is another big seller for these guys. It’s the rock of film music, not that they are rock stars or everything. While most of the other composers are doing mostly classical, electronica or a mix between the two Wandmacher and Haslinger aren’t afraid to use unorthodox instruments, that heavy guitar or overuse of thrashy percussion. Remember the last Underworld score Haslinger did? Who could make that except him? It was basically grinding stone noises when you think about it, but it worked.

The sound of My Bloody Valentine 3D are the typical slasher horror score (Lots of scary sounds, sometimes seems like random, very little focus on the melody itself and it’s incorporating those things I’ve already mentioned)

By: Timothy E. RAW

Timothy E. RAW — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:42:12 +0000

“His style can remind you of Paul Haslinger in many ways in the way he approaches and creates his music.”

With such a statement, it’d be nice if you could give an example of the way in which their approaches are similar. How exactly does he remind you of Haslinger? For those unfamiliar with both composers, qualifying your thoughts on this point can go a long way for setting up “the sound” of this score.