13 Scores of Halloween - Day 11

As the 1980s went on, Jerry Goldsmith utilized electronics in his scores, almost as a part of the orchestra. More often than not, this experimentation resulted in interesting and enjoyable scores, such as his work on Warlock.

The time is 1691. The place is Massachusetts. A warlock (Julian Sands) has been captured, but manages to escape. Sent after him is witch hunter Giles Redferne (Richard E. Grant, who gets many of the best lines in David Twohy's script), and the two end up in Los Angeles, circa 1988. The warlock plans to collect the pages of the Satanic Bible and destroy the world. This is an entertaining genre piece; certainly the best to come from director Steve Miner. Though Redferne's unwilling modern assistant, Kassandra (Lori Singer), is a bit abrasive and the effects (even considering the time and budget) are lacking, this film deserves better than to be forgotten.

Speaking of the budget (New World Pictures went belly up as this film was completed, leaving it shelved for three years) - and I suppose, the B-movie nature of the film - it's quite a shock that Goldsmith agreed to score the film. He recorded it with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (though, given how the electronics take precedence here, it's sometimes impossible to believe that any acoustic instruments were used).

Still, Goldsmith provided two terrific themes: a six-note motif for the warlock that occurs throughout the score (in its predominantly synth guise and in a mock-triumphant orchestral rendition near the end of "Salt Water Attack") and a quietly noble string theme for Redferne (a brooding cello version a minute into "Growing Pains", a heartbreaking synth and orchestral take in "The Salt Flats").

Kassandra seems to get a pair of melodies: one of chirping strings (toward the end of "The Trance" and throughout "Old Age") and, later, one of synth chimes (the end of "Nails"). The orchestra seems to really get a workout with the staccato horns in cues like "The Weather Vane" and "Salt Water Attack".

I'm pretty much with the majority that it's not one of the Goldsmith masterpieces, but that's not to say it should be written off completely. It is a dynamic work that merits rediscovery. It was released by Intrada Records, but they ran out of the CD years ago. If you have a friend willing to burn you a copy of theirs (or, perhaps, give it to you), do take the chance.

Tomorrow: The importance of brushing your teeth.