13 Scores of Halloween - Day 6

In the early 90s, Orion Pictures was forced to file for bankruptcy, leaving a number of the films they had produced unreleased until a few years later. They ranged from the fairly ambitious (Love Field, RoboCop 3) to the rather unbelievable (Cifford). Among these shelved projects was The Dark Half, George Romero's adaptation of the Stephen King novel.

Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) has written several books under his own name, as well as a few books utilizing a psuedonym (sound like anyone we know?) - George Stark. When a man comes forward making the connection between Stark's writing and his own, Beaumont seeks to put Stark to rest. But this touches off a series of murders, and Beaumont's the prime suspect. I've not seen this film, but it is, by some accounts, very faithful to the book.

Christopher Young started out scoring horror films, but, since then, he has dabbled in other genres, as well. However, just when he thinks he's out (the Grudge films)... His main theme is an incredibly haunting piece performed by strings and female voices that starts and ends the film on an appealing note.

In between, there isn't much in the way of thematic development, but there is a wonderfully eerie mood upheld by the music. Unsettling fiddle playing in "Green to Green", off-key piano in "Mr. Machine" and bird calls in "Omnibus Death" add some wonderful variety.

"Sparrows" is, for me, a real stand-out track (used to brilliant effect in the film's trailer), as racing strings and tense horn hits build toward a violent climax as (SPOILER; okay, so I did see this part) George Stark is torn apart by a flock of sparrows.

This was released (as was yesterday's score) by Varese Sarabande and should be available in the usual place. Fans of suspense scoring will love it.

Tomorrow: A trip into madness.