Critters
David Newman
" David Newman unleashes Critters "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Who remembers Critters? The cult classic horror film that was believed to be inspired by the huge success of Gremlins. Now it stands as the first in a 4 legacy horror line, known for its wicked combination of horror, science fiction and comedy. The first one was directed by Stephen Herek and he felt it was his obligation to continue with composer David Newman after their first contribution together (Newman scored Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, The Mighty Ducks, Life or Something Like it and Man of the House after that). Nuff said that back then, even then David Newman left a firm impression behind in what was essentially not his genre at all.
Because there was a time Newman scored horror, and not the comedies he's known for today. Just look at his career from the start. Critters, The Kindred, Malone, The Brave Little Toaster, not what you'd call comedy. And Critters was one of the first, one year after his start with Tim Burton's Frankenweenie. And it is easy to say horror suits him, if only for that ominous opening in "Main Title". Of course back then, synthesizers created or enhanced movie music, especially in horror. And considering the low budget of 2 million dollars, who could expect something else. And after 4 minutes of long meandering music, we hear an optimistic melody blossoming out of the depths of space, immediately highlighted by Newman's favorite instrument (namely the piano). Sadly this is one of 2 optimistic moments you'll get out of Critters.
The other one is Newman's eccentric comedic rhythm that immediately pops up in "Charlie's Accident", showing early on the elements that would highlight his extensive career. But as said, the optimistic color fades away after that. After all, the Critters are finally amongst them. A little bit of uneasy horror in "Jeff is Dinner", lots of synthesized mood in "Looking in the Cellar" and there's a ton of Newman's heightened rhythmic suspense in "Critters Hunt for Lunch", "Brad Burns a Critter" and most tracks after that. An occasional horn solo shows us a gentle human touch ("They're Growing"), but essentially this is a tense score from start to finish. Luckily relief is found in the disco, namely the enjoyable 80's product "Critter Skitter" that ends the listening experience.
The sound quality is something of a mystery as well. Diminishing and expanding constantly of volume during the score, it doesn't exactly help the listening experience either. So in general David Newman's Critters is accessible for Newman fans, but it's not accessible for people who don't know very much of David Newman's style at all. The basic voice of Newman is all over the place, but the lack of a theme or an optimistic idea is hurting the score more than one would like. And the score doesn't deliver a change in pace or tone for one second (save for the final track). Making the score pretty average. However, Critters does present much more presentable music than one might think, and showed us early that there was some greatness in a little score as Critters. You just have to find it behind those nasty spikes.
Favorite Moment
If a disco sound of the 80's brings us the most memorable joy, you know it's not important, so no!
Track Listing
1. Main Title (6.46)
2. Charlie's Accident (0.43)
3. Jay and Brad Look For the Critters (2.38)
4. Jeff is Dinner (0.59)
5. Looking in the Cellar (4.25)
6. The Bounty Hunters / Critters Get Steve (3.51)
7. Critters Hunt For Lunch (3.56)
8. Brad Burns a Critter (3.13)
9. They're Growing (2.09)
10. Meanwhile Back at the House (2.08)
11. Looking for Chewy (1.41)
12. Brad Goes After April (2.17)
13. The Critters Are Destroyed (3.50)
14. The House Returns (5.06)
15. Critter Skitter * (3.27)
Composed by David Newman and John Vigran
Total Length: 47.09
Because there was a time Newman scored horror, and not the comedies he's known for today. Just look at his career from the start. Critters, The Kindred, Malone, The Brave Little Toaster, not what you'd call comedy. And Critters was one of the first, one year after his start with Tim Burton's Frankenweenie. And it is easy to say horror suits him, if only for that ominous opening in "Main Title". Of course back then, synthesizers created or enhanced movie music, especially in horror. And considering the low budget of 2 million dollars, who could expect something else. And after 4 minutes of long meandering music, we hear an optimistic melody blossoming out of the depths of space, immediately highlighted by Newman's favorite instrument (namely the piano). Sadly this is one of 2 optimistic moments you'll get out of Critters.
The other one is Newman's eccentric comedic rhythm that immediately pops up in "Charlie's Accident", showing early on the elements that would highlight his extensive career. But as said, the optimistic color fades away after that. After all, the Critters are finally amongst them. A little bit of uneasy horror in "Jeff is Dinner", lots of synthesized mood in "Looking in the Cellar" and there's a ton of Newman's heightened rhythmic suspense in "Critters Hunt for Lunch", "Brad Burns a Critter" and most tracks after that. An occasional horn solo shows us a gentle human touch ("They're Growing"), but essentially this is a tense score from start to finish. Luckily relief is found in the disco, namely the enjoyable 80's product "Critter Skitter" that ends the listening experience.
The sound quality is something of a mystery as well. Diminishing and expanding constantly of volume during the score, it doesn't exactly help the listening experience either. So in general David Newman's Critters is accessible for Newman fans, but it's not accessible for people who don't know very much of David Newman's style at all. The basic voice of Newman is all over the place, but the lack of a theme or an optimistic idea is hurting the score more than one would like. And the score doesn't deliver a change in pace or tone for one second (save for the final track). Making the score pretty average. However, Critters does present much more presentable music than one might think, and showed us early that there was some greatness in a little score as Critters. You just have to find it behind those nasty spikes.
Favorite Moment
If a disco sound of the 80's brings us the most memorable joy, you know it's not important, so no!
Track Listing
1. Main Title (6.46)
2. Charlie's Accident (0.43)
3. Jay and Brad Look For the Critters (2.38)
4. Jeff is Dinner (0.59)
5. Looking in the Cellar (4.25)
6. The Bounty Hunters / Critters Get Steve (3.51)
7. Critters Hunt For Lunch (3.56)
8. Brad Burns a Critter (3.13)
9. They're Growing (2.09)
10. Meanwhile Back at the House (2.08)
11. Looking for Chewy (1.41)
12. Brad Goes After April (2.17)
13. The Critters Are Destroyed (3.50)
14. The House Returns (5.06)
15. Critter Skitter * (3.27)
Composed by David Newman and John Vigran
Total Length: 47.09