La Monja
Luc Suarez and Zacarias M. de la Riva
" It's fully orchestral, it has light choir and it listens quite good. "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
La Monja (The Nun) is what you call perfect food for a horror movie. Indeed, the nun is on a murder mission considering she doesn't follow God's little book anymore. She punishes you with pain when you do something bad. Or as God wants it, by believing you will feel the wrath of the nun. Interestingly, it didn't make a bad movie at all even though the twist is so far-fetched, it actually completely salvages this movie.
Why I rented the movie is not of an issue here. Why I'm reviewing the music is. During the movie, the orchestral score was taking the interest of me and naturally as all you film music lovers out there, from the moment it was finished you want to know if it's available. My odds weren't good considering it is a Spanish movie, but through the wonders of the internet, a download was available to rescue my thirst.
What to know of La Monja? It is composed by Luc Suarez and Zacarias M. de la Riva, it's fully orchestral, it has light choir and it listens quite good. Sadly, it also holds some light negative points. First of all and most importantly the track names are wrong. From the little knowledge that I have, from track 12 almost each track is actually bringing music from the track that follows it (18 is 19) and so on. Considering the way you want to get a picture of the movie through the music, it is stupid if you don't hear what's underscoring the scene.
This more or less hinders the score, alongside the fact that the score is deeply routed into the darker mysterious tone of the nun's quest for religion (sorry quest to chop off their heads).
The "Intro" has light choir and the actual main theme of the score rising towards a small climax. This too happens in "Nun Class Punishment". Basically, what you hear here, you'll get in the remainder of the score.
The score is mostly saturated in the darker unnerving tone of the movie's premise. The growing cacophony of sound at the end of "Mary's Death", the mysterious piano and vocal sound in "After Mary's Death", the nice use of rising brass to signify the mortal danger of a nun in "Christy's Death" and the sneaking around feeling in "Finding Eulalia Dead" with use of pizzicato strings. Luckily the track names speak for themselves.
This all is effective and nice to hear, but the reason I wanted the score was because I noticed some better stuff. Sadly also these moments are actually the music from the track that follows it, but I'll be reviewing them like they can be found when you download them. "Zoe Explains" has a nice moment at the end where emotional material sinks through, while one of the highlights is "Killing the Nun". The wonderful use of the main theme in an ever growing manner is so good, that it's worth buying the score for this track alone.
The same goes for "Eve Explains to Gabriel". This is basically the scene where they witness the paintings but here they use the choir in a more powerful way, creating a bigger dimension, while it toys around with the main theme. In "Nun Purifies Mary", the piano grows to a choral back-up and surprisingly a drum beat to keep it urgent to the end. These are moments where they make the music grow to a light climax, but enough to get you enthralled emotionally.
The final track "The Final Explanation" gives you the twist in an urgent underscore with strings. What follows next I don't want to talk about because the 4 songs are I think heard in the movie, but they aren't what you call stuff to listen to after such a soft, moody and suspenseful score.
What Luc Suarez and Zacarias M. de la Riva have given La Monja is more or less what fine orchestral artists give a moody horror film, contrary to their American colleagues who would have given it a sting and slash festival. Like The Orphanage and Fragile, the refinement is in the way the build-up happens through an orchestra and choir. While the score doesn't have the whopper moments where the orchestra takes you by its size, the score keeps you at unease, setting up various moments where the main theme actually surprises you. Or as The Nun would implement it: "Like I serve God, so shall I serve you death!”. Luckily the music is above the standards of Mother Theresa doing a killing spree.
Tracklisting
1. Intro (1.19)
2. Nun Class Punishment (1.43)
3. Mary's Death (3.44)
4. After Mary's Death (3.11)
5. Phone (2.36)
6. Photos (1.48)
7. Christy's Death (3.34)
8. Plane (0.59)
9. Public Library (1.58)
10. Eulalia (1.52)
11. Eulalia's Death (1.40)
12. Finding Eulalia Dead (1.02)
13. Finding the School (2.23)
14. Blair Witch Corridor (2.44)
15. Zoe Explains (2.48)
16. Killing the Nun (1.27) Excellent track
17. Drowning the Nun (1.30)
18. Susan Explains (3.44)
19. E&G Corridor / Basement (0.44)
20. Eve / Nun Room Jump (0.55)
21. Eve Explains to Gabriel (3.27) Excellent track
22. The Paintings (4.00)
23. Susan's Death (1.25)
24. Nun Purifies Mary (2.32) Excellent track
25. Julia Finds Zoe (1.41)
26. The Final Explanation (1.50)
27. Levite Bajo tu Cama (6.46)
28. The One to Blame (6.12)
29. Dou you Cyber (3.26)
30. Got to Let You Know (3.37)
Total Length: 76.57
Why I rented the movie is not of an issue here. Why I'm reviewing the music is. During the movie, the orchestral score was taking the interest of me and naturally as all you film music lovers out there, from the moment it was finished you want to know if it's available. My odds weren't good considering it is a Spanish movie, but through the wonders of the internet, a download was available to rescue my thirst.
What to know of La Monja? It is composed by Luc Suarez and Zacarias M. de la Riva, it's fully orchestral, it has light choir and it listens quite good. Sadly, it also holds some light negative points. First of all and most importantly the track names are wrong. From the little knowledge that I have, from track 12 almost each track is actually bringing music from the track that follows it (18 is 19) and so on. Considering the way you want to get a picture of the movie through the music, it is stupid if you don't hear what's underscoring the scene.
This more or less hinders the score, alongside the fact that the score is deeply routed into the darker mysterious tone of the nun's quest for religion (sorry quest to chop off their heads).
The "Intro" has light choir and the actual main theme of the score rising towards a small climax. This too happens in "Nun Class Punishment". Basically, what you hear here, you'll get in the remainder of the score.
The score is mostly saturated in the darker unnerving tone of the movie's premise. The growing cacophony of sound at the end of "Mary's Death", the mysterious piano and vocal sound in "After Mary's Death", the nice use of rising brass to signify the mortal danger of a nun in "Christy's Death" and the sneaking around feeling in "Finding Eulalia Dead" with use of pizzicato strings. Luckily the track names speak for themselves.
This all is effective and nice to hear, but the reason I wanted the score was because I noticed some better stuff. Sadly also these moments are actually the music from the track that follows it, but I'll be reviewing them like they can be found when you download them. "Zoe Explains" has a nice moment at the end where emotional material sinks through, while one of the highlights is "Killing the Nun". The wonderful use of the main theme in an ever growing manner is so good, that it's worth buying the score for this track alone.
The same goes for "Eve Explains to Gabriel". This is basically the scene where they witness the paintings but here they use the choir in a more powerful way, creating a bigger dimension, while it toys around with the main theme. In "Nun Purifies Mary", the piano grows to a choral back-up and surprisingly a drum beat to keep it urgent to the end. These are moments where they make the music grow to a light climax, but enough to get you enthralled emotionally.
The final track "The Final Explanation" gives you the twist in an urgent underscore with strings. What follows next I don't want to talk about because the 4 songs are I think heard in the movie, but they aren't what you call stuff to listen to after such a soft, moody and suspenseful score.
What Luc Suarez and Zacarias M. de la Riva have given La Monja is more or less what fine orchestral artists give a moody horror film, contrary to their American colleagues who would have given it a sting and slash festival. Like The Orphanage and Fragile, the refinement is in the way the build-up happens through an orchestra and choir. While the score doesn't have the whopper moments where the orchestra takes you by its size, the score keeps you at unease, setting up various moments where the main theme actually surprises you. Or as The Nun would implement it: "Like I serve God, so shall I serve you death!”. Luckily the music is above the standards of Mother Theresa doing a killing spree.
Tracklisting
1. Intro (1.19)
2. Nun Class Punishment (1.43)
3. Mary's Death (3.44)
4. After Mary's Death (3.11)
5. Phone (2.36)
6. Photos (1.48)
7. Christy's Death (3.34)
8. Plane (0.59)
9. Public Library (1.58)
10. Eulalia (1.52)
11. Eulalia's Death (1.40)
12. Finding Eulalia Dead (1.02)
13. Finding the School (2.23)
14. Blair Witch Corridor (2.44)
15. Zoe Explains (2.48)
16. Killing the Nun (1.27) Excellent track
17. Drowning the Nun (1.30)
18. Susan Explains (3.44)
19. E&G Corridor / Basement (0.44)
20. Eve / Nun Room Jump (0.55)
21. Eve Explains to Gabriel (3.27) Excellent track
22. The Paintings (4.00)
23. Susan's Death (1.25)
24. Nun Purifies Mary (2.32) Excellent track
25. Julia Finds Zoe (1.41)
26. The Final Explanation (1.50)
27. Levite Bajo tu Cama (6.46)
28. The One to Blame (6.12)
29. Dou you Cyber (3.26)
30. Got to Let You Know (3.37)
Total Length: 76.57