Scream
Marco Beltrami
" Ready to stab you 60 minutes long? "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the limited release
Scream was the absolute breakthrough for Marco Beltrami. From that point on, he secured himself as one of the composers for the horror genre, and one to look forward to. It was also Wes Craven's return to modern horror cinema. After he closed an enormous popular genre off with Freddy Krueger, he cemented another one with Scream, spawning no less than 3 sequels. The music of Scream was released as a duo set (containing the music of the first and second film) in 1998, but Varèse wanted more and released the deluxe edition in 2011, through their CD club releases. Needless to say, Scream stabs you multiple times in the back.
It's pretty clear to say that Scream holds the horror music some will crave for, others will die over. This score is all about eerie suspense, shock, stings and atonal attacks, the stuff that probably doesn't demand 60 minutes of it. It's all classy and darn effective, but surely not all that satisfying from a listening point of view. The opening shocker in the film (one that founded the success of Scream) is the 10 minute "The Cue from Hell", and it pretty much delivers what the entire score promises. Eerie suspense, atonal attacks, the familiar dramatic string lines and a hanging Drew Barrymore. And the more we get the attacks, the more brass and shrieking violins take the album on a rollercoaster stab. "Chasing Sidney" is a nice brass festivity, "Mr. Himbry Gets It" delivers a nice fanfare at the end, "Tatum's Torture" and "Killer Stabs Billy" turns to old fashioned orchestral horror music, and "They're Crazy" holds one amazing percussion moment around 1.20 in an otherwise moody long exercise.
That aside, this doesn't dominate the entire score. There are portions where Beltrami delivers a softer tone. Sidney get her own fragile theme (often highlighted by solo vocal) in "Sidney's House", "Red Herring", "Sidney Wants It" and "End Credits", while the Woodsboro community is often presented by female vocals and electric guitars ("Trouble in Woodsboro", "Backdoor Gail" and "Schoolyard 2"). Of course these intermissions mean nothing anymore once the man with the mask starts killing them rather quickly one after another.
I'm pretty sure that Scream: The Deluxe Treatment will have an audience, as I'm pretty sure that for most the 30 minute presentation of both scores will suffice. Meaning for me Scream is too generous in its presentation. There's a ton of excellent horror music in here, delivered by a master in its genre. But as technically developed as it may be, on album it's sure a score for a specific moment, a specific mood. And then I think 60 minutes is pushing it. 30 minutes yes, and Scream will deliver its fans still all the things they want to hear. Now you feel you have to push yourself to listen to it. Never a good thing if you know there's a shorter duplicate lying around there somewhere.
Tracklisting
1. Dimension Logo (0.19)
2. The Cue From Hell (10.32)
3. Trouble in Woodsboro (1.57)
4. Sid's House (1.12)
5. Red Herring (2.17)
6. Killer Calls Sidney (2.57)
7. Chasing Sidney (1.29)
8. Cell Phone (1.01)
9. Backdoor Gail (0.49)
10. Schoolyard 2 (1.16)
11. Sid's Doubt (1.27)
12. Bathroom (3.03)
13. Mr. Himbry Gets It (2.15)
14. Sheriff and Dewey (1.25)
15. Tatum's Torture (3.02)
16. Sidney Wants It (3.11)
17. Dewey and Gail (1.56)
18. Off To See Himbry (0.47)
19. Killer Stabs Billy (2.49)
20. Randy Almost Gets It * (2.37)
21. Gail Crashes the Van (1.48)
22. They're Crazy (9.49)
23. Sid Stabs Billy (4.26)
24. Billy's Back (1.15)
25. End Credits (1.45)
* Composed by Christophe Beck
Total Length: 65.24
It's pretty clear to say that Scream holds the horror music some will crave for, others will die over. This score is all about eerie suspense, shock, stings and atonal attacks, the stuff that probably doesn't demand 60 minutes of it. It's all classy and darn effective, but surely not all that satisfying from a listening point of view. The opening shocker in the film (one that founded the success of Scream) is the 10 minute "The Cue from Hell", and it pretty much delivers what the entire score promises. Eerie suspense, atonal attacks, the familiar dramatic string lines and a hanging Drew Barrymore. And the more we get the attacks, the more brass and shrieking violins take the album on a rollercoaster stab. "Chasing Sidney" is a nice brass festivity, "Mr. Himbry Gets It" delivers a nice fanfare at the end, "Tatum's Torture" and "Killer Stabs Billy" turns to old fashioned orchestral horror music, and "They're Crazy" holds one amazing percussion moment around 1.20 in an otherwise moody long exercise.
That aside, this doesn't dominate the entire score. There are portions where Beltrami delivers a softer tone. Sidney get her own fragile theme (often highlighted by solo vocal) in "Sidney's House", "Red Herring", "Sidney Wants It" and "End Credits", while the Woodsboro community is often presented by female vocals and electric guitars ("Trouble in Woodsboro", "Backdoor Gail" and "Schoolyard 2"). Of course these intermissions mean nothing anymore once the man with the mask starts killing them rather quickly one after another.
I'm pretty sure that Scream: The Deluxe Treatment will have an audience, as I'm pretty sure that for most the 30 minute presentation of both scores will suffice. Meaning for me Scream is too generous in its presentation. There's a ton of excellent horror music in here, delivered by a master in its genre. But as technically developed as it may be, on album it's sure a score for a specific moment, a specific mood. And then I think 60 minutes is pushing it. 30 minutes yes, and Scream will deliver its fans still all the things they want to hear. Now you feel you have to push yourself to listen to it. Never a good thing if you know there's a shorter duplicate lying around there somewhere.
Tracklisting
1. Dimension Logo (0.19)
2. The Cue From Hell (10.32)
3. Trouble in Woodsboro (1.57)
4. Sid's House (1.12)
5. Red Herring (2.17)
6. Killer Calls Sidney (2.57)
7. Chasing Sidney (1.29)
8. Cell Phone (1.01)
9. Backdoor Gail (0.49)
10. Schoolyard 2 (1.16)
11. Sid's Doubt (1.27)
12. Bathroom (3.03)
13. Mr. Himbry Gets It (2.15)
14. Sheriff and Dewey (1.25)
15. Tatum's Torture (3.02)
16. Sidney Wants It (3.11)
17. Dewey and Gail (1.56)
18. Off To See Himbry (0.47)
19. Killer Stabs Billy (2.49)
20. Randy Almost Gets It * (2.37)
21. Gail Crashes the Van (1.48)
22. They're Crazy (9.49)
23. Sid Stabs Billy (4.26)
24. Billy's Back (1.15)
25. End Credits (1.45)
* Composed by Christophe Beck
Total Length: 65.24