The Grudge
Christopher Young
" Before you die, you see ... The Grudge "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
In the recent trend of horror remakes, Asian horror is the apparent way to go. After all it was The Ring that ignited the trend. And now many have followed in their path. The Grudge was the second in line, and with Sam Raimi on board, you at least could expect something decent. And decent is what I got. It isn't as terrifying as the original one (it usually isn't) but at least it wasn't the joke that was The Grudge 2 and 3. And luckily besides a scared looking little boy where the stings of a horror veteran called Christopher Young.
What can you say of horror that hasn't been said of Christopher Young's music already? Well if there's one thing I know, never expect Young to be lazy at it. Even if it's not gothic or melodic as his previous efforts, Young always pushes the button somewhere. And The Grudge is no different.
It opens with "Ju-On 1", showing you a lyrical sense of mystery with the main theme, even though the mystery at times sounds like Godzilla in places. But at least this opener was melodic. Don't expect "Ju-On 2" to follow that path. It is eerie, creepy, sinister, moody and it explodes with bombastic dissonance during the middle part.
And just like many albums today, the tracks flow fluently in one another. However here with The Grudge there's a delicate balance between the mixing of tracks. After all from the horror of track 2 we go to the mystery of track 3, namely with a careful version of the main theme in "Ju-On 3". And the same can be said of "Ju-On 4" when it goes darkly again with the main theme as counter attacking entity, trying to restore the balance. Alas it fails.
The lullaby in "Ju-On 5" is nothing but a brief antidote to the sheer creepy horror of "Ju-On 6". The big mother though is "Ju-On 7" and Young merely brings you what he's been bringing all along. Mystery, mood, creepy atonality and horror, it is all there in the best possible Christopher Young sense. "Ju-On 8" returns with the obligatory reprise of the main theme.
This score is a perfect example of horror music that is effective, creepy and stingy. After all Christopher Young has been doing it all his life. And he has written this stuff before in most of his other soundtracks. But in those, melody or gothic oomph or emotional material stepped up to balance the equation. Here The Grudge is 75% horror and 25% everything else. And that leaves me wanting more, despite its basic hair raising brilliance. A score must recreate all the emotional twists a movie delivers, and in The Grudge it does it too literally. This is basic brilliant horror music, but found in a movie experience that leaves you wanting to hear it in the actual film, and not that much on CD.
Tracklisting
1. Ju-On 1 (5.21)
2. Ju-On 2 (4.57)
3. Ju-On 3 (3.47)
4. Ju-On 4 (4.49)
5. Ju-On 5 (1.34)
6. Ju-On 6 (4.39)
7. Ju-On 7 (12.37)
8. Ju-On 8 (4.25)
Total Length: 42.11
What can you say of horror that hasn't been said of Christopher Young's music already? Well if there's one thing I know, never expect Young to be lazy at it. Even if it's not gothic or melodic as his previous efforts, Young always pushes the button somewhere. And The Grudge is no different.
It opens with "Ju-On 1", showing you a lyrical sense of mystery with the main theme, even though the mystery at times sounds like Godzilla in places. But at least this opener was melodic. Don't expect "Ju-On 2" to follow that path. It is eerie, creepy, sinister, moody and it explodes with bombastic dissonance during the middle part.
And just like many albums today, the tracks flow fluently in one another. However here with The Grudge there's a delicate balance between the mixing of tracks. After all from the horror of track 2 we go to the mystery of track 3, namely with a careful version of the main theme in "Ju-On 3". And the same can be said of "Ju-On 4" when it goes darkly again with the main theme as counter attacking entity, trying to restore the balance. Alas it fails.
The lullaby in "Ju-On 5" is nothing but a brief antidote to the sheer creepy horror of "Ju-On 6". The big mother though is "Ju-On 7" and Young merely brings you what he's been bringing all along. Mystery, mood, creepy atonality and horror, it is all there in the best possible Christopher Young sense. "Ju-On 8" returns with the obligatory reprise of the main theme.
This score is a perfect example of horror music that is effective, creepy and stingy. After all Christopher Young has been doing it all his life. And he has written this stuff before in most of his other soundtracks. But in those, melody or gothic oomph or emotional material stepped up to balance the equation. Here The Grudge is 75% horror and 25% everything else. And that leaves me wanting more, despite its basic hair raising brilliance. A score must recreate all the emotional twists a movie delivers, and in The Grudge it does it too literally. This is basic brilliant horror music, but found in a movie experience that leaves you wanting to hear it in the actual film, and not that much on CD.
Tracklisting
1. Ju-On 1 (5.21)
2. Ju-On 2 (4.57)
3. Ju-On 3 (3.47)
4. Ju-On 4 (4.49)
5. Ju-On 5 (1.34)
6. Ju-On 6 (4.39)
7. Ju-On 7 (12.37)
8. Ju-On 8 (4.25)
Total Length: 42.11