The Killing Floor
Michael Wandmacher
" All in all The Killing Floor is a nice tense and atmospheric ride through Michael Wandmacher's thriller voice. "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
The first release of MovieScore Media for the year 2008 was the soundtrack for 2007's thriller The Killing Floor. It was described at being an exciting horror/thriller score with a modern edge. Basically I could stop there and call it quits for today because that's basically it. Composer Michael Wandmacher is maybe a fresh upcoming composer but he is no rookie anymore. When you have Asian sensations Armour of God, Twin Dragons and The Legend of Drunker Master II under your belt alongside various hit series and video games, it's hard not to be overwhelmed by the creative genre choices. In fact it was through The Legend of Drunken Master II that I introduced myself to Michael Wandmacher for the first time. That score kept a nice rhythm going and contained nifty melodies but was for its total running time somewhat too much of the same. I can say that this specific flaw returns in The Killing Floor once more.
It's however the suspense and the intense sound that keeps you on edge for the album's running time. In "Main Titles" a mysterious edge is soon broken when the more interesting beat/ strings and cello take you on a little John Powell tour. This is immediately one of the better tracks of the score.
The score itself is ominous and atmospheric during the quieter parts. "Telescope" and "Mystery Guest" are examples where the low key piano and mysterious strings surely saturate this enough. But it's definitely more exiting when Wandmacher goes for a more thrilling effect. "Shades" explodes in the second part in a rapid pleaser while "Mosaic" brings all the suspense together through the whirling strings.
Furthermore "Panic Attack" is a ferocious piece where rhythm and atonality mesh together in the scariest ways imaginable. It's in the middle part where the album loses a bit of its appeal.
More ominous material is discovered through the gaps of the exiting tracks and Wandmacher's more experimental usage of the strings for creating scary effects take the upper hand. "Fake ID" is an example of that technique. The use of acoustic instruments is for a moment noticed in "I Owe you One" before the mysterious strings take back the attention. The lonesome piano in "A Very Personal Assistant" is a breather for sure while the cello's thriving pace under all that scary environment surely spices "Vanished" a lot. Again this is one of the more interesting tracks.
"Projector" is saturated in all that scary stuff when a driving percussive beat really crawls towards you, just like bugs on your back at night. Even more ambient is "Envelope / Murder Google" where even the tiniest shriek could break it. However that is pushed aside when we embark on the final tracks. "Entering and Breaking", "Fight" and "Follow" only heighten the thrill with either their usage of strings, rhythm and beats or the driving intense action that fuels it.
"Fight" surely is the loudest and the most intense one of them all. In the resolution of "Pigs are Omnivores" the mystery is still hanging in the air and "The Killing Floor" is a recapitulation of the material we heard before.
All in all The Killing Floor is a nice tense and atmospheric ride through Michael Wandmacher's thriller voice. It holds a couple of interesting ideas, techniques and Michael isn't afraid to experiment or scare us. And there wasn't much needed to push the envelope to make this score a real thrilling experience. But that just didn't completely happen. The score leaves me with the feeling that The Killing Floor does its job ample but just not enough to really make it excellent on disc. Still another worthy-to-invest release if you seek for more unknown material with a sense of creepy, tense and suspense saturated through it.
Tracklisting
1. Main Titles (2.36)
2. Telescope (1.42)
3. Shades (1.12)
4. Mystery Guest (2.20)
5. Mosaic (2.35)
6. Calling Garrett (1.17)
7. Panic Attack (2.15)
8. David Makes a Plan (2.56)
9. Fake ID (3.41)
10. I Owe You One (1.21)
11. A Very Personal Assistant (3.06)
12. Vanished (2.42)
13. Projector (2.30)
14. Envelope / Murder Google (3.51)
15. Entering and Breaking (2.34)
16. Blood, Soap and Skin (1.03)
17. Remorse (1.13)
18. Fight (3.33)
19. Thurber is Dead (2.00)
20. Follow (2.42)
21. Pigs are Omnivores (1.42)
22. The Killing Floor (4.29)
Total Length: 53.32
It's however the suspense and the intense sound that keeps you on edge for the album's running time. In "Main Titles" a mysterious edge is soon broken when the more interesting beat/ strings and cello take you on a little John Powell tour. This is immediately one of the better tracks of the score.
The score itself is ominous and atmospheric during the quieter parts. "Telescope" and "Mystery Guest" are examples where the low key piano and mysterious strings surely saturate this enough. But it's definitely more exiting when Wandmacher goes for a more thrilling effect. "Shades" explodes in the second part in a rapid pleaser while "Mosaic" brings all the suspense together through the whirling strings.
Furthermore "Panic Attack" is a ferocious piece where rhythm and atonality mesh together in the scariest ways imaginable. It's in the middle part where the album loses a bit of its appeal.
More ominous material is discovered through the gaps of the exiting tracks and Wandmacher's more experimental usage of the strings for creating scary effects take the upper hand. "Fake ID" is an example of that technique. The use of acoustic instruments is for a moment noticed in "I Owe you One" before the mysterious strings take back the attention. The lonesome piano in "A Very Personal Assistant" is a breather for sure while the cello's thriving pace under all that scary environment surely spices "Vanished" a lot. Again this is one of the more interesting tracks.
"Projector" is saturated in all that scary stuff when a driving percussive beat really crawls towards you, just like bugs on your back at night. Even more ambient is "Envelope / Murder Google" where even the tiniest shriek could break it. However that is pushed aside when we embark on the final tracks. "Entering and Breaking", "Fight" and "Follow" only heighten the thrill with either their usage of strings, rhythm and beats or the driving intense action that fuels it.
"Fight" surely is the loudest and the most intense one of them all. In the resolution of "Pigs are Omnivores" the mystery is still hanging in the air and "The Killing Floor" is a recapitulation of the material we heard before.
All in all The Killing Floor is a nice tense and atmospheric ride through Michael Wandmacher's thriller voice. It holds a couple of interesting ideas, techniques and Michael isn't afraid to experiment or scare us. And there wasn't much needed to push the envelope to make this score a real thrilling experience. But that just didn't completely happen. The score leaves me with the feeling that The Killing Floor does its job ample but just not enough to really make it excellent on disc. Still another worthy-to-invest release if you seek for more unknown material with a sense of creepy, tense and suspense saturated through it.
Tracklisting
1. Main Titles (2.36)
2. Telescope (1.42)
3. Shades (1.12)
4. Mystery Guest (2.20)
5. Mosaic (2.35)
6. Calling Garrett (1.17)
7. Panic Attack (2.15)
8. David Makes a Plan (2.56)
9. Fake ID (3.41)
10. I Owe You One (1.21)
11. A Very Personal Assistant (3.06)
12. Vanished (2.42)
13. Projector (2.30)
14. Envelope / Murder Google (3.51)
15. Entering and Breaking (2.34)
16. Blood, Soap and Skin (1.03)
17. Remorse (1.13)
18. Fight (3.33)
19. Thurber is Dead (2.00)
20. Follow (2.42)
21. Pigs are Omnivores (1.42)
22. The Killing Floor (4.29)
Total Length: 53.32