Splinter
Released by BSK Records, 2008
17 Tracks, with a Total Running Time of 37:11 min.
Music by Elia Cmiral

When I first reviewed this soundtrack, it was before I had actually seen the film. I had originally written that it didn’t really give much in the way of scares when it came to being a horror soundtrack, leaning more towards an industrial or mechanical action-based score.

But now that I have seen the film, more than a few times as of this writing, I have to say that it works perfectly within the picture itself. It does have a very percussion-based sound to it, but what that does is build up the tension. Yes, this is a monster flick, but instead of going for that slow and moody atmospheric sounds, like the creature in the film, it is out for blood, moving fast and furious. And the soundtrack enhances that to a T.

Track # 6 Infected, while only a little over a minute long, uses a sound almost like metal scraping and little pings when it comes to showing what this creature does to a human person. Very effective. Besides using the fast tempo to build the tension, it uses a low, slow, pulsing or vibrating sound to help build the suspense. Track # 9 Hook the Radio is a great example of this.

While overall, this score isn’t going to make you think of some old dark house, sending goosebumps down your arm. But it is a great example of using a different range of sounds and notes to still create the suspense and tension needed to enhance what we’re seeing on screen. And I think Cmiral does it quite well here.