Category Archives: Reviews: Soundtrack

Soundtrack Review: Texas Chain Saw Massacre

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Released by Waxwork Records, 2025
14 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 40 min.
Composed and performed by Tobe Hooper and Wayne Bell

I have quite a few soundtracks that are not what most would call “music” but just ambiance sounds, rather than a melody or any type of music. They can range from vibrating elements to loud and quick bangs or clanking, to just different notes being played for a long time to build up that uneasy feeling it might cause, or any kind of feeling. Some of these are highly effective, especially when viewed with the actual film they are from. A lot of the times, you never even notice it because it is so subdued, it is almost like white noise but can help get under your skin. Listening to them by themselves though, sometimes can lose the impact it has as the film score.

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Soundtrack Review: The Sender

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The Sender (1982)
Released by La-La Land Records, 2011
12 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 38:17 min.
Music Composed by Trevor Jones

The Sender was a film we stumbled across at the video store, thinking it looked pretty interesting. Not only was it pretty damn good movie, but it also has a great cast of Kathryn Harrold, Shirley Knight, and Zeljko Ivanek in his first starring role. It has remained not only a personal favorite, but one that I think is highly underrated. Then years ago, when I saw that La-La Land was releasing the score, I immediately ordered a copy. It made me realize that one of the reasons the film is so effective is this incredibly somber score from Trevor Jones.

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Soundtrack Review: The Sweet House of Horrors

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The Sweet House of Horrors
Released by Cauldon Films, 2024
20 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 66 min.
Music by Vince Tempera

I’ll say right off the top that this later day, made-for-TV movie that Fulci directed has never been one of my favorites. Of course, that didn’t stop me from buying the House of Doom set that Cauldron Films put out, that featured this film, along with Fulci’s The House of Clocks, and Umberto Lenzi’s The House of Lost Souls and The House of Witchcraft. But the set also had the soundtracks for Sweet House and The House of Clocks, both by composer Vince Tempera. None the less, I picked it up. I’m a sucker for soundtracks, especially for titles that I never thought would ever get a release. So, a huge thanks to Cauldron Films for making that happen.

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The Music of Nosferatu

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With the release of Robert Egger’s remake of Nosferatu, it hit me on the number of different soundtracks for this film title there are. And of course, being a crazy horror film soundtrack collector, I already had quite a few of them! But it amazed me how many different scores there are for this series.

Hans Erdmann (pictured to the right) had composed the music for the original 1922 film. This is when the music was played live during the screenings, which for some theaters, due to their size, made it difficult. Many times, completely different music, often classical pieces, was played on either an organ or a much smaller orchestra, depending on the size of the theater. Unfortunately, much of Erdmann’s original music is now lost so we’re never going to know what that score would have sounded like.

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Soundtrack Review: When Evil Lurks

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When Evil Lurks
14 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 51:55
Music by Pablo Fuu

Being a huge fan of Demián Rugna’s film Terrified (2017), I was very excited to see this new one when it briefly hit the theaters last year. Wow. Hadn’t been hit by a film like this one in quite a long time.

One of the reasons this film is so effective is the music created by Pablo Fuu. It seems as of now, the only way to get it is a digital download, but hopefully there will be an actually physical release of it. In the meantime, here’s our thoughts on the score.

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Soundtrack Review: I, Desire

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I, Desire
Released by Dragon’s Domain Records, 2024
23 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 44:03 min.
Music Composed and Conducted by Don Peake

Sometimes it just amazes me what soundtracks get a CD release these days. Here’s a made-for-TV from the early ’80s, that never even had a released on VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray, and yet here we are, talking about a CD release for it. Just amazing. It’s even more impressive because this is an exceptional score.

I remember trying to track down this film on the grey market back in the ’90s because had never shown up on VHS, and because it was a TV-movie about a vampire, starring David Naughton, fresh from An American Werewolf in London (1981), and Brad Dourif, so how could this be not worth seeking out!

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More Horror Soundtracks!

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As a collector in general, it can be pretty tough (and expensive) to keep up with some of the amazing things coming out that you want to add to your collection. Horror soundtracks is one thing that I’m a sucker for. Ever since seeing Jaws and realizing then just how much a great score can have an effect on the viewer, soundtracks have been on my brain. They can take you on a musical journey that transport your brain to the film playing in your head, as well as triggering the memories and feelings you had during certain sequences.

Star Wars was the first soundtrack I ever bought, but more followed. Every time I am working at my computer or reading, I have a soundtrack playing in the background. There are scores that I buy because I remember the score being effective. Then there are others that I simply buy because I can’t believe someone is actually releasing it on CD! I think “who else is going to buy this release besides me?!?!”

Here are some of the titles that have been recently announced for release, most of which I have already pre-ordered!

The Golden Age of Horror Vol. 1
Released from Dragon’s Domain Records, this CD contains scores from Hammer’s 1963 film Paranoiac, and Amicus’ Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors and The Skull, both from 1965. All were composed by Elisabeth Lutyens, who was Britain’s first female feature film composer, so it’s great to see a little attention being given to her!

Retail price is only $17.95, with a total running time of 75:31. If this is anything like their Golden Age of Science Fiction releases, this will not only be a great addition to any collection, but since this is Vol. 1, one can only dream of what might be coming next!

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Soundtrack Review: Night of the Devils

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Night of the Devils
Released by Digitmovies, 2004
24 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 45 min.
Music Composed and Conducted by Giorgio Gaslini

Haunting is the main word that comes to mind when I listen to this score. From the very first track, Sdenka’s Theme – Main Title, the woman’s vocals immediately work their way into your psyche, giving you a feeling of calmness, peace, and just a relaxing melody. It does have a feel of some giallo films, how they are not always overly mysterious or tension building.

But when you get to the second track, Terrible Echoes, that is when the calmness stops, and the tension begins. When you get to the third track, the harpsicord comes in and does something I’m not used to. Usually, the instrument is loud and boisterous, but here it is played softly and just adds to the mystery. When you get to track 10, Voices in the Wood, it’s like a soundtrack from a nightmare!

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Soundtrack Review: Psycho II

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Psycho II
Released by Intrada, 2021
31 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 1:14:30 Min.
Composed and Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith

I can’t imagine being asked to take on the task of creating a sequel to the Alfred Hitchcock classic, which director Richard Franklin and screenwriter Tom Holland did, and, I feel, really knocked it out of the park. Same goes with Jerry Goldsmith, having to come up with a score to follow up Bernard Herrmann. Couldn’t have been easy to even think of doing. But Goldsmith made this score his own, and it really works.

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