Soundtrack Review: Dead of Winter

December 23, 2023 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Soundtrack and tagged Arthur Penn, Dead of Winter, Don't Go in the House, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Einhorn, Roddy McDowall, Shock Waves, The Prowler | Leave a comment

Dead of Winter (1987)
Released by Kritzerland, 2010
21 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 65 min.
Music Composed by Richard Einhorn

I first came across this little thriller back when it first came out on video, back in the late ‘80s. Being a fan of both Mary Steenburgen and Roddy McDowall, I was all in. What I wasn’t expecting was this well-crafted thriller, that I still think is highly underrated. Now being a huge fan of soundtracks, when I see one available from a film that I liked, I tend to get it. Plus, this soundtrack was done by Richard Einhorn, who also did a few of my favorite films, such as Shock Waves (1977) and The Prowler (1981), so I thought what the hell.

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Shock Waves Soundtrack Expanded!

June 20, 2023 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Austin Hinderliter, Benjamin Chee, Howlin' Wolf Records, Ian Zapczynski, Richard Einhorn, Shock Waves | Leave a comment

Back in 2014, Howlin’ Wolf Records made a dream of mine come true when they released Richard Einhorn’s score for the 1977 film Shock Waves on CD. Since I had seen the film more than a couple of times, I have always loved the weird and strange electronic score that Einhorn came up with, so I was thrilled and quickly ordered a copy of it. But now, even more Nazi horror has recently risen out of watery depths of terror!

Howlin’ Wolf Records have recently announced they will be releasing an expanded score of this release, almost doubling the amount from the original release. The one from 2014 was 31:31 minutes long, but this new release is 61:22 minutes long! It includes newly discovered tracks and bonus features, remastered from the composer’s personal 7.5 IPS master tapes. This release also features a 16-page booklet with new cover art by Austin Hinderliter, liner notes by Benjamin Chee, Ian Zapczynski, and an anecdote from composer Einhorn. Priced at only $17.95.

You can pre-order your copy, due to be released early next month, at Screen Archive Entertainment, by clicking HERE, or directly from Howlin’ Wolf Records, by clicking HERE.

Soundtrack Review: Don’t Go in the House

December 28, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Soundtrack and tagged Dead of Winter, Don't Go in the House, Howlin' Wolf Records, Richard Einhorn, Shock Waves, The Prowler | Leave a comment

Don’t Go in the House
Released by Howlin’ Wolf Records
44 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 66:43 min.
Music Composed by Richard Einhorn

Richard Einhorn is on one those composers that has created some amazing scores with just the simple use of synthesizers and a keyboard. One of my all-time favorites is what he did on Shock Waves (1977), which happened to be his first film score. His haunting piano score for Dead of Winter (1987) is another favorite of mine, simple and quiet but highly effective. When one thinks of a musical score for a film about a guy who burns women to death in his house, you’d think that not a lot of time and money went into creating a score for this type of film. Well, you would be correct on the time and money part, but the dedication and hard work was there. Einhorn still wanted to create a score that would enhance what we’re seeing on screen, but also give it depth and feeling, which is exactly what he did.

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Friday Favorites: John Carradine

June 18, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Friday Favorites and tagged Astro Zombies, Billy the Kid vs Dracula, House of Dracula, House of Frankenstein, John Carradine, Shock Waves, The Howling | 8 Comments

Here’s a name that is one of the icons of acting, not to mention in the horror genre. Sure, most remember him from all the cheesy and low-budget titles that he appeared in, especially in his later years, but he was always delivering a fine performance. I mean, think about that for a minute. He appeared in Ted V. Mikels Astro Zombies, which I happen to love, and learned all this technical dialogue for his role of the mad doctor, and gave the performance if he was doing Shakespeare.

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Movie Review: Dead Snow

April 7, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Dead Snow, nazi zombies, Peter Jackson, Shock Waves, Tommy Wirkola | Leave a comment

(2009)
Directed by Tommy Wirkola
Starring Charlotte Frogner, Ørjan Gamst, Stig Frode Henriksen, Vegar Hoel, Jeppe Laursen, Evy Kasseth, Evy Kasseth Røsten, Jenny Skavian, Bjørn Sundquist

If Peter Jackson was to remake Shock Waves (1977), but set it in the snowy mountains, then you would have Dead Snow. After getting a lot of internet hype, we had the chance to see this new Norwegian zombie film in the theater and just loved it. For someone to take a sub-genre that has been done to . . . death (sorry, couldn’t help it), co-writer and director Tommy Wirkola pulled out all the stops and gives us one bloody entertainingly good movie.

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Shock Waves Soundtrack Review

February 26, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Soundtrack and tagged nazi zombies, Richard Einhorn, Shock Waves, soundtracks | 2 Comments

Shock Waves
Released by Howlin’ Wolf Records
29 Tracks, with a total running time of 31:31 mins
Music Composed by Richard Einhorn

I’ve said this many times before, but this is a great time to be a horror fan. And the fact that the Shock Waves original score is available on CD is just one of the reasons that statement is true. I would say that I’ve been waiting for this for decades to come out, but I honestly never thought it would happen. But now, thanks to the amazing people at Howlin’ Wolf Records, we now can enjoy it.

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