Tom Schraeder |

Vicious
Released by Lakeshore Records
32 Tracks with a Total Running Time: 46 min.
Music by Tom Schraeder

In 2020, I saw Bryan Bertino’s The Dark and the Wicked, where that title really fit the film. Very dark and brooding and doesn’t leave you all warm and fuzzy. The score was from by Tom Schraeder, which helped moved the emotions of the story along, making the visuals even more powerful and impactful. And now with Vicious, both Bertino and Schraeder have done it again.

Once again, Schraeder has created a soundscape that enhances not what we’re seeing on screen but what we’re feeling. There is a difference there. In his score for Dark, it oozes that feeling of dread and of no escape. In Vicious, what we get is sounds that increase the tension and terror that we’re feeling as we watch poor Polly and what she’s going through. Right off the bat with Track 1, Spiral, we have strings going quickly back and forth in a face pace, with a background sound getting louder and building. That really starts us in the direction we’re heading.

Continue reading →

The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
Released by Bandcamp
34 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 78 min.
Music by Tom Schraeder

As I mentioned in my review of the actual film, it’s a very strong and emotional draining ride, that constantly pulls at your emotions. And one of the things that helps with that is the score. This is not one with music per say, with melodies and such, but of sounds and emotions. And it works so well.

Schraeder uses a couple instruments, in very unusual ways, to create these amazing sounds that immediately put the viewer on edge. There are haunting piano notes given a slight echoing to them, or what sounds like metal slowly being dragged across another piece of metal, with different speeds and tones, but again, highly effective. A perfect example of that is track 8 – Not the Carrots, especially if you’ve seen the film which means you’ll probably remember the scene. It’s almost hard to watch and hear the music that Schraeder created for this, makes listening to it almost as effective as the visuals.

Continue reading →

Tag Archives: Tom Schraeder

Soundtrack Review: Vicious

Soundtrack Review: The Dark and the Wicked