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Composed and Produced by:
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Graeme Revell
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Conducted by:
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Mario Klemens
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Orchestrated by:
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Tim Simonec
Dominic Hauser
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Release Date:
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August 26th, 2003
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if a well-executed, but very stereotypical orchestral horror
score appeals to your darker side.
Avoid it... if the prospect of hearing more slasher cliches, no matter
their crisp performance, bores you or wears on your nerves.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Freddy vs. Jason: (Graeme Revell) With these two series
running as long as they have, it's difficult to maintain any kind of
continuity when you start thinking about their music. The Nightmare on
Elm Street and Friday the 13th movies have held a cult audience
since 1980, practically inventing the teenie slasher genre and opening the
doors for more modern incarnations like Scream and I Know What You
Did Last Summer. Despite a badly fading interest in the most recent
films in both original horror franchises, fans found the prospect of Freddy
Krueger and Jason Voorhees together in the same film to be irresistible.
With Freddy resurrecting Jason and the battling him over frightened teenie
victims to slay, audiences propelled Freddy vs. Jason to the number
one spot atop the box office earnings list for a week in the late summer
season in 2003. The film exceeded most expectations by fans of the series,
and so did the score by Graeme Revell. The two series have not been known
for their superior scores, with only the offspring series being handled by
more popular composers of today's horror genre (such as Marco Beltrami, John
Debney, and John Frizzell). Himself no stranger to the horror genre, Graeme
Revell has composed for his fair share of slasher-type films in his career.
Most fans will likely recall Revell's space-age horror scores, but his
affiliation with cult, slasher horror here on Earth includes Bride of
Chucky, which shares director Ronny Yu with Freddy vs. Jason.
Unlike the Halloween series, for which John Carpenter wrote a
long-lasting piano theme that existed in the minds of viewers for twenty
years, neither Nightmare on Elm Street nor Friday the 13th
maintained the same kind of heightened musical identity. Thus, Revell had a
clean slate to begin with for Freddy vs. Jason. His response was
predictable, although the result was, like the film, better than
expected.
Revell manages to reference the earlier series entries and
their scores by simply utilizing nearly every slasher horror cliche in the
book. All of the instruments in the ensemble are emphasized throughout the
score in their most stereotypical horror performance, but Revell allows that
grouping of expected sounds to take on a greater life by pumping up the
volume with the full City of Prague Philharmonic ensemble. Revell collectors
are accustomed to hearing him incorporate bizarre instrumentation or vocals
into his scores --sometimes having nothing to do with the musical genre at
hand-- but for Freddy vs. Jason, Revell's creativity is held within
the expected boundaries of the genre. A piano rumbles elegantly in that
balance between urban comfort and impending doom. Deep bass strings carry
motifs ominously as victims are being stalked. A pounding timpani strikes as
the villain is coming at you. Loud brass strikes, slurring on the opening
edge, accompany a sudden attack. Quivering violins mark the moments when a
victim looks around a corner in terror. A solo woodwind swirls in the mist
when it looks as though nothing is out there. An electric guitar explodes
with power during frightening dream sequences. An array of synthesized,
metallic grinding noises, with distorted bells tolling, fills in the
underscore. Distorted vocals from both little children and the voices of the
villains are mixed into the disharmony, ranging in statement from innocent
singing to chants of "die, die, die." When you throw all of these elements
together, you have a well-executed horror score. The overall product is
enhanced by a generous quantity of action music, accompanying the two
villains' battles with each other. Little outward thematic material is
presented, however statements from the previous films are referenced
(including some Harry Manfredini Friday the 13th material). The
opening "Legend" cue, as well as the final battle on the dock, both contain
the only harmonious orchestral statements of motifs or themes, and these
moments are the highlights. The score album (as opposed to the heavy metal
song compilation with no score that was offered in the same month) features
a perfect amount of material from the film, ending just before the endless
horror cliches fray on the nerves. ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. The Legend (2:39)
• 2. The House on Elm Street (1:06)
• 3. Girl with No Eyes (3:08)
• 4. The Psych Ward (0:40)
• 5. Gibb Meets Freddy (2:58)
• 6. Will's Story (2:33)
• 7. French Kiss (1:56)
• 8. The Control Room (1:46)
• 9. Jason's Surprise Attack (2:49)
• 10. Jason's First Dream (0:56)
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• 11. Stoner Creature (0:54)
• 12. Freddy's Dream World (1:10)
• 13. Jason Unmasked (3:46)
• 14. In the Library (2:40)
• 15. Freddy Gets Young Jason (3:28)
• 16. Wake Up Lori (1:48)
• 17. Freddy in the Real World (0:57)
• 18. Fight on the Dock (2:33)
• 19. Freddy Expires (2:36)
• 20. Is It Ever Over? (1:28)
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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