Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... only if you are the most ambitious collector of James Horner's work, and wish to hear a title theme with John Ottman-like progressions of tragedy. Avoid it... if Horner's sparse, all-synth music and/or low-key thriller scores (both, in this case) don't hold your interest. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Unlawful Entry: (James Horner) An interesting premise occupies Unlawful Entry, one that elevates the film beyond its restraints in the cheap thriller category and thrusts it into one of social drama. A man and his wife --a typical, loving suburban couple consisting of Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe-- are set up in a false burglary attempt on their home and are tricked into relying upon the assistance of a cop to protect them. The cop is a psycho with a good nice-guy look about him, however, and Ray Liotta does his best to outperform his previous efforts in exactly the same kind of role. As the corrupt cop works his way into this couple's lives and eventually lands the husband in jail, we fear for the innocently vulnerable wife, who not only fails to see this train of passion steaming towards her, but even gets herself into the 'creepy dark house by herself' kind of scenarios by the end of film. Until that all-too-familiar end, the film is somewhat intelligent, but the stereotypical climax is a disappointment for fans of director Jonathan Kaplan, whose crowing achievement, The Accused, and his other films seem to excel at perpetuating scenes of fear and confusion. For a project that would seem a perfect fit for the likes of composer Christopher Young, James Horner instead took the assignment. The year 1992 was one that kept Horner away from the large orchestral ensembles, with several projects consisting totally of (or being dominated by) electronics. Very much like Thunderheart, Unlawful Entry would be built upon Horner's keyboarding and four assistant musicians performing solo instruments. Despite the ensemble of five performers, however, the array of electronics are clearly at the heart of Unlawful Entry. The reason for this is most likely due to budgetary constraints, for there are parts of the score that would clearly sound superior (as was the case with The Name of the Rose) had an orchestra been employed for the performance. Along with Horner's synthetic keyboarding are usually a saxophone and regular piano. It's not clear exactly how much of the percussion is synthetic as well, though some of the metallics do reverberate with a certain genuine touch. Horner has produced mostly electronic (and some all-synth) scores that range from decent to quite terrible, and Unlawful Entry unfortunately rests near the bottom of the barrel. Generally considered by Horner collectors to be his worst score of the 1990's, Unlawful Entry simply does not provide enough inspired ideas to warrant its enjoyment apart of the film, and its presence in the film itself has the sound of a stock B-film product. The score can be divided into two sections: the opening and closing credits that merit attention, and the extremely bland underscore that resides in between. The underscore has some characteristics from Thunderheart and Vibes, especially with the piano crashes from the former and the bass-heavy droning from the latter. To end by saying that much of Unlawful Entry is unpleasant would be failing to recognize that even in its unpleasantness, there is little technically in the composition to maintain your interest. The use of a police siren sound effect produced by the synths in "Leon's Death" is about the only notable point. The title theme, however, has several very intriguing elements. First, a piano sets the stage with a truly John Carpenter-like horror rhythm. The theme itself, performed by subdued sax, is very elegant in construct, with tragic chord progressions we don't normally hear from Horner. With the manner in which Horner changes between major and minor keys, the theme has the very distinct sound of John Ottman (in later years, of course), and Ottman fans will find much enjoyment in its inherent darkness. As such, the title theme for Unlawful Entry absolutely begs for a fully symphonic recording at some point, with bass strings replacing the electronic bass, a real choir in place of the fake one, and a brass section taking the theme. Horner collectors will have to use their imaginations in the meantime, and fortunately for them, the theme occupies over seven minutes on album. But if you combine the frustration of this underdeveloped instrumentation with the dull underscore and a short overall running time, the album is still extremely disappointing. There is a reason why its label, Intrada Records, decided to sell it off at 99 cents a piece in 1998. * Track Listings:
Total Time: 35:18
All artwork and sound clips from Unlawful Entry are Copyright © 1992, Intrada Records. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 6/27/98, updated 5/9/05. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 1998-2005, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
