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| Wallfisch |
Alien: Romulus: (Benjamin Wallfisch) Judging from
the critical and audience response to 2024's
Alien: Romulus,
there appears to be no diminishment in the public's desire to see
Facehuggers and Xenomorphs do their needlessly unpleasant routine. In
this case, the story takes place between the first two films of the
franchise and involves the wreckage of the initial movie's ship and a
group of civilians that become involved in its destiny by trying to
escape the control of the evil Weyland-Yutani Corporation for seemingly
unrelated reasons. In attempting to secure supplies from that company's
supposedly derelict space station, they can ditch their soulless work
contract for a better life. Of course, that station is connected to the
prior ship of fame and contains all sorts of shit that no sane person
will want involved with. Thankfully, there are still androids in this
franchise, and the one that serves as the partner for the heroine in
this entry is ultimately tested in its allegiances. With great care, the
production, which was guided by Ridley Scott himself, resurrected dead
actor Ian Holm to serve as another android (evil, of course) in the
plot. Sadly,
Alien: Romulus does not involve the Xenomorphs
attacking the Romulans of "Star Trek" fame, which would have made a more
interesting picture. The
Alien franchise has rotated mercilessly
between composers during its long history, its music never following any
linear path other than its frequent dwelling in dissonant horror shades
of the most challenging nature. Generally, the public's interest in
these scores waned as time went on, their awards consideration dwindling
along the way. For
Alien: Romulus, some had speculated that
director Fede Álvarez would continue his collaboration with Roque
Baños from the 2010's, but the assignment ultimately went to
ascendant horror and action composer Benjamin Wallfisch. One of the
greatest benefits of Wallfisch's involvement in a franchise like this is
his typically intelligent handling of a franchise's prior musical
identities. That tact was disturbingly absent from his
Twisters
sequel score just prior to this one, but enthusiasts of the
Alien
films' music will be pleased that his approach to
Alien: Romulus
is much better connected to the concept's past.
With Wallfisch often comes two important assets to major
film scores: a highly intelligent blend of thematic development and
orchestration on one hand, and an outstanding mix of its recording on
the other. Thankfully, both of these habits by the composer are in full
force in
Alien: Romulus, the quality of the narrative and
instrumental layers quite superb. And, as usual, the score sounds
vibrant and alive, a circumstance of tasteful reverb and excellent
balance between the instrumental groupings. That doesn't mean that
everything in this recording is particularly pleasant, because it's an
Alien film, after all. But the equation is all highly
recognizable for the composer's collectors, the tone of the work
generally a combination of
The Invisible Man and
The
Flash. Orchestrally, there is much to like in the suspense, fantasy,
and action corners. Wallfisch has a knack for incorporating a harp
better than most in this era, and his string usage is layered extremely
nicely in several cues, including "The Hive" despite synthetic
intrusion. There is excellent symphonic action akin to highlights from
The Flash in the brief but engaging "Elevator Shaft Attack."
Listeners can expect some surprisingly tonal expressions of drama at
times as well. Then, however, come the egregious, thrashing chase and
killing cues that use metallic scraping noises and obnoxious
manipulation for the pure horror element. That's not new for Wallfisch;
the electronic dissonance here is very similar to the abrasive parts of
The Invisible Man and
Mortal Kombat. This mode is
insufferable in some places, as in portions of "There's Something in the
Water," the second half of "XX121," and the rambling thumps with voices
and synths in "He's Glitchy." Though understandably irritating, the
percussive experimentation and manipulation in "The Offspring" is an
awful experience, one so bad that it becomes funny in its imitation of
groaning beast noises. These techniques continue into "Collision
Warning," but such outrageously intolerable moments, as with
The
Invisible Man and
Mortal Kombat, don't define the score.
Perhaps the most intriguing addition to the palette for Wallfisch in
this work is the diverse choral usage that reminds of
2001: A Space
Odyssey for the suspense element, highlighted in the second half of
"The Chrysalis." Usually, though, the choir is restrained to its
typical, attractive duties in support of fantasy resonance.
The thematic tapestry in
Alien: Romulus is
extremely tight, Wallfisch keeping his three main new identities
extremely close in relation. The interplay between the three variations
on this primary theme is compelling in "Wake Up," "Searching," and "Guns
v Acid Blood," and "Entering Nostromo," which especially masterfully
explores the theme in all its purposes, often in a structural struggle
with each other. On top of this trio of ideas is a general, ascending
fantasy motif typical to Wallfisch's methods and used throughout. These
passages most closely resemble the allure of the evocative portions of
The Invisible Man. As for the actual three variants of the main
theme, the composer uses the same five notes overall but changes or
inverts their ordering in the major and minor keys to represent the lead
heroine, Rain, her android, Andy, and the Xenomorphs. It is somewhat
surprising that Wallfisch chose a strategy of so closely connecting
these three characters given that they have nothing in common in a
general sense, and the tactic may ultimately cause some listeners to
simply lump all three variants together as one identity for the movie.
Unlike with
Twisters, though, the five note combinations here are
better enunciated throughout the whole story to really drive home their
presence, regardless of the variation of the moment. Those variations
are provided fairly equally, starting with the Rain theme. In its five
notes, the middle three are ascending in a usual Wallfisch yearning
sense. This idea consolidates on brass at 1:06 into "The Chrysalis" and
builds out of the composer's usual undulating phrases of mystery at 0:46
into "That's Our Sun" with several guises for the theme nicely lacing
the ambient tonal intrigue of the cue. The Rain theme follows the Andy
version early in "Entering Nostromo," including a nervous rhythmic
statement, and emerges from Wallfisch's fantasy motif nicely in the
middle of "Searching." It opens "The Hive" in near sadness but then
substantial curiosity, proceeds with horn and cello resolve at 1:06 into
"Andy," is plucked at the start of "Gravity Purge" multiple times as it
builds steam, and guides the massive action of "Elevator Shaft Attack."
Rain's theme then dominates "Get Away from Her," majestic with choir at
2:16 and on solo horn at 3:13, both those big renditions missing an
ascending note in the phrase. The idea finally morphs into a giant,
timpani-pounding climax in "Raine" with somewhat grand heroism before
struggling in hopeful suspense during the middle of "Sleep."
The variation of Rain's theme for her android, Andy, is
subtle in
Alien: Romulus, the first note ascending instead of
descending and the rest of the theme remaining the same. Really, the
difference between the Rain and Andy themes is not significant enough
for most people to notice, especially given the fact that the divergent
first note of the idea is sometimes clipped off the phrase anyway.
Because the android is reprogrammed partway through the film to give him
an evil personality loyal to the corporation (more akin to Ash from the
first film), Wallfisch establishes this theme as a benevolent though
slightly mysterious offshoot of the Rain theme until shifting Andy's
renditions into the minor key when the machine takes on different
priorities. This version's distinct opening to the five-note phrase
stews at 0:45 into "The Chrysalis" in a unique variant and opens
"Entering Nostromo" with multiple strained renditions. It follows the
Rain version in the tentatively beautiful portions of "Searching" but
turns menacing after the main Goldsmith
Alien theme's performance
in "XX121," and that mode continues in the minor key early in
"Prometheus Fire" with a little melodrama. Andy's theme returns at the
start of "Guns v Acid Blood" and again in full form at 0:42 into that
cue, becoming lightly melodramatic by the middle of "Andy." With its
major mode back in sight, the theme turns redemptively tonal at 1:25 and
retains cyclical form at 3:45 into "Get Away From Her," and it meanders
with some slight discomfort early and at 1:17 into "Sleep." Meanwhile,
Wallfisch handles the uniquely discourteous Xenomorph race with a true
inversion of Rain's theme, though sometimes only in that theme's latter
four notes. Most listeners will recognize this variant simply by its
descending nature, whereas the Rain and Andy themes are majority
ascendant identities. For the Xenomorph theme, a nervous rhythmic
version follows similar treatment of the Rain theme in "Entering
Nostromo," then hinted in the only tonal moment during the middle of the
otherwise untethered "There's Something in the Water." This Xenomorph
variant is cyclical in the romping action at 0:56 into "Guns v Acid
Blood." It is very well-handled multiple times in "Get Away From Her,"
allowed an appropriately big statement at 1:15 and informing the
subsequent climax. The idea stomps briefly at 2:13 into "The Offspring"
and 1:22 into "Collision Warning" with almost cartoonish machismo, and a
choral confrontation for the theme highlights a moment at 2:14 into the
latter cue.
The overall narrative of these themes leads to an
obligatory false conclusion of relief. Descending lines from the
Xenomorph theme echo in the horror crescendo that closes "Sleep,"
because no good film or score in this franchise could end without some
reminder that Facehuggers await even the most diligent civilians and
warriors in future films. The most pleasant surprise in the score for
Alien: Romulus comes in the employment of previous musical motifs
from the franchise. Of particular note is Wallfisch's loyalty to
Goldsmith's
Alien, which makes sense given this plot. He
extensively utilizes Goldsmith's mystery motif, descending pairs of
echoing woodwind notes that are teased almost immediately in "The
Chrysalis" and faint at the start of "Wake Up" amongst Wallfisch's own
ascending fantasy motif. But this legacy mystery motif is more formally
stated by flutes at 1:09 into "XX121," later fleeting at 1:28 into
"Prometheus Fire" and on disjointed flutes at 0:07 into "Andy,"
Wallfisch slightly deconstructing the motif. This idea faintly informs
the middle of "Gravity Purge" and briefly influences at 3:36 into "Get
Away From Her." While Wallfisch didn't need to use Goldsmith's echoplex
of the 1970's, the technique lives on well in this score. And then
there's Goldsmith's main theme, conveyed fully on trumpet early in
"XX121." The backing for this theme actually starts peeking through in
the latter half of "Searching," and these performances are highly
satisfying. Later, Gregson-Williams's life theme from
Prometheus
receives a distinct reference at 2:03 into "Prometheus Fire." No other
completely obvious reference to the prior scores makes such a prominent
impact in
Alien: Romulus. Elliot Goldenthal's style is definitely
referenced in the pounding timpani and choral finale in "Raine," but you
never hear a true tribute to James Horner's
Aliens or the other
franchise scores with similar clarity. Instrumental and rhythmic
applications may remind of these other composers, but nothing will
compete with the clear influence of Goldsmith. On the whole, the score
is among the better to grace this franchise, and a solid twenty minutes
of highlights could consolidate the tonal fantasy portions into a very
attractive experience apart from the film. The brash electronics and
abrasive horror techniques are necessary, perhaps, and Wallfisch
enthusiasts have heard (and skipped past) most of that before. An
extended album available only on vinyl a few months after the main
album's release is a travesty wasted on monied people foolish enough to
pay ridiculous sums for vinyl in the 2020's. Send Facehuggers after
those responsible for such a disservice to 99% of film music collectors
out there.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Benjamin Wallfisch reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.46
(in 13 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.2
(in 2,855 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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