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Review of Five Nights at Freddy's (The Newton Brothers)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only to appreciate the fantastically catchy main theme, a
creepy children's lullaby set against 1980's arcade tones.
Avoid it... if you demand anything more than typical output from The Newton Brothers for the remainder of their adequately sufficient but far less memorable horror music for this concept.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Five Nights at Freddy's: (The Newton Brothers) For
many years suffering from endless rewrites and shifting directors,
2023's Five Nights at Freddy's completes studio aspirations to
adapt the popular video game and novelizations to the big screen.
Concept creator Scott Cawthon produced and wrote the story, using the
initial film to loosely follow the events of the first video game
involving the supernatural horror killings at a defunct family
entertainment center and pizza parlor. The script that ultimately
prevailed for Five Nights at Freddy's was blasted mercilessly by
critics but met somewhat fondly by rabid enthusiasts of the game. After
a group of kids is murdered in the 1980's parlor, the animatronics in
its game machines become possessed and engage in murderous behaviors
that deter anyone of sane mind from wanting to serve as a security guard
for the rundown center. One man's life circumstances force him into that
position, but he ultimately teams with his family and a suspiciously
helpful police officer to solve the original children's murders and
avoid their own deaths. Several less than desirable characters are
captured, tortured, and killed by the animatronic animals, but one of
the widespread criticisms of the movie is that its PG-13 rating failed
to allow the level of commensurate violence to satisfy the gore fetish
crowd. Still, the film managed to dominate box office charts in the
Halloween season despite losing popularity rather quickly. The
soundtrack for Five Nights at Freddy's plays an outsized role in
the movie, but don't expect the overriding personality of the game's
music to serve as a guide here. The song by The Living Tombstone
famously inspired by the game, however, does grace the first half of the
end credits. Countless songs really define the film and needed to be on
same album with the original score, but such service to fans was not
forthcoming. For that score material, Tyler Bates was initially set to
provide the music. He was yet another casualty of the constant
crew-shifting on the movie, however, and John Andrew Grush and Taylor
Newton Stewart, known popularly as The Newton Brothers, stepped in late.
The pair has been active in the horror movie music arena for many years
and generally provides sufficient music for these lower-budget
entries.
For the most part, the bulk of the score for Five Nights at Freddy's is typical and expected for The Newton Brothers, who competently blend synthetic elements with mostly strings and voices from the organic side. The infusion of retro electronics and children's choir is key to distinguishing this output for the duo, because otherwise the work is predictably drab. Standard, slappy jump scares, plucky string beds, pitch manipulations, and dissonant haze are joined by frequently blasting bass notes on key, all of these techniques tired but at least executed well. Solo string manipulation and slashing performance techniques are mixed decently despite their anonymous underpinnings. Horror music collectors may find merit in some of the increasingly raw instances of that usage. Glassy effects are sometimes applied to the percussive layer. Voices offer intrigue, with the sung adult vocals focusing on more fantasy-oriented female tones in "Vanessa's Past." Sound effects of young girl talking in "Follow the Yellow Rabbit" are more annoying than unnerving. The choir is where The Newton Brothers succeed in this work, the deconstruction of the main theme's performances in several suspense cues prevailing as the most memorable element. The retro electronics are largely confined to the main theme, but they do factor occasionally as reminders elsewhere. Expect to be disappointed by the lack of vigor in some passages that could have benefited from greater performance inflection and perhaps even a touch of gothic humor. The narrative of the score is actually pretty solid overall, though, the main theme returning at important plot points on screen while the contemplative parts provide necessary relief for the protagonists at times. The motific disconnect between the characters at the center of this tale (the new arrivals at the parlor and the spirits of the children killed decades ago) is a head-scratcher at best and a monumental missed opportunity at worst. Moments like "Doing Well" at the end supply heartier, almost Jerry Goldsmith-like personality to the genre, The Newton Brothers leaving this film's characters with notable major-key tonality in the concluding chords for their part. That said, the composers close out the score with the necessary musical preview of more horror to come, and the sinister "My Grandfather's Clock" is applied as the second half of the end credits music. Thematically, The Newton Brothers provide just enough connectivity to suffice in Five Nights at Freddy's, but not everything is satisfyingly explored further. The main theme is truly a winner, however, and it's among the catchiest tunes ever to come from the composers. Highlighted during the opening credits, this theme debuts at 0:42 into "Five Nights at Freddy's" on children's choir over analog synths and drum kit in a clear and loving throwback to 1980's arcade glory. Few film music themes of the year can compete with its sheer dose of fun. The idea persists when necessary throughout the score, but never with the same zeal. A variant emerges in the brief "Clean Up," but the next full reprise comes when the choir suddenly returns briefly at 1:44 into "Vanessa's Past" without the full 1980's synth bed. Another meandering variant on choir appeals in the suspense at 0:41 into "Abby's in Danger" and faintly at 2:38 into "Now I Kill You" over slamming metallics and atonal muck, though the theme slowly regains stature during the remainder of the latter cue, harmonizing well by the last bars for resolution. It shifts to very light drama on music box-like tones in "Doing Well," that instrument a nice reference back to the video game's soundtrack. Like the animatronics, however, the theme refuses to die at the end, returning in the middle of "The Rabbit Lives" with suspense. A music box variant dominates in "My Grandfather's Clock," eventually mingling with choir before the track literally winds down to a close. Two secondary themes exist in Five Nights at Freddy's, though neither is as remotely impactful. A nascent family theme is a simple, descending piano motif of three-note phrases, and its two performances come with solace at 0:51 into "Delinquent Notice" and greater warmth at 2:11 into "Family History." Alternately, a terror motif utilizes simplistic phrasing mostly on key that builds up to the end of "Mike's Dream Sequence III." It reforms into a more pounding identity at the outset of "The Yellow Rabbit," where it later shifts to the children's voices while maintaining blasting bass tones underneath. At the end of the day, it's the main theme's primary performance that dominates the score for Five Nights at Freddy's. The rest of the work is adequately executed for its genre, and without the theme it may have stewed in the two-star range. That lovable title identity, however, elevates this soundtrack in memorability, even if the score and songs really should be appreciated together on album. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 50:02
NOTES & QUOTES:
There exists no official packaging for the digital version of this album.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Five Nights at Freddy's are Copyright © 2023, Back Lot Music (Digital) iam8bit (CD) and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 11/10/23 (and not updated significantly since). |
