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Review of It: Chapter Two (Benjamin Wallfisch)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you appreciate scores that sound fantastic even if
they contain challenging atonality at times, for both the enhanced
lyricism and abrasive horror sequences of this score enjoy an engagingly
immersive recording mix.
Avoid it... if the outrageous electronic manipulation employed by Benjamin Wallfisch in the prior franchise score was the main attraction for you, the sequel taking a distinctly more organic approach to similarly challenging concepts.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
It: Chapter Two: (Benjamin Wallfisch) The 2017
cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's It was a monumental
success in the horror genre, confirming the population's love of extreme
gore and body mutilation on screen. Throw in the concepts of sexual
abuse, suicide, and other depressing human traits and you get an
It franchise that once again grossed massive amounts in 2019 with
It: Chapter Two. These films are, to their credit, more rooted in
serious character development than the usual genre fare, and this
completion of the original "It" story takes a remarkably mature
examination of adult psychology, even if it succumbs to conveying an
acceptance of suicide as a positive event. More important, however, is
that the story manages to provide audiences with a reprise of the cheap
horror thrills while ending on a battered but positive note for its
survivors. The children of Derry, Maine that survived the previous
return of "Pennywise the Dancing Clown" 27 years prior are destined to
assemble once again in the town to confront and finally defeat the
demonic creature of the sewers that prays on the town's inhabitants at
that regular interval. The maturation of the main characters and their
newfound perspective on the antics of the villain force the film to
supply greater depth to the dramatic elements of the storyline. To
accommodate this shift, composer Benjamin Wallfisch returns to the
concept to further develop his themes and horror techniques for It:
Chapter Two. His music for the previous film had blended the 1980's
nostalgia of orchestral lyricism with a cacophony of electronically
manipulated symphonic noise, interesting in all parts but unlistenable
in the latter. Wallfisch has made a habit in the late 2010's, however,
of writing evocative themes for orchestral elements and voices, his
music compelling even if challenging to casually appreciate. The King
story of "It" allows Wallfisch to continue developing sorrowful themes
for piano and orchestra that build upon not only his prior entry in this
franchise but also in The Cure for Wellness, all of them teasing
out the warmth of a vintage James Horner theme while expressing the
tentative, swelling figures of Bernard Herrmann in agonized suspense
mode. These lyrical passages are a more dominant aspect of It:
Chapter Two, battling returning musical identities for Pennywise and
an all-new, massive theme for the ritual meant to defeat him.
The most intriguing evolution for Wallfisch in his approach to It: Chapter Two is his obvious attempt to increase the depth of everything, including both the character and horror halves of his work. The character and location themes, while sometimes fragmented as needed by the narrative, really flourish in this score. More interestingly, however, is the shift in the suspense and outright horror passages, which rely far less on overbearing post-processing manipulation this time around. As the heroes are now capable adults, the score represents their battle with more accomplished orchestral mayhem, sometimes aided by religiously massive choral accompaniment. Yes, there are still a few horror genre cheap tricks in the music, but Wallfisch restrains himself to more organic techniques on the whole. In so doing, his suspense material has found a home someplace between Christopher Young and Bear McCreary, with extraordinary intelligence defining moments that are often too abrasive to appreciate alone on album. Wallfisch and McCreary are, in this era, providing intellectually fascinating suspense music, fulfilling a role that John Ottman was once thought to occupy in the late 1990's. In the case of Wallfisch in particular, these lyrical horror scores often sound magnificent due to really compelling recording qualities. It's not often you can describe a horror score as "lush," but the broad soundscape and perfect amount of reverb in these mixes supplies a feeling of authentic and expansive connection with the listener that is all-too-absent from most contemporary film score recordings. In short, It: Chapter Two once again sounds fantastic, even if the shrill violins, violent flutes, and blasting brass are obnoxious in their strident atonality. The diminishment of electronic manipulation has led to cues like "Festival Pursuit" and "Neibolt Escape" that are quite impressive without obvious synthetic involvement. (Incidentally, the former cue really reminds of McCreary's The Cloverfield Paradox in its chugging strings and the latter's conclusion raises memories of Ottman's The Usual Suspects with its choral resonance and descending piano line). The horror sequences still contain the insufferable Pennywise vocal and instrumental techniques ("Come Home" and "Henry Bowers"), and Wallfisch reuses the children's recordings of an old English nursery rhyme from the previous score in several cues. While somewhat more organic, don't expect much of this material to be any more palatable than it was in the prior score. The quantity and development of themes by Wallfisch for It: Chapter Two is admirable, though there still isn't any single thematic identity that can tie the entire concept together for the mainstream. The light waltz for the town of Derry is the most likely candidate, and it returns whimsically on piano in "27 Years Later" and "The Clubhouse." Aside from experiencing greater gravity in "The Barrens," the idea is more often suppressed in the score and isn't a strong presence in concluding scenes. The theme for the original boy of the story, "Georgie," receives a crucial reprise in the gorgeous "Silver Bullet." The children's bonding theme from the first film, tied mostly to the Beverly character, is explored further in "Beverly Escapes" and the opening of "Your Hair is Winter Fire" before it evolves into representing the Stan character's influence in "Bar Mitzvah" and "Stan's Letter." The ascending figures of this theme also form the basis for a motif of conclusion for the score in "You're All Grown Up" and "Nothing Lasts Forever" that is translated into a gripping representation of grand mystery in "Back to Neibolt." The most interesting new theme in this score exists for the ritual meant to exorcize Pennywise once and for all. Heard fully in apocalyptic choral glory in "The Ritual of Chüd," this theme is resolved in "You're All Grown Up" as the heroes dispatch the evil alien. None of these motific associations is blindingly obvious, though, which may bother some listeners. As such, if you're not sympathetic to the gore of the film, then approaching It: Chapter Two solely from the perspective of a film music collector may leave you appreciating the atmospheric personality of the score and its superior recording more than its narrative. The trio of closing cues is quite redemptive, but it doesn't provide the Derry theme or any other overarching franchise identity a distinct and definitive conclusion outside of wink and nod references in "Goodbye." The understatement by Wallfisch is intentional, surely, as is the slightly modern electronic backing, but there's a sense of catharsis that is somewhat missing. Still, the music on the whole is a noteworthy achievement and an improvement on the prior score, which itself was a more than decent entry in the genre. The album release is once again long. At 103 minutes, there is more than twenty minutes of top-notch lyrical suspense material here to add to similar sequences from It and The Cure for Wellness for a fantastic compilation. Note that these generous Wallfisch albums tend to go out of print on CD within a year or two, so you should not hesitate to appreciate a lossless presentation of this strong genre entry sooner rather than later. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 102:47
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a list of performers but no extra information about the score or film.
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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 It: Chapter Two are Copyright © 2019, WaterTower Music and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/26/20 (and not updated significantly since). |
