: (Steven Price) The pandemic of 2020
irreparably harmed the production process for countless movies, but it
was catastrophic for the sci-fi thriller
. Shot
under the name of "Distant" in arduous conditions at the height of
COVID-19 fears, the movie never recovered, finally premiering in East
Asian theatres in 2024 and a lone American streaming outlet in 2025 for
a while before disappearing again. It never received any substantial
critical or audience responses as a result, though its premise had
promise. In the future, a deep space mining vessel suffers an asteroid
strike, and many among its hibernating crew are awakened in time to
jettison themselves in escape pods to a planet before the vessel itself
crashes into that barren world. Only a handful of people survive that
initial episode, and the plot deals with two remaining crew members who
struggle to find each other, share their supplies, and escape a variety
of wretched monsters that are the stuff of nightmares. It's a character
study wrapped into a horror monster venue, but it does offer some
redemption for the lead duo as they safely find shelter and await
rescue. The score for
landed on the lap of Steven
Price, who was certainly no stranger to topics involving survival in
space. His music for the picture was written years before its American
debut but is deserving of more recognition, belatedly adding to a very
strong year of production for the composer in 2025. In its personality
and execution, his score is the spiritual cousin to Andrew Lockington's
but with rougher
inflections. The result is a very modern but accessible thriller score
that manages to balance the technology of the setting with the horror of
the monsters and, more importantly, the human element at the heart of
the story. It's such melodic grace inhabiting the highlights of this
work that provide its lasting appeal. The orchestral ensemble is
competently applied, but its presence is secondary to the excellent
instrumental colors that Price adds on top of it. A cello is the story's
emotional anchor, providing some absolutely splendid moments of genuine
care in an otherwise inhospitable environment.
More importantly, the electronic elements of
Long
Distance are improved upon the composer's famed
Gravity. For
instance, "red alert" alarm sounds are employed really well in "It
Appears We Are Falling" and other cues, this material continuing with
more distortion in the score's most challenging cue, "Do Not Mute Me."
While rough at some points, the synth tones are generally palatable in
each use, never totally obnoxious. Meanwhile, vocal elements are
extremely subtle when employed, perhaps as synth accents. The mix is
expertly spread, each solo contribution placed at center with a decent
amount of reverb around it as to augment the fantasy aspect. Listeners
will appreciate the several cues of tonal beauty mixed in between the
suspense and horror. The latter sequences cannot be discounted, though,
because Price is definitely on his game in devising their functionality.
The ramp-up of tension in "It Appears We Are Falling" is quite good as
the first cue heard in the picture, especially in a notable mid-cue key
change. Price's action cues are powerfully relentless when needed, "A
Friend Request" particularly engrossing, and his ability to ratchet up
intensity excels in "Should Have Tried Harder" without suffering the
downsides of stereotypical crescendo usage. Still, some of these
passages will be tough to swallow for some listeners, just as with the
aforementioned
Atlas. Surprisingly, the hideous creatures of the
planet don't receive any cohesive musical identity for suspense. This
decision is an oversight, perhaps, because the threat of the beasts is
just as important as their eventual presence in unexpected places. The
album's opening track, "Distant," is the end credits piece, and it
succeeds a distinctive mix of "A Three Percent Chance" there. Both
follow a disparate song placement that experiences an intentionally
abrupt end at the front of those credits. (Sadly, "Mesmerize" by Ja Rule
is really out of place for the story's end.) Thematically, Price does
concoct a secondary motif for general representations of danger in
Long Distance, but the bulk of the melodic attention is pointed
at his two major themes, one for survival and family while the other
covers the story as a whole. That latter, main theme is an excellent
adventure identity that takes the entire film to build up to its
monumental closing statements but is worth the wait.
Heard on brass with anticipation built into its harmony
at 0:15 in that end credits arrangement, "Distant," the main melody of
Long Distance is released in its full form with horns at 0:48.
Reharmonized at 1:33 with a greater touch of inspiration, it returns at
the end of the suite after the survival/family theme, declaring victory
at 3:45 with cymbal-crashing fanfare heroics in a performance maybe out
of place but still fantastic for the ears. The extremely rousing
conclusion uses descending pairs of counterpoint from brass brilliantly,
and the cue's placement at the front of the album helps establish the
idea well for listeners. It never achieves that same level of outright
glory in the preceding score, however. The work's seemingly omnipresent
cello suggests both this and the survival variant early in "It Appears
We Are Falling," and an inversion of the theme's cascading counterpoint
lines highlight the middle of the cue. The idea climbs above the danger
motif in the early fantasy of "Terrain Unstable" before forming a
cyclical rhythm in the middle of the cue for tension, later returning
with a reminder of its first phrase at 2:49. After the cello performs
that first full phrase of the main theme a few times at 1:09 into
"Webbing," it's nicely harmonized in a tonally lovely moment of light
fantasy. Fragmented well during the totally panicked action of "A Friend
Request," the idea integrates into the middle of the survival theme in
"A Three Percent Chance," contributes with reservation early in "Memory
Bank," and punctuates a blast of pressure near the beginning of
"Assuming I Even Make It." At the climax of the story, it joins the
survival theme as a secondary tool of determination in "You Are a Good
Friend" and supplants the survival theme's two parts at 2:54 into the
resolution of "Wake Up" for a sanguine conclusion. Related to the main
theme of
Long Distance and often intertwined with it is the
survival and family theme for the leads' supportive conversations about
their lives. Its opening phrase is almost a stunted version of the main
theme by design, that figure repeating its ascent with the same sense of
hope without resolving like the main theme does. This phrase repeats in
slight variants with a very yearning tone but eventually blossoms into
secondary phrasing that is the mature family representation and highly
redemptive. The solo cello explores this material right after the main
theme at 1:48 into "Distant," and the secondary phrasing at 2:32 is
tender on strings before shifting back to main phrase.
In the score proper, the survival theme is expressed as
a fragment early in "It Appears We Are Falling" and stews with
uncertainty in the middle of "Keep Walking" before the cello offers a
quick glimpse at 0:20 and continues with urgency at 0:49 in "Keep
Talking." The secondary phrasing's chords only occupy "Glitching" with
breathy synths in a very pleasant haze, extending to the first half of
"Actually Kind of Beautiful." After the cello struggles to maintain this
survival theme against the grating rhythmic fear and alarm tones early
in "Do Not Mute Me," the idea pushes through the rhythmic determination
in the first minute of "A Friend Request" and shines brightly in "A
Three Percent Chance" with its crescendo of hope, a really outstanding
cue of orchestral and synthetic cohabitation. Price diverts to this
theme for some quick lament at the outset of "Should Have Tried Harder"
on piano and supplies it another round of tonal inspiration in "Memory
Bank," including a cello reprise. Its melody reminds briefly during the
action at 1:57 into "Assuming I Even Make It" and turns stoic with new
tonal resolve to start "You Are a Good Friend," but it expands to
massive tones of resilience from the ensemble in the latter. Finally,
Price reassures audiences with pretty call and answer phrasing for the
idea at 0:33 into "Wake Up," the secondary sequences offering closure on
cello in the cue's second half. The danger motif generally consists of
two descending pairs of notes forming a four-note representation of
gravity, though the composer elongates it to a trio of falling notes at
times. This idea is most obvious against the main theme in "Terrain
Unstable" before extending to its three-note variant. The composer
continues its use with subtlety early in "Keep Walking" and in the
suspense of "Webbing" on violins. The motif turns positive with a new
perspective from the synths in "Actually Kind of Beautiful" and
transitions into a frantic action supplement in later cues, especially
"Assuming I Even Make It." Overall, the action material in
Long
Distance is serviceable and interesting as rendered, but, not
surprisingly, it's the tonal expressions of the two themes that really
appeal. Price's ability to find the perfect balance between organic and
synthetic instrumentation for these passages is masterful and at total
peace by the end. There is 20 to 25 minutes of very good music on the
57-minute album, making the whole an easy recommendation. Without a
doubt, the "Distant" suite is not to be missed and highlights all film
music in the year. Among the many Price scores that officially debuted
in 2025,
Long Distance is the most alluring, the very definition
of an unexpected surprise from the unlikeliest of doomed productions.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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