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Sometimes the soundtrack business manages to
surprise us. Sometimes, among hundreds of generic sounding scores that are
released each year, an unsuspected work take us off guard. That's the case
with Richard Wells' The Mutant Chronicles, an high quality soundtrack.
And the most surprising is that this rousing music comes not from a
blockbuster, but from an independent british science fiction movie. For the
task the composer, given the choice to create an usual electronic score for
the film or to approach it with more of a classical, orchestral direction,
boldly chose the later. Kudos to Wells.
The Mutant Chronicles, directed by
Simon Hunter, tells the story of
the last mission of the only surviving humans on Earth, a hopeless task
which ends in bloody failure against an army of Mutants. The visual backdrop
of muddy trenches and huge WW1 style weaponry is aided by the Richard Wells'
music. For sure, the score is not completely unique and original. The
military vibe of the main theme, first heard in "Take Off", reminds me
another great sci fi effort,
Basil Poledouris' Starship Troopers. The
dissonant sections are very
Goldsmith's or Horner's Alien related, and
the choral work was clearly inspired by
Shore's Lord of The Rings
trilogy.
Similarities apart, we have to congratulate
Wells to had the guts to deliver a high octane score for large orchestra. Of
course there are electronics elements in the mix (like some of the
percussion), but there's much more - the powerful march theme used sparingly
but with just the strength needed to
bring cohesion to the score, followed by a variety of suspenseful, poignant
- even lyrical -cues, interspersed with vibrant action pieces. There's a
nice balance between the science fiction/horror elements in the score,
shaping a listening experience that is never boring.
The music is very well orchestrated, with
the choir and even an old fashioned acoustic guitar providing the background
for the more emotional moments. The remarkable string section takes a strong
part also at the more suspenseful passages. The superb "Mutant
Chronicles End Credits"
suite summarizes the main themes heard along the album, and while listening to it
I wondered why so many recent great summer movies (Iron Man, for
instance) received so lame scores. Based on this high
recommended
work, given the task to Wells I'm sure he would create something much better
- and greater. Before The Mutant Chronicles I've never heard about
Wells. Hopefully this assignment will be his ticket for bigger budget films,
and we'll hear much more from his output.
At the time of this review, the Silva
America's soundtrack of The Mutant Chronicles,
generously containing more than 60 minutes of
exciting music, was available for purchase only from iTunes. Probably a CD
release will follow soon. |
