Below

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

There haven't been many submarine movies made with a tint towards the horror and unexplained super national, thus enter Below, David Twohy's movie about the darkest corners of the sea and what happens when an entire crew sinks to that depth, and starts experiencing mysterious events. Anyway, the movie was solid and offered some scary moments to be sure. And Twohy made equally sure his frequent collaborator joined the depths too, namely composer Graeme Revell. This was the second movie after the cult favorite Pitch Black and there Revell's score didn't blend well because of the more electronic approach, yet Below offers us luckily more orchestral effect. This because also there is more power coming of the score then first imagined. Its dreary, its bleak and its non consequential you would think, but that's not the case and even Revell fans will be surprised when thinking back at the movie. It opens already with 'Main Title' which opens with a horn solo of the main theme and an electronic beat accompanying it, and this repeats itself before the horn solo starts to grow and at the end, its a very effective move when even the strings rise over it. 'Stations Ready' is the surprise you wouldn't expect to find on a score as this, namely an exciting suspension builder which uses fanfares that link itself good with a submarine preparing to dive, and on 1.40 you hear perfectly when that happens. This track is a key point that shows there is more color to Below then the perhaps presumed bleak scoring, which inevitably follows after that second track. 'Searching for Answers' has got the horn solo, mainly the main theme in a low moody approach, but its an effective theme in giving some mystery to the music as the story.

There are some effective moves too which whether or not are appreciated in the end by the fans, a beat over a dreary mood in 'Prepare to Dive!', sound effects for the weird events that are happening in 'The Haunted Hull' but that's replaced by the string main theme gliding once forward at the end. And so the effects continue too in 'Charred Remains', but they work though nonetheless. A suspension build up in 'Sealed off Compartments', the string theme which briefly but perfectly sets the mood just right in 'Strange Forces' and some Aliens like strings make way for the strangest effect of all, yet its also the most effective one. 'Odell Solves the Truth' has actually breathing effects and they appear several times and make both the scene spooky as its music before it grows to some horror action music. Racing strings with fanfares make 'Going Up!' happen but the best is saved for last, 'Facing the Truth' has got fanfares, relieving more near the finish and the string theme for the ultimate discovery at the end, and again they sound just good for the genre. Everything is summarized in what you could call a good cool suite, and 'Safe Harbor' puts track 2, 1 and 13 together in a most effective manner. This all is perhaps for some not enough, but considering the movie, considering the genre and considering the end result, its more then I ever dared to dream of, and shows more the good points of Below then the expected dreary, dark moments which if it matters isn't all that bad either. Graeme Revell will never be a favorite of many, but tracks such as 'Stations Ready' and 'Haunted by Dishonor' show there are promises when he enters those musical ideas. Even when they are found way deep Below the sea.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title (3.21)

2. Stations Ready (2.28)

3. Searching For Answers (2.50)

4. Prepare To Dive! (1.14)

5. The Haunted Hull (2.51)

6. Sealed Off Compartments (1.03)

7. Charred Remains (3.18)

8. Strange Forces (0.59)

9. Searching For Truth (1.02)

10. Odell Solves The Truth (2.27)

11. Going Up! (0.55)

12. Facing The Truth (2.13)

13. Haunted By Dishonor (3.52)

14. Safe Harbor (6.50) Excellent Track

Total Length: 35.09

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Graeme Revell ===