Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Not exactly the kind of composer anyone expected to hear over a horror action effort as this film, but as before even the most surprising choices have led to the greatest triumphs over disappointment. And to improve over Marilyn Manson's too loud score wasn't too difficult if you favor simply good music. So, Jeff Danna had the gift to surprise us all, because changing from The Gospel of John to Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a jump in the unknown, including for the fans. But Jeff, brother of Michael Danna pulled it off and has given us an equally hard to nails effort but here the orchestra is making that noise, and furthermore there is basically more structure in the scoring than that of Manson. To make it all more believable, Danna allowed himself to go wild with walls of bursting action music and electronic effects that would make it even more louder in advance. Sometimes too much to take handle, the effect is still loud enough to make you love it, for the power it enthralls no matter what you think of it. So, it is a loud score even if it takes a minute to build into that status. 'My Name is Alice' starts moody enough with bells before a minute and 20 seconds it starts pumping up the volume with strings and brass, before the danger motif is heard at the end of all things. This danger motif is basically the only theme so to speak off, but there are motifs for several characters or villains. 'Alice Battles the Nemesis' starts already cooking good with electronic bass, rhythm over strings which creates this wonderful ingenious string motif (which will be heard often when all hell breaks lose), and at the end briefly the Nemesis motif starts to unveil itself. This naturally opens 'The Nemesis vs. Stars' and its a weird but at the same time most effective noise from whatever instrument is creating it. Its also nice when this motif starts toying itself through the orchestra's growing noise. Making yourself believe this is actually not a bad score at all, which it isn't.

And it continues with 'Panic at the Gate', the motif for the Nemesis but led to action with the danger theme and bursting electronics. 'Umbrella is Watching' builds to a large finale and with the danger theme mixed in it, it gives a big brassy feel whatsoever. But basically after that, we somewhat heard it all before. Not that it seriously goes downhill from here, but the structure at times changes in favor of more hard to nails music, and it becomes more moody at times too. 'Cain's Demise' has a brief solo vocal before the noise unveils itself to a dissonant ending, 'The Nemesis is Awakened' opens well with the danger theme as the Nemesis theme making appearances but the organ tone later on goes to big dissonant noises, which makes it brief but powerful. 'Zombies in Church' has that great string figure returning at rapid pace but 'Captured by Umbrella' has the brief tones of the Nemesis theme at the end with the danger theme receiving short but brassy attention. 'The Crash Site' is basically the only calm tune, with the danger theme receiving soft attention. 'Dogs in the Kitchen' is noisier then usual, 'Searching for Alice' has some eclectic mixes of electronics and 'The Anti-Virus' is covering some moody music with softer tones too. 'Beneath the City' returns with the nice attacking string figure. The end basically can't tip to the opening tracks, even though there's a nice danger theme moment in track 16 and the attacking string figure in 17. All in all, Jeff Danna made his impression count well from shifting from The Gospel of John to a noisy affair such as Resident Evil: Apocalypse. A little sad it didn't last, meaning those impressive opening tracks but the moments that followed were just placed in less attractive tracks. Still, I'm convinced about his versatility and many fans will agree they want to hear this score everyday over Manson making just noise and no musical noise, such as Danna.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. My Name is Alice (2.14)

2. Alice Battles The Nemesis (3.07)

3. The Nemesis VS. Stars (2.12)

4. Panic At The Gate (1.39)

5. Umbrella Is Watching (3.04)

6. Ashford's Plan (2.38)

7. Cain's Demise (1.55)

8. The Nemesis is Awakened (2.44)

9. Zombies In Church (1.37)

10. Captured By Umbrella (2.25)

11. The Crash Site (1.06)

12. Dogs In The Kitchen (2.06)

13. Searching For Alice (2.46)

14. The Anti-Virus (2.14)

15. Beneath The City (2.20)

16. The Last Transport (1.55)

17. Search The School (1.33)

18. I Remember Everything (2.04)

Total Length: 39.49

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

=== Link to Composer Site: Jeff Danna ===