Son of Darkness: To Die For II

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

At first you wouldn't say it but Son of Darkness: To Die For II is Mark McKenzie's first score, first film he composed and first break as composer. Prometheus' release offers you the opportunity to revisit it all, the place where it all began. I don't know what to think of the movie, judging it by the cover or music, it looks to be some satanic demon film which in the end offers you exactly that of tone: dark fanfares, menacing choral work and a love theme, but all mixed in a scary environment with some "at the point of saying" ugly moments of score. Cliff Eidelman scored the first film To Die For and his main theme is not included so everything you hear is McKenzie based. But is it? I've heard his scores (mostly drama) or his other horror score Warlock: The Armageddon but this is not something you would place with Mark McKenzie, which is good. The fans receive something different, not totally brilliant but just perfectly covering that horror scope. Sometimes I also wonder if this is Mark McKenzie, first of all the score sometimes wanders into Ottman territory and mostly not everything is pure orchestral carnage. But if this is McKenzie (which of course it is), then it will offer the fan something they haven't heard before. About the sound and performance, the sound is decent but the performance sometimes sounds like orchestral fury, other times purely electronic. This is sad and sometimes I even feel like the choral sound is synthesized but it nonetheless makes the effect.

The begin and end are stunning in bringing non McKenzie film like music. 'Main Title' offers you dreamlike Nightmare on Elm Street mood before Ottman fanfares (The Usual Suspects) enter the fore, with astonishing effect by the way. Then 'Moonlight Ride' jumps at you without notice. This is for the first time I hear a short but excellent action moment coming of Mark McKenzie. It is spectacular, here for instance the sound is orchestral. From the love performance in track 4, the mood becomes distinctly darker, scarier and edgier, weaving scary tones from Aliens (always thought McKenzie had a bit of Horner in his music), electronics which sound sometimes Brad Fiedel like and more uglier parts of score, at least in their feel and sound. Last, the choral sound is briefly spotted in 'Passions' and 'Nina's Dream' and adds some more menacing quality to the score, in the end the combination of dark fanfares and electronics make it a hypnotizing as a scary sounding memory. For instance 'The Mansion' has a very intriguing sound or scary electronic tones rain in 'See Tom Torture Jane'. The last tracks all feature better music with typical whirling strings in 'The Burning Light' (Dr. Jekyll and Ms Hyde) as a complete summarization of themes in 'Finale'. The middle part is not that enticing as begin or end, mainly through its more electronic based music but this is sort of explainable of what sort of movie this score is accompanying. The begin and end are impressive and will offer different sounds then McKenzie fans are used to, and that makes it a recommendation for those waiting to find something fresh, daring and new. The price will make it acceptable, the sound equally so and McKenzie's horror effort (which is harder to enjoy then Warlock) will deliver just the kind of difference the fans might enjoy.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title (2.23)

2. Celia Were Are You? (0.42)

3. Moonlight Ride (1.45)

4. Bittersweet Love * (1.46)

5. Baying At The Moon (2.58)

6. Passions (2.11)

7. Boathouse Chase (2.17)

8. Condo Kill (1.27)

9. Chilling Seduction (2.46)

10. Nina's Dream (1.15)

11. Wolf Attack (1.45)

12. The Mansion (1.42)

13. You Can't Stop Me! (2.21)

14. See Tom Torture Jane (2.34)

15. Martin Searches For Nina (1.04)

16. Tom And Max Fight (3.05)

17. The Burning Light (1.36)

18. Farewell (1.21)

19. Finale (3.18)

* This alternate love theme was not used in the movie

Total Length: 38.39

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

=== Link to Composer Site: Mark McKenzie ===