The Dark Half review

The Dark Half (1993)

Composer: Christopher Young

Number of tracks: 13

Total time: 46:48

Overview:

For better or worse, adaptations of the works of Stephen King have historically been as awful as the silly premises in the most of his novels. The two major exceptions to this unwritten rule were Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot (1979) and Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980). Unfortunately, George Romero's The Dark Half (1993) falls into the company of the numerous bad Stephen King film adaptations.

The story itself is somewhat intriguing: A writer of violent crime novels, Thad Beaumont, decides to "kill off" his pseudonym George Stark as a publicity stunt before retiring from the genre. Unfortunately for Thad, Stark has somehow come to life and begins terrorizing/killing everyone Beaumont knows... slowly making his way to Thad's family.

The film suffered from a myriad of problems, including being canned after its completion in the late 80's only to finally get a release in 1993. One of the few bright spots of the production is Christopher Young's atmospheric, and at times, hauntingly beautiful score.

Review of the music:

"Prologue and Tumor" opens the album by introducing the Main theme on solo piano before dissonant strings and violin enter with airy synth accompaniment. A boys choir briefly enters before harp, chimes, plucked strings, woodwinds and piano continue exploring the Main theme. Atonal texture finally enter at 3:35 with high woodwinds, low strings, tumbling piano and gurgling brass. The track ends with a final building crescendo of boys choir and sliding/swirling strings.

Pretty much the rest of the score follows the basic style setup in the first track, though with a delicate balance of the tonal and atonal stylings. In many ways The Dark Half is very similar to Young's earlier powerhouse score to The Fly II (1989), though without the Gothic grandeur and a rather heavy emphasis on the piano instead of strings. Young makes great use of the piano as both an instrument to carry a theme and as a percussion instrument, with many atonal moments featuring crashing piano chords.

Many reviewers and listeners have bemoaned the fact that the score seems to drop the haunting and lyrical Main theme after the first track, only for it to reappear in full during the closing "The Dark Half" cue. In actual fact, the theme is quite prevalent throughout the album, though it's performances are usual heard in fragmented form. This actually gives the score a great sense of cohesion, though it may not seem like it upon first listen. Though the majority of the score resides in the dark and haunting areas, there is one moment of lite, almost playfulness in "Green to Green" where the Main theme is treated to a upbeat variation on strings and woodwinds.

One of the primary things that helps The Dark Half standout as one of Young's better horror works is its surprising level of orchestral experimentation. Along with the heavy emphasis on piano and boys choir that appears in a few tracks, Young also employs various chimes and bells to accentuate various moments throughout the score. Sampled bird chirps are also employed to represent the psychic connection between Thad and Stark. Also, some minor use of saxophone appears in a few later tracks, presumably associated with the sleazy Stark.

The primary instruments in the score are still the traditional orchestra: woodwinds, strings and brass makeup the backbone of the score with appropriate synth textures to expand the sound palate. As is the case with all of Christopher Young's horror scores, the atonal writing is as good as the tonal writing and is shown off quite well in "Omnibus Death" (track 7). For seasoned listeners, there are also some hints of Bernard Herrmann throughout the score, especially during the last half of "Dano" (track 5).

Review of packaging:

As is to be expected, the CD comes in the oh-so-standard jewel case with a one page insert. The insert doesn't really do anything but act as the cover for the album.

The back of the album contains track listings (with correct times), album credits and brief film credits.

Closing thoughts:

Christopher Young has shown his talents in every area of film music from dramas to action to romance and even comedies. Though, there is always something special about his horror works, for the man knows how to work the perfect balance between harmony and dissonance like no other horror composer around today. The Dark Half continues Young's basic horror stylings but adds some new ingredients to the mix to give the score a somewhat unique flavor.

This album is really just a footnote in Christopher Young's long career, but it is definitely worth checking out. As with most of his work, it is more haunting than outright scary... though there is plenty of fright mixed in. It's a somewhat overused term nowadays, but The Dark Half is truly a "Hidden Gem" for Christopher Young fans. Very recommended.

Score:

3 1/2 out of 5