31 Days 31 Scores
October 19th
“You know what Mari? I think Justin here could be kind of cute if he lost his whole like creepy, hooded Unabomber kind of vibe he’s got going on. Don’t you think?”
Welcome Back to “31 Days 31 Scores” Today I’m looking at the 2009 score to “Last House On The Left” by John Murphy. Murphy is again one of the underrated composers that I have been featuring this month. He starts off the score with “Opening Titles” a creepy almost dream-like, foreboding cue foreshadowing what’s to come. Murphy follows this with low brass and rumbling percussion in “The Crossing”. Murphy crafts an almost fairytale like atmosphere with a cue called “The House” which ends abruptly leading into the next cue “The Boathouse”. The score has a hopeful sound with underlying string this changes to a unnerving rock like sound. The score switches from an ideal situation to more chaotic with “Getting Stoned”. After this the creepiness returns with strings and low brass and a sustained electric guitar like sound that sounds like screaming that pops up suddenly. Murphy’s score does do a little droning in “Are You Ready To Be A Man?” and that continues in the next cue “Killing Paige”. A hopeless feeling comes through in “After The Assault” with sorrowful strings, the cue ends however, with a chaotic strings and percussion. Murphy does well with balancing between the droning aspects of a score and the orchestral while “Saving Mari” has that creepy drone with sound effects it is not out of place here. I know I sometimes come down on “drone” scores but if done right they can be effective. Murphy brings in huge suspense with low brass in the cue “Going To The Guest House”, this continues in “Looking For Krug”. “John vs. Krug” is a great fight cue with building electric guitar and percussion that retreats back to quiet sustained strings and rumbling sound effects then the cue bursts forth in a flurry of electric guitar and effects. “The End” almost mimics the opening but with a much more downbeat theme as if something has been lost. Murphy is a talented composer and his score to “The Last House On The Left” shows this. While this score may not be for everyone it still is worth a listen. It was released on the La-La Land Records label.
Join me tomorrow for more 31 Days 31 scores where “They’re here…Hungry for flesh! Who can stop them?”