31 Days 31 Scores
October 20th
“People eat fish, Grogan. Fish don’t eat people.”
Welcome Back to “31 Days 31 Scores”. For the next few days things are going to get a little fishy. After the release and subsequent popularity of JAWS in 1975, the seas became a dangerous place again with a huge variety of sharks, killer fish, whales and octopi all bent on snacking on humanity. Enter 1978’s Piranha with music by Pino Donaggio. The score has a very traditional sound to it with fantastic brass and strings. With tongue firmly planted in cheek Donaggio scores the film with a orchestral delight riding the line between humourous (Aquarena/Homonculus), touching (Lost River Theme and Summer Dreams) mysterious (Fatal Rescue) and scary with (Nightmare In The Sun/Betsy’s Death). Donaggio takes these elements and expertly crafts a score with orchestral and electronic music that works well. The score at times does feel very much of the era (The 70’s) especially with the cue “Escape In The Night”. The score comes to a satisfying end with the optimistic “End Title”. The score is relatively short at just over 30 minutes but is worth every minute as it is a well constructed and at times fun score. This is proven by the final cue “Yes, We Have No Piranhas” a short cue of Piranha sound effects. Piranha was released on the Varese Sarabande club label in 2004.
Join me tomorrow for more 31 Days 31 scores where “The Terror Is Back….But This Time It Flies!”