31 Days 31 Scores
October 23rd
“Skeletons can’t just get up and walk away! You were right. That man wasn’t the killer, the real killer is still out there and he knows dad’s onto him.”
Welcome Back to “31 Days 31 Scores”. Today we look at the score to the 2007 film “The Number 23” by Harry Gregson-Williams. The “Opening Titles” sets the creepy tone of the score right away with a series of strange noises and electronic tinkering all set to a driving beat and then the score goes into a light and almost positive tone to round out the cue. Violin and flute set the mood with “Fingerling’s Childhood”. While the movie is more a mystery that an actually horror film the score still has some very unnerving moments and this continues in the following cues. “Suicide Blonde” has a very weird feel to it with strange percussion and occasional woodwinds with the hint of a choir. Gregson-Williams has a knack for suspenseful vibe and you can really feel it here. He also gives the cue a modern feel with electric and industrial sounding drums. “11:12 p.m.” has a very mournful sound to it then it kicks into an industrial sound quickly retreating back to low brass and rumbling percussion and eventually strings. The cue ends with a flurry of noises and effects, it’s very weird. The score ends with the cue “Atonement” a downbeat cue with low brass and strings with an almost mournful quality. Woodwinds come in to put a little bright spot on the ending with slightly rising strings. Harry Gregson-Williams crafts a wonderfully tense score and his approach of almost a ticking clock of suspense gives this score a cool urgency. While some may find this a little off putting with his eclectic mix of orchestra and industrial sound, this score is a fairly good listen. “The Number 23 was released on the New Line Records label.
Join me tomorrow for more 31 Days 31 scores where “Against an army of immortals, one warrior must draw first blood.”