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Terry's Reviews Page Terry reviews the latest Movies, Music and Books
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Music Reviews:
	Gothika – Music by John Ottman Varese Sarabande – 2003 I’ve been following and reviewing composer John Ottman’s work for years. After spending two months listening to this over and over I’ve come to the conclusion that GOTHIKA is his best score. Ottman captures the essence of this ghost story with every conceivable element one hopes to find in this kind of movie score. It’s downright scary yet at the same time has heartfelt emotion pumping from it’s chilling veins.
"Miranda’s Theme" is magnificent. The way Ottman plays the piano over the top of the haunting voices and sweeping orchestra will give you a warm cinematic feel. "The Final Escape" could be used as textbook example of how to score a suspense cue. Ottman plays every moment for what it’s worth, contrasting quiet moments with loud aggression. Ottman uses different sounds and instruments to build this track up to its hair-raising payoff. "Road Block / First Contact" puts you in literally in the drivers seat with Miranda (Halle Berry) as she drives into the ghostly spirit of the dead girl. Ottman inventively comes up with a percussive sound in "First Escape" that sounds like the pitter-patter of feet running along the ground. It works not only as a cool sound but represents the definition of the song title. Ottman uses the depth of the orchestra in "One Of Us / The Shower" to bring up the tension, then he tops it off with the high tension tremble sounds, echoed cymbals and a wicked clanging metallic sound. "Willow Creek" swirls with suspense. The wind chimes really made this track hair-raising. It was delightful the way Ottman put Miranda’s theme in the back of the mix during this track, while heavy bass percussion lines you up to be startled out of your seat. The way Ottman underscores "The House / Dream" you can almost feel something evil lurking beneath the surface. I liked the way Ottman slows down the tempo in "I'm The Mirror / Not Alone" before unleashing the last nightmarish half of the cue. The gentle beginning of "Revelation" gives way to an onslaught of terror orchestrated to perfection. High-pitched string parts that scream out nearly brought me out of my seat when I turned up the volume thinking it was strictly a mellow cue. "You’re Next" has a majestic feel brought on by the heavenly voices. This score has brought John Ottman to another level of composing. He has already accomplished quite a bit in his young career but GOTHIKA shows that his future is even brighter. www.johnottman.com www.VareseSarabande.com
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