Seriously, I just sat through the crazy DAYBREAKERS with Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe, and I am shocked...in a good way.
I just loved Christopher Gordon's score for this film. Big, orchestral, lyrical, stirring -- one of the best I've heard in a long, long, LONG time. And I'd say almost ALL orchestral. No electronics I can recall...might have been some, but this is a straight ahead, well-arranged, big orchestral score clearly not written in step with most of today's Zimmer clones.
It's got some stirring moments, a lot of dissonant elements at the start but has its emotional sections and the end credits just beautifully wraps up the whole score on an optimistic, even MOVING note. Haven't heard anything like this in forever...and it certainly sounds like the kind of score we'd hear decades ago.
The movie itself -- fun. Flawed. Worth a look, especially given the dead state of the horror genre recently..but the score is a keeper.
Here's the litmus test -- I'm actually buying the soundtrack. Yes, THAT good.
As for the Aussie Gordon, here's hoping he actually gets work out of this. This score does everything, for example, Giacchino's STAR TREK couldn't do. The thematic material is strong, the dramatic scoring sense is there too -- in a way that brings you back to when movie scores were real movie scores.
Can't explain it much more, but it's just terrific.
