"Drag Me To Hell" - Christopher Young

Drag Me To Hell

Composer: Christopher Young

Release Date: August 18, 2009

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Amazon users rating: 5 out of 5stars

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All About Soundtracks Review: Master of the horror-movie genre, Christopher Young gets in Drag Me To Hell both his fourth collaboration with director Sam Raimi and his opportunity to deliver a remarkable, unique and unforgettable score. Which he does.
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Drag Me To Hell is an over-the-top though not explicitly sadist (unlike many contemporary horror movies), rated PG-13, that includes a pretty blond but not-so-good-hearted protagonist, that, because of professional ambitions, gets cursed by a terrific gyspy old lady. The curse will, literally, drag her to hell in three days and she does everything she can to get free of the curse.
This gave Young the oppportunity to include a gypsy sound on the score and to go all over-the-top, following the cheesy spirit of the music.
With the exception of three cues, Christopher Young includes his horrifying trademark of orchestral chaos. Insane organ, choral desperate chantings, violent brass, and other sounds so unrecognizable that are unique.
But the most compeling element of the score is the solo violin, that emerges from this mayhem with a distorted beauty, to perform the main theme of the score, which both opens and ends the album (being the ending cue, Concerto To Hell, the strongest and most terrifying rendition of the theme). This is the theme where Young mostly employs a recognizable gyspy influence. Apparently, this theme represents the curse of the movie (called Lamia), as in track 4, Lamia, it gets a violent and insanely chaotic treatment.
Other cues will hardly please a common listener, but will be loved by horror score fans. This include Black Rainbows and Ode To Ganush, tracks where the sounds are so distorted that almost become atmospheric cues.
The refered three tracks that where this sense of chaos and terror is absent are Tale Of A Haunted Banker, Familiar Familiars and Brick Dogs Ala Carte. If one only heard these cues from the album, would never say it was an horror score. Young employs most notably piano and soft strings, with a simplistic theme that represents the sweet (at least, on surface) protagonist, Christine. This kind of music lets the listener breath a bit and it almost feels out of place, like Christine herself feels in the middle all that creepy events.
This score is absolutely a must-listen. Young and/or horror score fans will be absolutely delighted. As for those who are not familiar with the score for this type of movie, this is a hell of a good start.
Christopher Young's score is terrifying, creepy, sometimes distortedly beautiful, other times chaotically funny. Employing some of his trademarks, Young has remarkable moments of originality, which is rare in horror scores. Despite some cues a little bit too atmospheric, the overall quality of the album is very good.

Noteworthy tracks: Drag Me To Hell, Tale of a Haunted Banker, Lamia, Familar Familiars, Auto-Da-Fe, Concerto To Hell.

Score note: 8,5/10



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