Identity

Identity mixes an Agatha Christie style whodunnit with a contemporary slasher flick, but with the twist of a parallel story which dovetails at the finale. For the most part, Alan Silvestri's music is firmly entrenched in Marco Beltrami slasher territory and is largely orchestral skittering interspersed by the occasional outburst, tempered by occasional doleful moment. The opening Prologue is promising, a somewhat average, but effective, spooky tune enlivened by imaginative orchestration, notably an obbligato, high end string twitter which works well alongside the harp and string based theme. It doesn't take long, however, for things to move into the more predictable mixture of suspended notes, eerie squeaks and percussion crashes. Lou is Dead is a case in point, with a cacophonous outburst that jolts the listener, but only by virtue of it being so loud. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the quieter moments are the most obviously enjoyable and the depressingly titled Suicide Jumper is mournfully reflective and moments during Orange Grove and No Second Chance have a pleasing calm.

Silvestri makes some laudable attempts at properly musical interludes and the uninspired screeching of May 10th is interrupted by the main theme, while Rhode's Secret includes a curious change in musical direction with a couple of minutes that sound like they've escaped from a Guinness advert. The End Credits don't reprise the Prologue melody, but are a weird percussion and synth combo, with occasional snippets of dialogue, although these add to the texture rather than trample on top. An odd way to end. Alan Silvestri is undoubtedly a fine composer, but clearly the de rigeur method of scoring contemporary slasher flicks cannot be improved upon greatly no matter how good the composer. Admittedly he makes a slightly better hash of it than many composers do and at least includes some tracks with certifiable melody and a little genuine emotion, but no matter who's writing it, those clanking horror cues simply aren't much of an enjoyable listen.