Years ago when
Chariots of Fire did so well at the awards ceremonies, I remember a Brit actor/writer standing on stage grasping his award in hand shouting “The British are coming” Well I feel I should stand on a stage somewhere and shout “los españoles están llegando” because in recent years and in fact over the past two or three years Spanish composers have begun to feature large within the film music community and have produced such wonderful scores for movies that are lyrical and sweeping plus dramatic, romantic, emotive and haunting. I feel that composers from Spain are now leading the way in film music composition, not only in the wonderful sounds that they create but also in the way they place music in motion pictures to support embellish and ingratiate situations and to underline marvellously what ever emotion or scenario is occurring on the screen. Their style of scoring elevates each and every project and their craftsmanship, care and meticulous attention to detail is ever present. Victor Reyes, is a composer I am ashamed to say I know very little about, but have heard a handful of his scores for film and what I have sampled I have to say I like very much. Last year he was drawn into the limelight of more mainstream cinema going audiences when he wrote the ominous but also strangely attractive soundtrack for BURIED. His latest work is from the motion picture RED LIGHTS, which is directed by Rodrigo Cortes and stars Robert de Niro and Sigourney Weaver. This is a taught thriller that tells the story of a Psychologist and her assistant who carry out studies on paranormal activity and begin to investigate a well known Psychic Simon Silver played by De Niro. Reyes has created a musical score that works in a similar fashion to that of BURIED, it is brooding and deliciously dark, but at certain times is also subdued and simmering. Throughout the work there seems to be an underlying dramatic core present that lingers under the surface of the main score and at certain moments just erupts with no or very little warning into powerful and impressive sounding musical passages that although can be categorized as largely atonal still have much substance and at times contain an up-tempo and infectious style. RED LIGHTS may not be filled with lush and poetic sounding themes but it is a soundtrack that oozes quality and stature and is also a score that contains more than a handful of original attributes. Reyes has produced an extremely interesting work that is not only well written and orchestrated but fit’s the movie like the proverbial glove and has the ability to stand alone away from the picture to become an absorbing and attention-grabbing listen. Recommended…
Read other recent reviews by John Mansell:
Vampire Lovers,
Mark of the Devil,
Who Can Kill a Child? / The House That Screamed
