The Faculty
Intrada Special Collection Volume ISC 485

For the 1998 Miramax horror film The Faculty, composer Marco Beltrami pulled out all the stops to deliver a scary, exciting and sometimes reflective score.

For the 1998 Miramax horror film The Faculty, composer Marco Beltrami pulled out all the stops to deliver a scary, exciting and sometimes reflective score.

The score features orchestral chaos and cacophony, strange whisperings and explosive action, as well as some moments of beauty. Hypnotic, Bernard Herrmann-like suspense cues appear, as well as a melancholy, a reflective theme for the bullied main character.

At the core is a defiant students-strike-back theme, first brought in somewhat romantically, then later fully unfurled in larger form.
A laid-back but determined anthem growls on electric guitar, then more gently on acoustic, over a slow-jam rock groove which pulses all through the score.

Beltrami only had a few moments in between all of the mayhem to break out this theme, which reprises with heroic relief in the climactic action sequence, so he extended and developed it as a stunning concert piece for the end credits.

For this release, Buck Sanders and Scott Williams pulled together the program from the original session masters recorded at Skywalker Sound in crisp, detailed sound quality. The 2-CD set features the 88-minute score plus a couple of extras.

In the film, the angsty teens of Herrington High are mean, brooding monsters and preyed-upon victims, roaming the halls every day spitting on, cursing, and being generally horrible to each other.

So they were arguably asking for it when a mysterious extraterrestrial virus infected the faculty lounge and began to spread violently throughout the school, turning adults and classmates alike into ghoulishly grinning hosts that mask giant squid creatures.
It’s a loud enough wake-up call for a small crew of misfit students to set aside their mutual loathing and band together to fight back—thus enacting a common high school wish fulfillment—killing those pesky teachers.

Intrada Special Collection Volume ISC 485

( - Intrada Records - )

More info at: Official Web Site Intrada Records

More info at: Composer Marco Beltrami Official Site

New release Intrada

Intrada has released a 2-CD set of Marco Beltrami's sizzling sci-fi horror score! Dimension Films presents in 1998, Robert Rodriguez directs, Kevin Williamson scripts, attractive cast features Jordana Brewster, Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Clea DuVall, Robert Patrick, Piper Laurie, Shawn Hatosy, Salma Hayek, many others. The students at Herrington High School are rowdy crop, tough on each other and their teachers. Then without fanfare, they become targets of an alien virus that turns people into monsters. And unfriendly ones at that. Mayhem ensues. Beltrami was already a veteran of the horror genre, having scored dynamic music for Scream and Mimic for the same studio prior to The Faculty.

For this intense and violent thriller, Beltrami scores for full orchestra in a dazzling display of aggressive action music requiring the players to provide numerous techniques with their instruments, from entrances at different times and pitches to uncommon bowing techniques, horn glissandi, detuned instruments and numerous other devices. Rhythms are fierce, the harmonic vernacular frightening. In balance, Beltrami also offers undercurrents of music oblivious to the alien invasion, a musical calm before the storm. Action highlights are many: “Offensive Coach” provides more than three minutes of riveting intensity, “Pop Pop Fizz Fizz” offers berserk orchestral fury, “Just Say No” builds to a dynamic rhythmic finish, “Standing Tall” is pure drama and action, “Zeke And The Geek” offers orchestral razzle dazzle, many others follow suit. “Love Me Tender” is especially exciting! Ditto “Modest Mary” and “Drugs Kill”. On the opposite side, Beltrami offers a strong theme for Casey and another for the student body as a whole. Special spotlight goes to “Lounge Lizards”, where Beltrami opens with his haunting minor key idea for Casey, slides into the broader student body theme, then works the music inexorably into musical chaos and action. When all is said and done, “The Kids Are Alright” ushers in the remaining student body to a rich development of their theme, leading to the closing powerhouse rhythmic treatment of the tune for “Extra Credit”. Two following cues offer an alternate version of “Casey” and Beltrami’s demo version of “Too Cool For School”.

This scores packs fireworks! Tim Greiving provides informative booklet notes, Kay Marshall designs the dramatic packaging. John Kurlander records and mixes at Skywalker Sound in October and November 1998, William Boston, Peter Anthony, Robert Elhai, Jon Kull, Kevin Manthei orchestrate, Marco Beltrami composes, conducts the Hollywood Studio Orchestra. Intrada Special Collection 2-CD set available while quantities and interest remain!