The Butterfly Effect

I know what you're thinking. 'Michael Suby... who he and why?' - well, apparently he is an old friend of the directors and got the job based on a demo theme he wrote for The Butterfly Effect. In their liner note, directors Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber seem surprised that a pair of first time directors should be permitted to use a first time (almost) film composer, yet I suspect the producers were also counting the pennies. That the score is performed by the somewhat inexpensive (but excellent) Czech Philharmonic Orchestra does suggest a modest music budget. However, for all that, Michael Suby's music is often surprisingly good and even if he doesn't quite escape some of the current horror score clichés, then at least he does it without allowing it to degenerate into a musically inconsequential mess.

In fairness, The Butterfly Effect isn't quite a horror film. A young man, haunted by his childhood, is able to go back in time and make changes, but each change creates a whole new time line and new complications. Sounds like an interesting premise, if a little Star Trek. I suppose it's more of a psychological horror/sci-fi/thriller - hard to classify exactly - and as a result, Suby's score has a tendency towards the eclectic, a problem compounded by rather short track. The melody that got him the job in the first place, The Butterfly Effect Main Theme is a slightly eerie tune for a solo, female, wordless vocalist which isn't hugely striking, but is bolstered by an effective arrangement and it's just unfortunate that it's not greatly developed throughout the score.

Unfortunately, the instances of horror music clichés start in Evan's Plan with strange synth effects and drawn out, dissonant chords, although a brief, percussive interlude sounds which sounds promising, doesn't amount to much. The best cues are the quieter, dramatic ones and are only disappointing because of their brevity. Going to See Dad, at less than half a minute is distressingly short and although the darker tones of Mom and Evan and Drive to See Lenny are longer and largely effective, they lean fairly heavily on the Thomas Newman piano style, although that is almost to be expected. A reprise of the main theme makes a satisfying conclusion. I can't really claim to spot any strong style in Suby's work as yet and the work as a whole is somewhat fragmented, although this is likely a side effect of the film's style. Still, a solid effort.