While the duo of composer Richard Band and director Stuart Gordon have already appeared several times on the Countdown, I couldn't resist sharing one of their lesser known collaborations. As with the previous soundtracks I shared, this film also seeks to pay homage to the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to watch this film yet, and while I prefer not to share soundtracks to films that I haven't watched, I chose to put this up regardless because I know there are several fans of Band, Gordon and Lovecraft who frequent this blog. Castle Freak was released in 1995, and is roughly based on H.P. Lovecraft's short-story "The Outsider", which was written in 1921 and first published in "Weird Tales" magazine in 1927. If you're interested in downloading the e-book or listening to the audiobook of "The Outsider" you can find both here on this blog by doing a quick search (top right).
Band's score for Castle Freak features some of his most powerful pieces, as well as some of the most delicate he has ever produced. The first half of the soundtrack is a showcase of power, and helps to further characterize the 12th century castle and the freak that lives within. Since I haven't watched the film, I can't even begin to speculate about the nature of the scenes which feature the more delicate cues, which is one reason I prefer not to review soundtracks to films that I haven't had a chance to watch. While this may not be Band's best effort, it is certainly worthy of the Halloween Countdown, and one does not need to be a fan of his work to enjoy this. This soundtrack was released by Intrada in 1995, and is currently out of print and unavailable for purchase on the Intrada website.
Band's score for Castle Freak features some of his most powerful pieces, as well as some of the most delicate he has ever produced. The first half of the soundtrack is a showcase of power, and helps to further characterize the 12th century castle and the freak that lives within. Since I haven't watched the film, I can't even begin to speculate about the nature of the scenes which feature the more delicate cues, which is one reason I prefer not to review soundtracks to films that I haven't had a chance to watch. While this may not be Band's best effort, it is certainly worthy of the Halloween Countdown, and one does not need to be a fan of his work to enjoy this. This soundtrack was released by Intrada in 1995, and is currently out of print and unavailable for purchase on the Intrada website.
Year of Release: 1995
Label: Intrada
Genres: Soundtrack/Score, Horror
Bitrate: 192kbps
Label: Intrada
Genres: Soundtrack/Score, Horror
Bitrate: 192kbps
Tracklist:
1. Prologue
2. The Toy Room
3. The Castle
4. Giorgio Unleashed
5. The Family Tomb
6. John's Despair
7. Giorgio Snaps
8. Il Castello Di Giove
9. Giorgio Abducts Becky
10. The Final Battle
1. Prologue
2. The Toy Room
3. The Castle
4. Giorgio Unleashed
5. The Family Tomb
6. John's Despair
7. Giorgio Snaps
8. Il Castello Di Giove
9. Giorgio Abducts Becky
10. The Final Battle
Thanks for uploading this. Richard Band and Stuart Gordon both have some interesting things out there.
ReplyDeleteI meant to comment on this quite awhile ago. I wanted to let you know that if you do Netflix you can find this film by renting Deathbed (2002). Can't say anything about Deathbed because I only watched the first ten minutes. Thankfully, in the special features you can find CASTLE FREAK in its entirety. I think this is the only time I've ever seen a whole other unrelated movie as part of the bonus features on some DVD. Anyway, you can't go wrong with Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Stuart Gordon, Richard Band, inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft :). It is a pretty tragic film, though. I felt horrible for the freak.
ReplyDelete@Strange Ranger: Thanks for the heads up on that. I actually don't have a Netflix account, but perhaps it's time that I finally get one. I've been hearing good things about them for years, and it's about time someone offered some stiff competition to Blockbuster.
ReplyDelete