Trick ‘r Treat Soundtrack (CD)
Reviewed by Scott A. Johnson
Composed by Douglas Pipes
Produced by La-La Land Records
The music in a movie is remarkably important to the overall feel. Try watching Scream without the music and you’ll see what I mean. When a movie like Trick ‘r Treat comes along, it isn’t just the visuals, werewolves, goblins, or bulbous-headed monster mascots that make the film. The music has to be equally impressive. For this soundtrack, that’s not a problem.
Brought to life by Douglas Pipes, whose only other mainstream credit was the music for Monster House, every track on this CD has a life and mood of its own. Yet, somehow, it manages to remain cohesive and guide the listener through the movie. Without the visuals, a listener can still feel the tension build to a fever-pitch. By building on what sounds like off-kilter nursery rhymes, Pipes evokes at once a sense of innocence and menace, a tough trick to pull off.
Instead of using modern rock or synthesizers, Pipes employs an 85-piece orchestra, children’s choirs, and a few odds and ends that defy description. Layered beneath beautifully complex piano parts and harps, violins creep into the score with chilling effect. The lower-end instruments are used more like a heartbeat, cuing the listener’s nerves to start jangling at Pipes’ whims.
While there are no weak tracks on the album, some stand out more than others. “It’s Halloween, Not Hanukkah” is a chilling piece that deftly puts forth the creepiness that Pipes had in mind. “Meet Rhonda” has real sense of simple innocence, as does “The Neighborhood.” Perhaps the best piece of the whole album is “Meet Sam,” a twelve-minute love letter to the bulb-headed mascot. It, above all others, seems to be the one destined to take its place in great horror movie themes right beside “Tubular Bells” and the theme from “Halloween.”
It may not seem fair, but with a soundtrack like Pipes’, comparisons are sure to be drawn. After only his second scoring, Pipes has proven that he can stand alongside ANY of the great composers and hold his head high. With the grace of Williams and the emotional intensity of Danny Elfman, this soundtrack hits a home run.
Track Listing
- Main Titles
- Meet Charlie
- It’s Halloween, not Hanukkah
- Charlie Bites It
- Father and Son
- Meet Rhonda
- To the Quarry
- The Halloween Schoolbus Massacre
- The Elevator/Laurie on the Prowl
- Halloween Prank
- Not a Trick/Red and Black
- Laurie’s First Time
- Old Mr. Kreeg
- Pumpkin Shooter/Meet Sam
- The Bus Driver
- The Neighborhood
- Trick ‘r Treat
- End Credits
5 out of 5
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