It first heard about this film about a year ago. The title struck me as something I wanted to see; I mean it's called Mutant Chronicles. How can any science fiction fan say that doesn't pique their interest? If they do, they are probably lying.
I was hoping to get a chance to see this on the big screen, I wasn't expecting a terribly wide release, but thought it would come somewhere near my area. I was wrong. The movie played in exactly two theaters for exactly seven days. What? Seriously, that is absolutely ridiculous. The cast has Thomas Jane (Punisher), Ron Perlman (Hellboy), and John Malokovich (Burn After Reading), plus the trailer gives the vibe of being a decent enough movie to pull in some money either early in the year, or possibly during the September slow down. I am not saying it would be a blockbuster, but it looks like no one had any faith in it. Perhaps it is just a bad movie.
The DVD does not arrive until August, so until then I will have to make do with the score. Composed by Richard Wells, the Mutant Chronicles music is big, bombastic, heroic, and militaristic. In short, it is a solid score that will get in your head with its strong thematic and melodic cues that will allow your mind to create its own science fiction war on the giant movie screen of the mind. Of course, it helps only having the title to go on. Not having seen the film, it is hard to judge how well it works within context. Fortunately, a good score will not be limited to being seen in conjunction with the film it was written for, but will transcend it and enable a listener to create their own visuals for the music. Not that a good score cannot merely play well with the film, but I think you know what I mean.
Richard Wells is a name I cannot say I have encountered before. I have come to discover that he is a relative newcomer with only a few credits to his name. Wells most notable works include a pair of videogames (Gangsters and its sequel), the score for the UK release of Ong Bak, and the horror/sci-fi/comedy Evil Aliens. I have not heard any of these scores, although I am aware of Evil Aliens, it is one of those movies I have wanted to get around to checking out.
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