John Scott and Richard Band — Horror Film Scores of the 1980s
This limited edition three CD set from BSX Records features three classic horror soundtracks from the 1980s. We have John Scott’s Inseminoid from 1981, Richard Band’s 35th anniversary edition of 1984's Mutant and the soundtrack he created for 1987's Prison alongside Christopher L. Stone. All three titles are packaged separately but come wrapped together in a single slipcover. Both Richard Band titles state that they are limited to 500 copies, whereas John Scott’s Inseminoid simply states it's a limited edition.
Prison was a film I’d not seen for a very long time and the soundtrack wasn’t familiar at all to me, so when I sat down to listen to it, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. However, my initial experience was very positive indeed. Firstly, it features an electronic score that feels almost symphonic in execution, and secondly it’s immensely creepy, absolutely dripping in atmosphere. The film itself was a fairly successful genre title directed by Renny Harlen and starring Viggo Mortensen, Lane Smith and Chelsea Field. Band and Christopher L. Stone really pushed the technology of the time, using the WaveFrame AudioFrame synthesizer that was made famous around the same time by the likes of Peter Gabriel and Stevie Wonder. They managed to create an orchestral sounding score without using any traditional instruments and it’s an absolute gem, from the opening main theme right through to the finale, it features eleven tracks of creepy, atmospheric electronica that make me want to watch the movie again. Richard Band has produced some classic soundtracks, most notably for Stuart Gordon’s movies (Reanimator and From Beyond being probably the stand out titles) and his brother the prolific producer, writer and director Charles Band (Parasite, The Alchemist and Ragewar to name but a few), while Christopher L. Stone was famous for scoring the Phantasm sequels and Felix the Cat as well as a host of other titles for film and television.
The other Richard Band title here is Mutant, for which he used the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Originally released in 1984 and directed by John “Bud” Cardos and Mark Rosman (the latter being replaced by the former after he was deemed to be taking too long to shoot) it was a fairly low budget title that gathered some attention during the 1980s horror boom without ever becoming a classic. The score itself is pretty solid and whilst it’s not in the same league as some of Band’s best work (Reanimator, The House on Sorority Row, and Ghoulies) it’s still a pretty decent score. Not as atmospheric as Prison, it has a more traditional orchestral horror vibe reminiscent of some of the classic Hammer era titles. This 35th anniversary edition features the original sixteen tracks from the score as well as another 10 bonus tracks that round the album out to a decent forty six minutes long. Overall, this is a solid title, just not quite as memorable as some of Richard Band’s more celebrated titles.
Our final CD is the electronic score to one of my personal favourites of the early 80s era. Inseminoid, is a 1981 British sci-fi horror movie directed by the legendary Norman J. Warren and starring Stephanie Beacham (Dynasty, Dracula A.D 1972 and Schizo) with a score by John Scott (Repulsion, The Final Countdown and The Wicker Tree). Of the three scores featured in this set, this one is my personal favourite. It has a real DIY electronic horror score vibe to it. I’ve often seen it described as being similar to an old 70s or 80s Dr Who score and to be fair that’s a reasonable comparison to make. It screams BBC Radiophonic Workshop for the most part and remains one of the most interesting scores of any UK horror movie of the era. At times creepy and atmospheric and at others it has a funky, spaced-out kind of vibe, but it’s never boring and it’s never ordinary which is something I really love about it.
In summary, this is a great set for fans of classic 80s horror, we have three very different scores to three very different movies, but they work well together as a set, and while Inseminoid is by far my favourite here, both of the Richard Band titles make for an enjoyable listening experience. I would love to give this a five star rating because of the rarity of the music available here, but alas I fear it would be representative of the quality of the music, so I will give this a four. This is still a more than solid rating and fans of these films should find plenty here to enjoy.