In 1990 two of the horror genre’s finest directors got together to produce one of the most exciting collaborations we had seen up to that point. Dario Argento (Suspiria, Deep Red and Tenebre) and  George Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead) each filmed a classic Edgar Allan Poe story, Argento tackled The Black Cat and Romero, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. The two stories were released as an anthology called Two Evil Eyes (Due Occhi Diabolici). The soundtrack to the movie was recorded by Italian soundtrack composer extraordinaire, Pino Donaggio (Don’t Look Now, Dressed to Kill and Carrie to name just a few of his many scores), and whilst the movie struggled to make an impact, largely down to Romero’s lacklustre segment, the score was definitely worth a listen. 

As well as his more mainstream work on films like those previously mentioned, Donaggio was one of the most popular composers of cult horror movie soundtracks in the 1970s and 80s, even recording the score to another adaption of Poe’s Black Cat in 1981 for Lucio Fulci. So, it seemed really appropriate that he should be chosen to work on Two Evil Eyes. Despite the film’s lacklustre success, the score is really good. It mixes cool electronic music like the album opener, the excellent ”Dreaming Dreams”, which feels like a nod to the work that Claudio Simonetti had produced in the decade such as Tenebre or Phenomena, with some more traditional orchestral pieces which he uses to great effect to create tension throughout the movie. Some tracks on the other hand are an amalgamation of both, giving the listener something even more interesting sounding to hang onto. A track like The Gothic Town probably fits well into this description. There are also one or two pieces that will initially sound like they’re out of place, like “Adest Sponsus” which has a medieval classical feel with Latin-sounding lyrics and a choir of voices,  or the jazzy “Shadyside”, however, they work when you listen to the album as a whole and they work well when you hear them in the movie. 

Overall, the score to Two Evil Eyes is a very eclectic one that works on a number of different levels. The songs work well in the movie or as a stand-alone album, which is great for background listening when working or simply to listen to on headphones and appreciate Donaggio’s supreme craft.  This new CD release from Rustblade Records and Bluebell Disc is beautifully produced, the music sounds perfect, every instrument is clear and crisp and it has a very clean sound. The disc, which features a whopping 21 tracks, comes packaged in a gorgeous foldout digipak with photos from the film and information about the album credits. If you’re a fan of Italian horror or any sort of horror for that matter, this would serve as a very good purchase, in fact, I think I would recommend it to anyone who likes soundtrack music. Donaggio is one of the greats and deservedly sits alongside Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai and Riz Ortolani in the pantheon of horror cinema’s greatest soundtrack creators.