CD REVIEW - DARK RIDE


Dark Ride
Muic by Kostas Christides (Theme co-composed with Christopher Young)
BSX Records BSXCD 8848 (US)
12 Tracks 45:20 mins

This 2006 horror/thriller (with yet another brutal serial killer on the loose) features a largely unfamiliar cast, the exception being Tony Soprano's daughter Jamie-Lynn DiScala, and a score by another unfamiliar name to me, Greek composer Kostas Christides, a graduate of both the London College of Music and USC. Christides has worked as an orchestrator on a number of film scores by Christopher Young, including Wonder Boys, Swordfish, The Shipping News, The Core, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Spider-Man 3. For Dark Ride, Young co-composed the main theme, a mysterious fairground waltz, which one first gets to hear at the conclusion of the opening atmospheric track "Twin Carousel." The title track follows, introducing the theme in a fairly subdued presentation, with dark undertones. The theme also features strongly in "Kris to Offer Yang," seemingly reflecting on the human cost of psychopath Jonah's work, and of course returns to close the score in its grandest form at the conclusion of "Ode to Jonah."
Much of the remainder of the score consists of standard fare for this time of film, with plenty of mysterious and eerie atmospheric writing, along with ferocious and menacing action.
"La Valse Organum Eerieson" introduces another fairground piece, a haunting little waltz, which seems like an echo from the past; and yet another features in the beautiful, yet sad "Jonah's Legend."
The accompanying booklet provides a synopsis of the plot and notes on the composer. You can order this limited edition of just 1000 units direct from www.buysoundtrax.com.