
Details:
- Film: 8MM
- Soundtrack composer: Mychael Danna
- Original year of release: 1999
- Number of tracks: 20
- Soundtrack duration: 50 mins 9 secs
- Tracks with vocals/distracting aspects: 3 Tracks (10 mins 17 secs) (Tracks 8, 10, 13)
- Film score duration (with distracting tracks removed): 39 mins 52 secs
- Suggested suitable book genres: Thrillers and some dark fantasy novels. With the Indian/Arabic sounding tracks, a novel set in such a location would be absolutely ideal.
DLS Summary:
The soundtrack as a whole is a blend between eerily atmospheric pieces, dramatic and often evocative strings, interspersed with Indian/Arabic sounding chanting and traditional instruments like sitars. There’s also the odd 1990s electronic sounding track, which kind of throws you a little, especially if used as a background soundtrack for reading to.
Personally, I’ve left out the tracks which can disrupt reading a tad. There are only a few tracks of this nature, which leaves a relatively solid score for reading with. Those tracks that are left in the score, are full of atmosphere and evocative pieces, which makes for a great reading experience.
DLS Review:
The soundtrack starts out with a haunting woodwind intro, with slowly strung high-pitched strings forming a chilling backing to the track. There’s a feeling of impending doom from the start, which doesn’t lighten up, even with the instrument layers slowly slimming down as the track progresses.
The soundtrack bleeds perfectly into track two whereupon after a cacophony of woodwind fades away, we have just strings and piano providing an evocative and sensitive piece. It’s a beautiful track as well as powerfully evocative, with almost Danny Elfman vibes going on.
Track three continues with another beautifully delicate piece. Quiet strings and a low heartbeat of bass create a moody atmosphere, ideal for reading to. This escalates very gradually, to an almost ‘Lord Of The Rings’ style crescendo.
Track four is a quiet and tentative track, with a single string note overlaid with an almost distant sounding flute. It sounds almost traditional Scottish, as if played over the rolling hills of the Highlands.
Track five starts out as a timid piano piece which gradually builds with layers of strings and a harp. Again, beautifully evocative, and perfect as a backdrop for reading to.
Track six is a strange almost Arabic sounding piece, with what sounds like a sitar (to my woefully uneducated ears) over bongo-like percussion and a gradually emerging string section. It’s a great track, with a vibe close to something from ‘Twenty-Four’ (2004).
Track seven is again a quietly moody and evocative piece, starting out with a delicately played piano, with flutes and strings gradually edging into the track. It’s beautiful in its simplicity, with a sensitivity that conjures up a wonderful backdrop for reading with.
Track eight feels like it’s been pulled straight out of a Bollywood film. We have Asian/Arabic sounding singing and chants, with that sitar sounding guitar accompanied by the steady rhythm from percussion. Okay, not necessarily ideal for reading to, but does conjure up a sense of a busy, dusty sidestreet within the heart of India or something. Indeed, the vocals are a bit overbearing for a background track, and as such, probably worth leaving off a score used for reading to.
Track nine comes in with an uneasy low sound and an evocative wind instrument creating a moody but short piece.
Track ten is back to more Indian/Arabic chanting and percussion which again, isn’t necessarily the best for reading to at first. This escalates quickly into the fast-paced beat of kettle drums, before a low bass comes in providing an overall sense of foreboding. We still have the drums and a tinny small cymbal, with the chanting returning later on amongst low synths. These latter sections of the track potentially make it a reasonable backdrop for reading with, although (like me) some might prefer to skip.
Track eleven is another short track, flooding the senses with a feeling of gloomy foreboding, created by low synths in a chilling drawn out tone.
Track twelve has electronic drums and a cello along with other strings creating a very 1990s vibe. The track feels a tad more electronic than the others in the score but is still a perfectly good background piece for reading to.
Track thirteen starts out relatively subdued with more vocal chanting and the like but suddenly erupts into almost an electronic rave vibe as it draws to an end. Again, not ideal for reading to.
Track fourteen takes us back to an atmospheric and evocative sound, more haunting woodwind layered on top of a droning synth sound. Great atmosphere for reading with.
From here on its similar style tracks, blending eerie atmospheric pieces and Arabic sounding tracks. The final track is another beautiful piano piece with hauntingly atmospheric strings almost bringing a tear to your eye. A stunning track to end a relatively solid score with.
As a soundtrack for reading to:

The soundtrack as a whole:

© DLS Reviews


