After first making his mark in the genre via
Wes Craven
's blockbuster
Scream
, composer
Marco Beltrami
returns to
horror
with the score to 1997's
Mimic
, a far more complex and mature effort notable for its uncommon textural mastery. Eschewing the bombast and conventional scare tactics that characterized his
efforts,
Beltrami
favors dark, eccentric melodies and effects rooted in the
avant-garde
-- themes like
"Manny Searches for His Son"
boast a heartbreaking humanism far removed from the cartoonish terror of your average
score, but there are also more conventionally visceral moments as well, among them the brassy
"Chased by a Bug."
An underrated gem. ~ Jason Ankeny