John Van Tongeren
Van Helsing – The London Assignment – Original Soundtrack
Universal Classics
This is a classic movie soundtrack. What do I mean by that? Well, it’s well done music, full of modulation and meaning, cellos assigned to one actor, bassoons to another, and so forth, all in the line of Tchaikovsky’s “Peter and the Wolf.” With any soundtrack, you don’t know what is going on without visuals in front of you. Truly, a good or great soundtrack is completely subservient to the story on screen. And since it’s written along with the filming, the soundtrack influences and is influenced by the editor to a large degree, and both must connect to the audience to do a film justice.
The last Van Helsing album I checked out involved ex-Twisted Sister Dee Snyder. He’s nowhere to be found in this animated movie. Still, the sound is excellent, and this is only backing music – no dialogue is involved in any way. Is it something to pop in the player while doing house work? Probably not – while dialogue is missing, Tongeren captures the flow and ebb of what must be a gripping and exciting movie, based on the old Jekyll and Hyde story. Something is always happening, and it’s not a relaxing story from what I hear. Yet, while you know the story and the ending to some degree, the soundtrack is only part of the story, and thus I only recommend this for the serious soundtrack collector. It’s very well done for what it is, but that is not casual listening.
Universal Classics: http://www.universalclassics.com • Van Helsing: http://www.vanhelsing.net
