Soundtrack Review: The Tall Man (2012)

The Tall Man Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the film score The Tall Man by Various Todd Bryanton & Joel Douek.

“I do believe great things are in store for Joel Douek.”

The Tall Man is a thriller/horror film by director Pascal Laugier. A small town is being terrorized by a figure they call ‘the tall man’ who abducts children. When the town doctor’s child has gone missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of ‘the tall man. The film stars Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland and William B. Davis. The score is composed by Todd Bryanton and Joel Douek.

Track List

1. Opening (by Joel Douek)	60
2. Julia Chases the Tall Man (by Todd Bryanton)	80
3. The Tall Man Reveals (by Todd Bryanton)	80
4. The Dog Attack (by Todd Bryanton)	80
5. The Truck (by Todd Bryanton)	80
6. In the Forest (by Todd Bryanton)	80
7. Looking for David (by Todd Bryanton)	80
8. Flashbacks (by Todd Bryanton)	100
9. We Got Too Comfortable (by Joel Douek)	80
10. There Is No Tall Man (by Todd Bryanton)	100
11. Miss Johnson (by Joel Douek)	100
12. Running Away (by Todd Bryanton)	80
13. A New Life (by Joel Douek)	100
14. Playing the Castle (by George Acogny)	100
15. End Credits (by Todd Bryanton)	100
17. Tall Man Lullaby (by Pascal Laugier)	80
18. Dead? (by Christopher Young)	100
19. Where Are They Now? (by Christopher Young)	100
20. The Invisible Children (by Christopher Young)	100
21. Silent Blessing (by Christopher Young)	100
22. Tall Man (by Christopher Young)	100

When I watched The Tall Man, I was disappointed, not in the score, but in the film itself. I was expecting horror, but instead I got a standard thriller. As a thriller it had some interesting plot twists, but what really saved this for me is the interesting music, mainly by Todd Bryanton and Joel Douek. surprise guest on the album is Christopher Young. I say surprise, because this score literally creeped up on me and I had no idea Young was involved and it turns out he wasn’t. His 5 cues are ‘inspired by’ the film. As usual when it comes to these kind of films, Young doesn’t disappoint, but more on that later.

Even though the film is a thriller, the score is definitely in the horror realm. Todd Bryanton represents the horrific, the action, the pure horror that some of the characters in this film goes through. All really good stuff, but not taking me by storm in any way. The exception is ‘Flashback’ by Todd Bryanton where the action takes a bit of a breather as a moody theme evolves with strings and piano.

I do believe great things are in store for Joel Douek. I was more than impressed with his documentary score for “The Wildest Dream” in 2010 and he adds his own sound to this score, best represented in the cues ‘Miss Johnson’ and ‘A New Life’.

Christopher Young and horror scoring just feels so right and it does here as well even though it’s just music inspired by the film. These 5 cues are for me some of the best ‘horror’ music he has made for quite a while. They are melodic, bold and beautiful. Not to take anything from Joel Douek and Todd Bryanton who did a really good job, but Young is just at another level. A funny fact is that director Pascal Laugier is also credited for the cue ‘Tall Man Lullaby’ on the score.

CONCLUSION

The Tall Man is a really good horror-ish score from Todd Bryanton and Joel Douek. What makes the album great however is the inclusion of 5 absolutely superb track from the horror maestro Christopher Young and since I am reviewing the album and not the score as heard in the film I have to say that this is the best horror score I’ve heard all year.

GEEK SCORE: 89.5