Erika Holzer’s disturbing thriller, Eye for An Eye, focuses on a mother’s need for vengeance against the man who raped and murdered her daughter.  The 1996 film, directed by John Schlessinger, featured a great cast (Sally Field, Kiefer Sutherland, Ed Harris), but failed to gain much attention at the box office.  It does feature a very creepy Sutherland and overall was a well-written film.  James Newton Howard, was in the midst of a number of odd projects following his successful score for The Fugitive.  But the mid-90s featured a a few moody thriller scores by the composer (Intersection, Primal Fear, Just Cause, The Trigger Effect), but Eye for an Eye never saw a CD release at the time.

The “Main title” introduces a lullaby-like melody first on clarinet and later flute which soon shifts into suggestions of the dangers ahead.  This thematic idea is quite beautifully scored with nice woodwind colors (some rich English horn), strings, and some recessed electronic sounds.  This material recurs in the early part of the score.  However, the darker and visceral music for the “Rape and Murder” are early introductions of contrasting material (for Doob, the antagonist in the story) with more sinuous lines.  The writing may seem a bit overly melodramatic at times.  After Doob’s violent music appears, the return of the opening theme (“Overnight at Dolly’s/Where’s Julie?”, “Julie’s Pillow”; “Backyard”, “Are You Still Mad?”) is transformed in light of those events with hints of the tragedy at its edges.  Some of the more visceral moments (“Tar Pits”) use strong percussive hits and brass, with high strings and atonal writing providing a perfect contrast for the violent aspects of the story.  The creepiest and most intense saved for climactic final scenes (“Setup/It’s Very Personal”).  The use of a trumpet line once Sally Field’s mother character begins seeking revenge is intriguing as it lends an almost heroic quality to her intent, but the dissonant chords that often soon come along with it suggest the interior struggle and pain very well.  Also on display here are some of the techniques Howard used in The Fugitive (especially the horn swells against active accompaniment patterns) once the score enters more thriller territory (“Following Doob/Marking Territory”; “Playground”; “Training Montage”; “Trashing Apartment”).  Here are a bit more electronic additions and unique percussive sounds.  A general overview of these thriller-music approaches is explored in the track “After School/Tucked In/Can You Help Me?”.

Several musical sequences that were unused in the final film appear in narrative order.  There are two final “bonus” alternate takes which allow for some comparison of how changes in orchestration and color can further change the mood of a scene.

Eye for an Eye proves to be a score with a very beautiful main theme.  The solo flute writing is often quite stunning in the early moments of the score.  Additional wind solos, sometimes set against a gentle Americana orchestral backdrop, provide the right amount of variety.  The dramatic and action music allows for good contrast.  All of these marks result in a great find for fans of Howard’s orchestral writing of the time.  The program notes are quite right when they affirm this “hidden gem”.

La-La Land will be releasing this in a limited edition.  It proves to be a great find for fans of 1990s Howard orchestral writing and may be worth checking out for the thematic material.

Shot between seasons four and five, The X-files: Fight the Future (1998) brought Agents Mulder and Scully to the big screen exploring the truth behind a government coverup of alien colonization of Earth.  The popular film was a chance for fans of the series to experience the storyline on a broader canvas while also opening up the series to perhaps grab a new base of curious viewers unfamiliar with the series.  It was intended to appear between seasons five and six to provide a plot connection and arc.  Mark Snow was also able to widen his palette to make full use of the symphonic orchestra to often excellent results.  La-La Land, which has released a great deal of the series' music, is making this score available in an expanded, limited run.

The opening “Threnody in “X”” begins with just a taste of the series’ theme before moving into a variety of larger orchestral tension scoring before the theme eventually bursts forth in the final moments.  Aleatoric writing, and unique textures (think Ligeti), both electronic and acoustic, all help to provide unique atmospheres that often lead to a great many chills (“B.C. Blood”).  More traditional thriller-action scoring can be heard in “Goop” with almost Herrmann-esque brass swells at times.  The music does an interesting job of moving from big, more traditional orchestral gestures, to more unusual orchestral textures.  The weaving of portions of the main theme also help tie things together as the score progresses.  Tracks like “Soda Pop” do an interesting job of exploring tense dramatic moments while driving forward with a variety of motivic ideas and ostinato patterns to make for interesting dramatic scoring.  “Corn Hives” is one of the more interesting integrations of the theme with an opening percussive sequence that soon moves into the series’ mysterious mode very well in a standout track.  Blending electronic vocals with orchestral and atmospheric electronic ideas is also on nice display best in “Come and Gone”  and “Pod Monster Suite.”  Plenty of suspense is here to go around and it all works quite well, especially when there are hints at the primary title theme.  Even when everything seems to be moving along in more relaxed fashion, there is time for a sudden jolt (“Ice Base”).

This expanded release presents a good portion of the score.  There are several previously unreleased tracks (“Quitting”, “Crossroads”-the film version; “Space Hole”, and an alternate of “Plague”).  All of this is realized in excellent sound with a nice booklet accompanying the release as well.  It is actually quite good to hear Snow’s orchestral approach in good science fiction thriller territory that should please many fans. The result is an engaging score.