He does admit that "the score is unbelievably loud and hyperactive with virtually no moments of rest", dryly remarking that "a free bottle of aspirin may have been more appropriate" as a freebie than the offered mini poster. the score with a textural richness and compositional quality that is quite rare these days". Movie Music UK's Peter Simons says that Silvestri has delivered "what may be the loudest score of the year", but that he "makes this kind of music sound good. Generally well received by fans and critics alike, three major score-reviewing websites all rated it at four out of five stars.
A final statement of Van Helsing's theme completes the album. It introduces a new theme, a love theme for Van Helsing and Anna, that is performed on solo horn and strings, with a powerful variation following with some heartbeat-resembling deep percussion. Reunited, a respite from the action, is the music played as Van Helsing stands on the cliff and sees Anna in heaven, as well as Frankenstein's monster sailing off on his raft. It ends with a dramatic cue, almost romantic in nature, hinted at in Attacking Brides, that seems to represent Van Helsing's anguish at becoming a werewolf.Īs the title suggests, Final Battle is the film's longest action piece, featuring a lengthy, relentless recap of all the film's action themes, including Dracula's, Frankenstein's, the brides' and the swashbuckling theme. Who Are They to Judge?, the title taken from one of Van Helsing's lines, plays during Dracula's kidnapping of Frankenstein's monster and features the latter's theme for the first time since Burn It Down!. It opens with Van Helsing's theme, pauses for some suspenseful music before moving into action that expands on the swashbuckling theme from Useless Crucifix.Īll Hallow's Eve Ball, played during the ball scene in Budapest, begins with a source cue, a slow, spooky waltz featuring female vocals and cello solos, before expanding into a short, fully orchestral waltz that then segues into more action material. Transylvanian Horses is the action piece that is played during Van Helsing's attempted escape by carriage from Transylvania, and his ensuing fight with The Wolfman and Dracula's brides. Some listeners have commented (on, for example) that this theme sounds like what Alan Silvestri might have composed for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl had he not been replaced by Klaus Badelt. It features the debut of a heroic, swashbuckling theme that stands out from the other, more darkly gothic themes. Useless Crucifix plays during Van Helsing's first confrontation with Dracula and his ensuing escape with Anna from Castle Dracula. It ends with another statement of Dracula's main theme. It features the brides' own theme, a brassy one over a pounding percussive beat, at about 2:00.ĭracula's Nursery, accompanying Van Helsing and Anna's sneak through Castle Dracula, is a piece that switches between suspenseful, ambiental effects and a playfully devious, waltz-like subtheme for Dracula that film score reviewers, such as Christian Clemmenson, have compared to Elliot Goldenthal's music for Batman Forever. It is played during Van Helsing and Carl's voyage by sea and land to Transylvania.Īttacking Brides is a lengthy action suite played when Dracula's brides attack the Transylvanian village and are fought off by Van Helsing. The five-note theme itself blasts out over the top, usually on French horn. Journey to Transylvania is the first statement of Van Helsing's theme, a fast-paced, powerful and percussive motif in 5/4 that features a rambling acoustic guitar under a six-note repeating pattern performed either by strings or choir. Werewolf Trap is a short action piece for the scene in which Velkan and Anna Valerious try to imprison The Wolfman.
These include the theme for Frankenstein's monster and another statement of Dracula's theme. It states some of Silvestri's action ideas in choral, orchestral and percussive majesty. It ends in an action theme that segues straight into the next track.īurn It Down! is an action piece played during the scene, still in black and white, in which the mill is burned and Frankenstein's monster falls into the flames holding his creator's body. Played over the black-and-white opening of the film, this short track mostly features Count Dracula's theme, a brutally rhythmic idea with powerful brass and choral chanting.