I'm unaware of the motifs which get the producers and/or director of Ransom to reject the score originally comissioned to canadian Howard Shore (whose ill-fated year was completed with his replacement by Danny Elfman on Mars Attacks!), and entrust the music to the versatile Horner with only two scant weeks of work, especially when all the world advertisement, printed and visual, was closed with Shore's name as composer; even the record announced on catalogues and advances has his name as author, which take everybody to certain confussion. Whatever being this motifs, here we have the almost 49 minutes of Horner split on eight long cues, generally of darker and menacing tones, with a grave and slightly deprive of hope orchestral colour. His work for the brief period of time which he enjoyed is to be praised and, in some moments, really splendid, although the use of certain musical resources which he generally abused of on the action scenes was unavoidable. As an extra, and maybe with the purpose that the audience may feel the dreadful sound torture which the abducted child is treated, there is 24 minutes of the electronic music(?) used on the film to kept him isolated; the names of the cues (Rats, Worms, Spiders and other prettiness) define perfectly this sound experience. A.L.

[Horner's music] / HOLLYWOOD RECORDS HR-62086-2 / 73'