Customer Reviews

Dracula 2000 Score

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Dracula 2000: The Score is a nine track promotional CD, due to the fact that Varese Saraband was unable to produce the score and profit off of its release. The tracks are:

1. Lifeboat
2. Mary's Theme
3. Canned Heat
4. Vampire Hunters/Drac Loves Lucy/Break-In
5. Brotherly Love
6. Hot Cross Buns/L2K/Vamp on a G-String/Trimmin' the Bush
7. Movable Feast/Come to Daddy
8. The Sun Also Rises
9. Gang Fang

Dracula 2000 was a contested film; in my opinion it was one of the more interesting takes on the vampire myth. Composer Marco Beltrami was able to achieve a good orchestral score here in that he was able to continue his masterful horror score work (as seen in "Scream") but also experiment with more orchestra and new sounds.

"Lifeboat" is easily the best song on the soundtrack. Mamek Khadem, an amazing Middle Eastern vocalist, provides her usual sweeping vocals along with Beltrami's dramatic scoring to establish a haunting, pagan/old world vibe that sends shudders through the listener.

"Mary's Theme" continues as another five star track, a creepy, subtle theme that is intrinsic to the character and again builds a fine orchestral feel.

"Canned Heat" and "Vampire Hunters/etc..." is where the score begins to fall a little flat; generic horror movie cliche music seems to be the name of the game. Not unenjoyable, but still, not a standout.

"Brotherly Love", however, picks right back up where "Mary's Theme" left off and is an excellent, emotive track that fits right in.

"Hot Cross Buns/ETC..." is both the longest and the weakest track on this album; it is generic, dull, and goes in one ear and out the other without much impact -- this is the score piece that is expected and recieved in 9 out of 10 vampire flicks, and is a major disappointment. Some of the chase themes that run through it are almost enough to redeem it. Almost.

"Movable Feast/Come to Daddy" is a bit of a saving grace; it follows in "Brother Love"s footsteps and is just good enough to lead into the next track.

"The Sun Also Rises" is another wonderful, sweeping orchestral track that is emotive, lovely, and exciting. Mamek Khadim again provides her wonderful vocals to pair with Beltrami's sweeping orchestra to create another haunting track, earning this track and "Lifeboat" six out of five stars on this album.

"Gang Fang" is a fun track but leaves much to be desired after the buildup to "The Sun Also Rises." It's an odd way to end the album, and would have been much better suited elsewhere on the album.

The Dracula 2000 score is almost mediocre save for its powerhouse tracks. The difference is clear -- whenever Beltrami stepped out of the horror movie cliche genre music, he achieved something spectacular. If you manage to find a copy of this for an affordable price, I would absolutely reccomend buying it, particularly if you are a fan of the film.

However, "Lifeboat" is one track that should be listened to by everybody, I assert. It would not be amiss to attempt to hunt that one down on the internet by itself if you cannot find this album for yourself.

If you are looking for more Mamek Khadim, by the way, she provided a lovely vocal set on the track "A Really Big Sandbox" by Christophe Beck in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Score" which is now available in the Amazon.com MP3 department.

Released on a limited basis as a promo piece, the score to Dracula 2000 haunted me for YEARS. I was giddy when I finally found a copy. If you listen to nothing else, listen to "Lifeboat" and "The Sun Also Rises" -- you won't regret it. Unfortunately it does contain a couple of duds that could have easily been written for some low-budget Buffy knock-off. Gang Fang sounds like something you'd play in a haunted house at Halloween... it's a nice track, but it doesn't seem to belong here. If you can sit through "Hot Cross Buns" (et cetera) for the full 7 minutes, I applaud you.

Don't let these lesser tracks deter you from adding this to your music collection, however. If the vocals and score in "Lifeboat" don't immediately captivate you, you might want to check your pulse! The music has a dank feeling to it, like you might find yourself in a damp sewer in 19th century London, while the vocals by Mamek Khadim give it a Middle Eastern flavor, hinting at Dracula's origins. "Mary's Theme," "Brotherly Love," "Movable Feast/Come to Daddy," and "The Sun Also Rises" are all similarly haunting standout pieces that make this a worthwhile addition to your collection.