A piece similar to Danse Macabre, only with milder playful elements and a stronger sense of whimsical awe:
I don't like horror movies anymore -- I especially dislike blood and gore -- but when I did, the Puppet Master series was the one of the tops in my book. This was back in the VHS days, and whenever I got one of these tapes I used to rewind and fast forward it several times just to hear this theme over and over again. And, oh, when the movies played on the Sci-fi channel I loved it!
Full Moon Direct is an ultra cheesy movie studio. They produce mainly horror movies with just about every corny movie stereotype you can think of. Sex, drugs, Nazis -- you name it. The PM series didn't really scare me as a kid since the puppets are a caricature of horror creatures, trying much too hard to be scary, so I guess I was more entertained by the creative designs and stop motion animation. To date there's nine movies in this series, and to my surprise they're still making them; I thought for years the company had gone out of business. I've considered watching it, but I don't think I'd enjoy it now given my disposition.
Oh, and old-fan boy note: The three figures in the center -- the baby doll, jack-in-the-box, and silver toy -- aren't a part of the PM series. They're from the Demonic Toys series, and this is a poster for a crossover movie called Puppet Wars, which never got made (though they did come out with Puppet Master vs. The Demonic Toys on Sci-fi. Yes, I watched it).
(See also my sequel article to the linked Danse Macabre article in the first sentence.)
Wow, I really like this song. It's majestic, absolutely delightful. It has the sound of rational, natural danger and the excitement that comes from normal, complex goals that are difficult (but normal) to achieve, but which feel, existentially, like they can be mastered with the flick of one's wrist.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like it. I got into this movie series when I was a kid, and this theme has been stuck in my head more often than any other musical piece I've ever heard in my life.
ReplyDeleteYou may like this other version: The instruments are different and more distinct, it's cleaner and faster paced, and a little heavier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPttmTm2f_0&feature=related
After listening to the video you posted, I searched for it on the iTunes Store and downloaded the song, and it's the latter version by Richard Band.
ReplyDelete