Phantom Soundtracks recently released the original motion picture soundtrack to the slasher film, "Spikes." There doesn't appear to be much talk about the film in horror circles. The soundtrack has a heavy use of synthesizers so it would lead one to believe the film was from the 1970s. However, there is no Internet Movie Database page for the film and the CD doesn't list any credits. The reason for this is simple. The movie doesn't exist.
"Spikes" was conceived as an idea from Chicago horror staple, Aaron Christensen. The composer and director is Darren Callahan. The idea of making a score from a movie that doesn't exist is a really clever concept. The team at Phantom Soundtracks had to create an outline of a film and put together enough pieces for Darren Callahan to create a full score to the imaginary film.
The score is heavily influenced by the music of John Carpenter and Goblin, who did the soundtrack for many of Dario Argento's classic movies. Blaise Barton helped record features all-analog synthesizers with piano. The score was even recorded onto analog equipment one would find used commonly in the 1970s. There is nothing about the score that would lead one to believe it was made in 2010.
The soundtrack opens up with the main titles. There is a great chemistry between the piano and the synthesizer. There is a child like innocence to the piano part of the song. It's not until the synthesizer kicks in that you realize that there is something much more sinister going on in the picture. It's not as memorable as the classic John Carpenter scores but it immediately gives the listener an idea of what they're about to get into.
Once the film begins the soundtrack really takes off. They only had a rough outline on how the movie would play out but Darren Callahan has a great sense in his mind how the film takes place. It's very engaging and many of the tracks give you a clear idea of what is happening. The last 10 tracks have many standout moments. "Tracy's Escape" is one of the most exciting tracks on the album. It's a very fast but steady piece that invokes both the speed of the heroine but the stealth of the villain.
Listening to the album you're reminded of how great horror scores used to be. It would be hard to imagine films like Suspiria and Halloween without the great synthesizer scores. If somebody ever does decide to make the film into reality, they'll have all the pieces they need to make a great movie from the music alone.
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