Varèse Sarabande has released Frederik Wiedmann's score for The Hangman. The movie follows decorated homicide detective Ray Archer as he partners with criminal profiler Will Ruiney to catch one of the city's notoriously vicious serial killers, who is playing a twisted version of murder using the child's game... Hangman, while journalist Christi Davies reports on the crime spree, shadowing the detectives...

Frederik Wiedmann (The Damned; Duell der Brüeder; Dying of the Light; Field of Lost Shoes) turns in another memorable score. Hangman is very Bernard Herrmann-esque in its delivery and really helps to ramp up the suspense in the movie. Listened to on its own merits, it's also a very enjoyable standalone project.

The score is made up of 21 tracks (58 min, 41 sec) with personal highlights including the dark 'The First Victim' and the adrenaline fuelled 'Inches Away'. In addition, I couldn't help but be reminded of Alan Silverstri's work, very slightly, when listening to 'Slaughterhouse'.

Wiedmann has crafted scores for the main characters, including The Hangman, and neatly weaves them through the score. The haunting vocals of Ayana Haviv are employed on a number of tracks, which really add another level of beauty. In addition, Wiedmann's laugh was recorded and digitally manipulated to act as a musical backdrop to The Hangman laughing at his pursuers. It's little touches like this that make for a unique sound.

There were a few too many instances of atmospheric music that saw my attention wandering, which was a shame, as I'm sure that some of these segments could have been left out to make it a more rewarding listening experience.

Overall, though, Wiedmann delivers another solid score of strong themes,

8

Darren Rea