Haunting indeed... by Alex (July 26, 2006)
Goldsmith has done a lot of work within the horror genre, and while 1999's failed spook house flick "The Haunting" may not be his best, it provides and interesting, if rather brief listen. "The Carousel", a creepy theme heard twice on the disc (In track 1 and 7) is a disturbing piece of deceptively cheery carnivale music that pulls you in to the subtle scares that are to follow. Several of the tracks put a female choir to very good and extremely eerie use, like in "The Picture Album" and "Curly Hair". Another solid track is "Finally Home", the longest piece of music on the disc that ties most of the themes together in one huge explosion of orchestral power. The disc closes with a soft, rather quite reprisal of the main theme--"Home Safe".
At only 35 minutes I would have liked a little more music on the album but as it is Goldsmith's score deliveres. It's not a perfect horror score but it does have some interesting themes and unconventional sounds that certainly makes it worthwhile for collectors.