Predators (Soundtrack Review)

Predators (Soundtrack Review)

Written by and composed by John Debney, Debney heavily relies on Alan Silvestri’s masterfully produced first two Predator films.

To be fair, I am a huge old school Alan Silvestri fan. I still listen to his Back to the Future and Predator franchise scores. I consider them to be some of the best action scores the 80s had to offer. Alan’s score to Predator is still hailed as one of the best scores from that period.

So, how does John Debney’s score to Predators (2010) hold up to Alan’s music from the franchise?

Extremely well! If someone told me it was Alan that wrote the music for this soundtrack instead of Debney, I’d be hard pressed to prove otherwise. Debney does such a good job producing that Alan sound that I can’t tell if there is any Debney type of cues in here. There are some new cues and themes, sparingly, but they feel like a natural extension to the Predator franchise.

Debney did add some electronic beats and even some rock guitar, but these tools are things that Alan Silvestri uses in his recent work. You can tell Debney loves Alan’s score because it shows with the way he’s written this new one.

Predators is a score that is bombastic and mean. The score uses pretty much all the actions cues and themes that made the first movie so memorable. Debney doesn’t hold back and goes for the loudest score he can produce and I praise him on that. Most scores today are more laid back and not at the forefront like this score.

For people that want a subtler score, this is not for you. Unlike the Aliens Vs Predator scores, this is a clear-cut tribute to the first movie’s loud and angry sound. If you have the cash, I highly recommend buying this soundtrack.

Grade: A-

Note

-Debney adds a sound effect that sounds like a predator breathing! Very nice.

-There are some Asian and Spanish influences in small portions of the score.