2 out of 5

Label: Varèse Sarabande

Produced by: Joseph LoDuca (?)

I appreciate that the mostly inobtrusive work on Joe LoDuca’s Bad Samaritan soundtrack is likely what the score called for – I have not seen the film – but excepting scattered moments where the composer can employ some of his bouncy juxtapositions, it’s a fairly standard orchestral affair of kind strings and gentle piano background music with occasional quiet to loud moody atmospherics.

A light run of four notes acts as a rare theme on Bad Samaritan; it’s not anything notable on its own, but when it’s rendered in via more unique manners – some (I think) electronic elements blended through to guitar and keys on A Smile Out Of Him – LoDuca gains a bit of ground. And right after that, we get the first splash of intensity on Derek Heist – Joe’s dynamic string / percussion compositions at work – and this returns at various points (Snooping, the killer Derek’s Demise) but it’s often very fleeting.

‘Fleeting’ is, unfortunately, the name of the game, here, as a lot of the tracks are cues, and that prevents a fair amount of buildup. Again, necessary for how some movies are scored, but not always the best standalone listening experience.