For my taste, this is one of the most haunting horror scores ever. I know that it is inspired by SchifrinĀ“s "The Amityville Horror" - but I prefer GoldenthalĀ“s score by miles.
Why? Because once again a composer proves that a terrific main theme is the backbone of any great score. And a horror score that is only using scare tactics can never be as effective as a score that delves deeply into the feelings of the characters so that we can understand them and care for them before we get scared that something might happen to them.
The expansion and remastering is done perfectly, as on every La-La-Land-release.
Just got this (at $5 it would be rude not to) in my package with Dances With Wolves and Braveheart.
I own the old Varese release as I always loved the film and it's creepy score, and have to say this edition is pretty amazing and makes the Varese utterly redundant. The unreleased stuff really fleshes out the score- yes its creepier than ever but there's some lovely warm moments here. Haven't gotten to the alternates yet. Sound quality is a huge improvement too. Great release all round.
Anybody even remotely interested in this should snap it up immediately, especially at the sale price at the moment.
I'll agree with an earlier post here regards Sphere- that's another score that needs this kind of treatment.
As for Alien 3, I think that may be the final grail for many of us the way these releases are coming out these days. Hopefully it will come. I only wish Ridley Scott had the courage/initiative to hire Goldenthal to score his next Prometheus film/Alien prequel (or whatever the hell that is this week).