• Composed by Olivier Derivière
• Ameo / 2017 / 59m

A horror-themed first-person shooter video game, Get Even sees the player taking on the role of a man who wakes up in an asylum with no memory of anything other than the fact that he was trying to save a girl with a bomb strapped to her chest.   The game’s music has been singled out for particular praise in most reviews (which have otherwise been generally somewhat lukewarm) which should come as no surprise given it’s composed by the excellent Olivier Derivière, who has emerged as one of the most exciting game composers around in recent years, in particular with the exceptional Remember Me, which brought him so much attention a few years back.  While Get Even isn’t on that level, it is another highly entertaining effort which combines some of the composer’s trademarks together with some new directions.

One of the score’s interesting facets is the way the composer combines highly classical sounds with crunching modern ones, which is encapsulated in the opening cue “Consequences” where the elegant strings of the Brussels Philharmonic are joined by more modern percussion.  The classical sound is heard in later cues such as “Rehearsal”, the gorgeously melancholic “Cause” and most of all the simply outstanding “We’re Family”; and at the other end of the scale there’s some very harsh, grinding horror scoring (heavily electronic) in cues like “Trauma” and “Tracking the Truth” which are clearly an important part of the narrative journey but which don’t really make for such great listening.  There is some interesting use of diegetic sounds: whispers, a police siren, a train, a ticking clock (don’t tell Christopher Nolan).  Some of the action is pleasingly reminiscent of Remember Me, though the use of the same sort of processed effects might sail a little too close to the wind for some; “Reascending the Tower” and XYZ are particularly intense, impressive action pieces.  While it lacks a genuinely memorable main theme, which is a pity, I’m sure that all fans of this composer’s scores that I’ve recommended in the past will enjoy this one too: it’s a very entertaining ride.

Rating:
*** 1/2
Entertaining, multifaceted action/horror score

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