Music from the Movies
by Andrew Keech

A Dutch/American co-production SOUL ASSASSIN is set in the Netherlands and tells of a high flying investment banker whose girlfriend is assassinated. He then is sucked into a world of intrigue and danger as he tries to find the killer and why she was killed, inevitable becoming a target himself. The scoring for this film is by Alan Williams and marks a radical new style for a composer who has already demonstrated, with previous scores, a flexibility beyond the normal call of duty.

The "Main Title" is a combination of heavy percussion, distorted electric guitar and electronic sounds, which develops into a compulsive hypnotic beat. This electronic rock sound is carried into many of the score cues, but there are also some haunting cello solos, like "Promotion" and evocative solo vocals like "Breaking In." However, the majority of cues are electronic with some interesting percussion combinations, many of which generate an ethnic atmosphere or a feel of suspenseful action, while occasionally approaching the realms of heavy metal.

Alan Williams' normal melodic approach, exemplified so well by scores for TINY HEROES, SANTA AND PETE and for the IMAX films ISLAND OF THE SHARKS and AMAZON, is replaced for SOUL ASSASSIN by harsher, electronic sounds, which might presuppose that the composer is in fact a closet rocker! The electronic sounds of this score may not be to everyone's taste, but the music certainly cannot be ignored and shows another fascinating, but unexpected, side of Alan Williams.