Introducing…
NEAL ACREE
Neal Acree is an exciting up-and-coming American composer who has built up a considerable reputation for himself in the action/B-movie world since making his feature debut in the late 1990s
Born on 11 July 1974 in Tarzana, California, Acree played guitar as a child and, after switching his focus from art to music, began studying ethnic music, electronic music and music technology, including spending some time in England. A long-time film music fan who cites Elliot Goldenthal, James Horner, John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith as his career influences, he began his career doing "cartage", delivering music equipment for scoring sessions, before going on to work variously as an orchestrator, music editor, copyist, programmer and assistant to the great and the good in film music, including Marc Shaiman and Richard Marvin.
When Joel Goldsmith, son of the legendary Jerry Goldsmith, took Acree on as his technical assistant in the late 1990s, it wasn’t long before he was contributing additional music to projects such as the TV series “Stargate SG-1” and the TNT mini-series “Witchblade”. Since then, Acree has gone on to score 20 or so feature films, most of which were directed by cult B-movie legend Jim Wynorski, starred fading action stars such as Treat Williams and Michael Dudikoff, went straight-to-video or premiered on the Sci-Fi channel, and were (sadly) not very good. However, time after time, Acree’s music has been cited as being the standout element of each project, and it cannot be long before this exceptionally talented young composer gets his shot at the big time.
Here for your information are plot summaries and mini-reviews of eleven of Acree’s scores on CD; I must offer my sincere thanks to Neal for giving me the opportunity to listen to these excellent, largely undiscovered works. He is surely a talent to watch.
THEY CRAWL (2001) 
NEAL ACREE
They Crawl was one of the first “major” movies scored by Neal Acree, a low-budget sci-fi/horror obviously inspired by Mimic, directed by John Allardice and which premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel. Tamara Davies stars as Detective Gina O'Bannon, whose latest case is to investigate the death of a bus driver who has been killed by what seem to be giant cockroaches. Before long, the body count starts increasing, and O’Bannon is joined by Ted Gage (Daniel Cosgrove), the brother of one of the victims. Before long, Gina and Ted find themselves immersed in a shady world of genetic engineering, mysterious cults and mutant insects – and are racing against time to find a way to stop the bugs before they kill again. They Crawl has a surprisingly starry cast for a film of this type - Tim Thomerson (Trancers), Dennis Boutsikaris (Crocodile Dundee II), rapper Tone Loc, character actress Grace Zabriskie, and even Mickey Rourke pop up in cameos – but the writing and direction left a lot to be desired, resulting in the film being consigned to the straight-to-video market. As befits the nature of the film, Acree’s synthesised score is an engaging mix of low-key suspense music and quietly industrial sound design, bolstered by some excellent, throbbing action and a surprisingly touching romantic theme. Cues such as the opening “Runaway Bus”, the skittery “The Exterminator”, the modern “Tiny Runs” and “Big Rig Brawl”, and the angry “The Chair” set out Acree’s action credentials, while “Ted Investigates” and the lengthy “Lazarus” embrace distinctly Mark Snow-ish tones with a purposeful piano, forward motion, and the familiar musical tinkle that often appears when characters start using their brains. Composer Promo, 25 tracks, 68:12.
GALE FORCE (2002) 
NEAL ACREE
One of many films scored by Acree for cult low-budget director Jim Wynorski, Gale Force is a straight-to-video action thriller starring Treat Williams as Los Angeles cop Sam Garrett, who applies to be on a new reality-style game show, "Treasure Hunt". Along with the other contestants (including 80s icon Michael Dudikoff, Cliff De Young, Tim Thomerson, William “Karate Kid” Zabka and Marc “Superman” McClure), Sam is whisked away to a tropical island to hunt for a buried treasure worth ten million dollars. However, unbeknownst to the contestants, the show’s host wants the money for himself – and before long Sam and the others are risking life and limb battling against the soldiers hired to guard the money, and a killer hurricane which is bearing down on the island. Cleverly playing off the currently in-vogue world music rhythms inherent in much of today’s film music, the “Main Title” is a powerful, thrusting rhythm overlaid with an array of sampled African vocals, tribal drums and pan-flutes. The vocals and drums re-occur regularly throughout the score, just in the background reminding the listener that you’re in a far off place. The real meat of the score is made up of action: cues such as “Dynamite Chase”, which works screaming electric guitars into the mix, giving the score a distinctly Trevor Rabin-esque vibe, or “The Island”, which takes David Vanacore’s popular Survivor style and runs with it. Militaristic staccato rhythms underpin “The Mercenaries”, and provide a rampaging undercurrent to later cues such as “The Hunt Begins”, “The Camp is Bombed”, “Naval Manoeuvres”, and the exciting “Mercenaries Attack”, while a rare moment of tenderness peaks through the carnage in “Flirting with a Saint”. Considering Acree had virtually no budget to work with, it’s impressive stuff. Composer Promo, 15 tracks, 34:37.
PROJECT VIPER (2002)
NEAL ACREE
Another Sci-Fi Channel flick directed by Jim Wynorski, Project Viper stars Patrick Muldoon as Mike Connors, a hotshot agent called in to help NASA when a bioengineered organism, intended to be used as a terra-forming tool on Mars, goes awry, eats the astronauts, and heads to earth. Despite once again featuring a surprisingly high-quality supporting cast (sexy siren Theresa Russell, Curtis “Revenge of the Nerds” Armstrong, and Tim Thomerson again), the film was roundly panned by most critics, mostly for its inability to make up its mind whether it wanted to be an Apollo 13 space adventure, a monster movie, or an X-Files mystery. There is a great deal of James Horner’s Aliens in Neal Acree’s score, from the icy ambiences of the “Main Title” and the eerily beautiful “End Credits” to the racing strings of “Lake Dweller”, the dissonant groans of “Searching the Sewer”, and the ethereal finale “Terminating Viper”. As is always the case, Acree’s action music is impressive: cues such as “Viper Unleashed”, the elaborately percussive “The Escape”, the relentless “C-130 Down” and the frantic “Viper on a Leash” leave a very positive impression. “Prognosis Negative” provides a moment of piano-based respite, but the sleazy “Sax by the Pool” is horribly out of place in context, despite being quite a fun piece of music in its own right. Good old Jim Wynorski and his gratuitous T&A. It’s always good to be reminded that, under a pseudonym, he directed ‘The Bare Wench Project’ and ‘Busty Cops’. Composer Promo, 23 tracks, 54:21.
CURSE OF THE KOMODO (2003)
NEAL ACREE
Yet another Jim Wynorski straight-to-video classic for the Sci-Fi Channel, Curse of the Komodo stars Tim Abell and Melissa Brasselle as two members of a team of scientists sent to a remote island to destroy a “weapon”, created by the US Army, and which has gone out of control. The weapon turns out to be a genetically modified komodo dragon, increased in size to mammoth proportions, who doesn’t take kindly to being the next species to become extinct, and decides to fight back… Unsurprisingly, there is a fair bit of John Williams’s Jurassic Park in Acree’s original score, from the tempestuous jungle drums in the opening “Isla Damas” to the head-spinning dissonant action in “Komodo” and the wide, open themes of the “Main Title”. The sampled African drums and vocals from Gale Force make another appearance here, in cues such as “The Trek”, “Back on the Trail” and the “End Credits”. There are several more complex and challenging action cues, notably “Run Like Hell”, the phenomenally exciting “Reese’s Pieces”, “Bad Move” and “Bombing Run”, while “Casino Heist” embraces modern electronic scoring with an urban edge, “Love Shack” brings a moment of tender respite from the komodo carnage, and “Requiem” highlights some apt use of Latin agnus dei sampled choirs. The bonus track, “Rebecca’s Theme”, is an extrapolation of the cue “The Waterfall”, which was written for a scene in which a young, nubile, large-chested actress named Glori-Ann Gilbert suns herself in the nude under the aforementioned cascade – a totally gratuitous scene on Wynorski’s part, but which (and Acree freely admits this) gave the composer the opportunity to write something in the lush, romantic style of James Horner’s Legends of the Fall, one of his own favourite works. Yet again, considering the tiny budgets he has to work with, Acree’s totally synthesised score shows him to be a composer of great creativity and talent, even when under considerable pressures of time and resources. Composer Promo, 22 tracks, 54:48.
DEADLY SWARM (2003)
NEAL ACREE
A monster movie taking its cue from 1970s disaster films like The Swarm, director Paul Andresen’s Sci-Fi Channel film The Deadly Swarm stars Shane Brolly as Daniel Lang, a scientist who discovers that deadly bees have made a massive hive near a small Mexican town. Unable to convince the local mayor of the seriousness of the problem, Lang only begins to receive help when people start getting killed, and the military move in. But are their concerns for the people or for the insects themselves? In addition to his usual array of high-quality synthesisers, and to add to the Latin American feel of the score, Acree was able to make use of real pan pipes performed by the world renowned Bolivian composer Ramiro De La Zerda of the folk group Fortaleza. The central theme, as first heard in “Daniel’s Theme” stirs vague memories of Jerry Goldsmith’s Congo, and features again in later cues such as “Daniel and Sandra”. Acree gets out his ‘world music vocals’ sampler again in a number of the cues, adding texture to the eerie atmospheric dissonance that makes up much of the rest of the score. “Wasps Attack Earl”, “The Cemetery”, “Bats to the Rescue” and the lengthy, Horneresque “The Hospital” are striking action cues; “Villa Aliso” features acoustic guitars and more Latino orchestrations in another subtle reflection of a Goldsmith score (Under Fire), and “Daniel Awakes In Church” and “Dia De Los Muertos” unexpectedly work in some quite haunting Gregorian chanting. As the nature of the film dictates, Deadly Swarm is not the most pleasant score in terms of a listening experience, as there is a great deal of low-key rumbling, skittery dissonance and rhythmic tension in the music. However, during the more flavoursome Spanish moments, it’s quite enjoyable. Composer Promo, 28 tracks, 59:29.
LOST TREASURE (2003)
NEAL ACREE
Archaeologist and treasure hunter Brian McBride (Stephen Baldwin) and his policeman brother Carl (Cody Ryan McLaughlin) have obtained a map to a legendary stash, reputed to be located on Caribbean island where Columbus first docked his ship over 200 years ago (oddly, the same Isla Damas where the action of Curse of the Komodo takes place...). However, Carl is abducted by a gang of international thieves who want the treasure for their own nefarious purposes. Teaming up with beautiful pilot Carrie (Nicolette Sheridan), Brian finds himself in a race against time to save his brother and reach the treasure. Lost Treasure actually sounds like one of Jim Wynorski’s better straight-to-video actioners, but sadly the end result suffers in comparison with other, similar films, despite its headline star and exotic locations. It’s actually a bit of shame to note that Stephen Baldwin’s career has nosedived to such an extent that he now crops up in movies like this – a world away from the heady heyday of The Usual Suspects in the mid 1990s. As is usually the case with Acree scores, this one opens with a big action cue – “Museum Fire” – which segues into the percussive/ethnic hybrid main theme. Later cues, notably “Isla Damas”, “On The Trail”, the upbeat Caribbean-inspired “Flying to the Island” and the excellent militaristic “Naval Manoeuvres” provide enjoyably broad and powerful recapitulations of theme. Action cues such as “Crash Landing”, “Group Is Attacked”, “Walker Arrives” and “Fighting for the Map” revisit the percussion-led action style Acree does so well, while others embrace a modern, bubbling electronic undercurrent and occasional rock beats to drive them along, with notable examples of this in “Hot Pursuit” and “Run off the Road”, before exploding into the best cues on the album – “Walker Takes Over” and “Tsunami” – which introduce a choir into the mix. Quieter, more introspective material crops up in “Red Sun in the Morning”, but in overall terms, unfortunately, Lost Treasure suffers in comparison to other Acree scores because of its over-familiarity: although the programming is excellent, and the score undoubtedly generates a great deal of excitement and suspense, it’s just too similar to the music he wrote for Gale Force and Komodo to be classed in the same league. Composer Promo, 24 tracks, 57:46.
BELLE (2004)
NEAL ACREE
A movie on which, for contractual reasons, Acree was uncredited (the composing credit went to one Barry Taylor), ‘Belle’ was released with the title Method, and stars Elizabeth Hurley as actress Rebecca Fairbanks. After being hired to play her dream part in a film about a 19th century female serial killer named Belle Gunness, Rebecca inexplicably begins to take on the personality traits of her character, both on and off-screen. Shot mainly in Romania by director Duncan Roy, the film co-starred Jeremy Sisto and Oliver Tobias and was released briefly in cinemas in early 2004 before being consigned to the video shelves, and received very little in the way of exposure or critical acclaim. Nevertheless, Acree’s score is actually quite lovely: a soft, moody, darkly romantic work, written mainly for piano and strings. The main theme, heard in the opening “Belle”, is typical of the genre, focusing on the romance inherent in the story, but tingeing it with just a hint of danger; it’s the kind of thing Jerry Goldsmith did on Basic Instinct, and which John Ottman and Chris Young are asked to do on a regular basis, and it serves Hurley’s schizophrenic tendencies well. One minute she’s whispering sweet nothings in your ear, the next minute she’s draining the life out of your body. Its numerous recapitulations occasionally work in chimes (“The Hinkley Letters”) more luxuriant strings (“The Picnic/Forbidden Love”, “Shallow Graves”), rhapsodic piano (“You’re On Your Own Now”), and even vaguely-Native American choral work (“The Hanging”), while cues such as “Descent Into Madness”, “The Heigelstein Murder” and the superb, neo-classical “Murder for String Quartet and Orchestra” embrace more tumultuous material with strident, almost Herrmannesque string passages and disquieting rhythms. Composer Promo, 12 tracks, 31:23.
GARGOYLE: WINGS OF DARKNESS (2004)
NEAL ACREE
Another Jim Wynorski Sci-Fi Channel effort, this time in the gothic horror genre, Gargoyle: Wings of Darkness is a film in which two CIA agents (Michael Paré and Sandra Hess) are sent to Bucharest, Romania to help the authorities solve a high profile kidnapping. However, when they arrive, they discover something more terrifying than simple terrorism. An evil gargoyle, once thought dead and banished forever, has returned with a vengeance, and is now wreaking havoc upon a city on the Black Sea. Aided by two Catholic priests, Father Nikolai and Father Adrian, the agents must battle against the ancient demon and rescue the hostage. As befits the film, Acree goes down the Gothic horror road for Gargoyles, following the well-worn musical path set for him by Jerry Goldsmith (in The Omen) right up to Alan Silvestri (in Van Helsing) by scoring the action with a large synth orchestra and religious vocals. Moody solo female vocals intone over the opening “Romania 1532”, which actually recalls the work of Wojciech Kilar with its deliberate pacing and subtle harpsichords, before it exploded into a full-throated choral frenzy. Action cues such as “Showdown” build on the style, pitting a menacing descending brass motif against a surging orchestral accompaniment, prominent vocal performances, and a surprisingly tender love theme which re-occurs at opportune moments. The more modern “Euro Chase” works with trilling electronic scoring to reinforce the fact that, despite the ancient monsters at hand, the film has a contemporary setting. The extended “End Credits” wallow in unadulterated theatrical horror, its undulating brass theme recalling the most unashamed moments of overkill from James Bernard’s Hammer canon, and its vocal performances showing no mercy in going for the musical jugular. Impressive, if a tiny bit overbearing, stuff.
Composer Promo, ## tracks, 54:33.
E5 (2005)
NEAL ACREE
An intense action-thriller directed by James Seale, E5 (or “Throttle” as it is alternately known) stars Grayson McCrouch as financial analyst Tom Weaver, and ordinary guy in an ordinary job, who returns to his car in an underground parking garage late one night, unaware that things are about to turn very deadly. His car won't start; the elevators are shut down and every stairwell has been locked. Trapped in the building, Tom slowly realizes that he has been set up by the driver of the only other vehicle in the lot: a massive truck. Before long, Tom is running for his life and trying to figure out who wants him dead: his business partner Gavin (Adrian Paul), his ex-wife Molly (Amy Locane), or maybe the driver he cut off earlier in the day in a fit of road rage. E5 is a darker, edgier score than we’re used to hearing from Acree, which actually makes use of his electronic palette as electronics, rather than them trying to be an orchestra, and is all the better because of it. The music is eerie, brooding and creepy, and reminds me at times of James Horner’s Aliens, but with a relentless rhythmic undercurrent which continually ensures the listener knows something not quite right is going on, and which builds to a kinetic climax as the album progresses. There’s lots of heavy bass and low rumblings down in the musical depths, occasionally punctuated by the screech of a violin, an unearthly wail, or a dissonant burst of brass. Cues such as “The Truck Is Back”, “The Truck Attacks” and “Victor Gets It” inject some urgent energy into the score, counterbalanced by the softness of “The Hotel Key”, “Tom and Rebecca” and the elegiac “Gavin’s Death”, while others are notable for their angry, unremitting bleakness. It’s actually very difficult to create this kind of soundscape, and create it effectively, and kudos should go to Acree for having the ability to write this kind of music well. NAFM-014, 31 tracks, 47:55.
CRASH LANDING (2005)
NEAL ACREE
An airborne action thriller in the grand traditions of Airport and Turbulence, Crash Landing stars Antonio Sabato Jr. as Masters, a former pilot who, following a disastrous crash ten years ago for which he blames himself, has now been reduced to ferrying wealthy clients on charter flights to Hawaii. It is during one such flight that his plane is hijacked by a group of mercenaries looking to kidnap the daughter of the airline owner for a ransom. However, when an explosive decompression takes place and the flight crew are killed, Masters must overcome his personal demons to take control of the plane, thwart the hijackers, and safely make an emergency landing on a small military base in the Pacific headed by Captain Williams (Michael Paré). An enjoyable, if undemanding action score, Crash Landing pushes all the right buttons, emerging as a fond homage to 1990s Jerry Goldsmith action scores, most notably Air Force One and Executive Decision. There’s a heroic brass-led main title, accentuated by all the usual drum loops and propulsive strings, which forms the melodic core of a number of the score’s many action cues, notably “Crash Landing”, “Takeoff” and “Break Out the Rain Gear”. Unfortunately, much of the rest of the action and suspense material is by-the-numbers stuff, with synthesised pulses overlaid with all manner of orchestral rhythmic devices, brass blasts and string surges: only the extended “The Hijacking”, “Going Hunting” and the powerful “Turbulence” leave a really positive impression. NAFM-015, 15 tracks, 34:41.
7 SECONDS (2005)
NEAL ACREE
Another movie on which, for contractual reasons, Acree was uncredited, 7 Seconds is a crime thriller directed by Simon Fellows, a British/Romanian co-production starring Wesley Snipes as small-time crook John Tulliver. After Tulliver accidentally steals a priceless Van Gogh painting from under the noses of a gang of international art thieves, his previously easy life starts becoming dangerous: his partner is kidnapped by the gangsters and offered in exchange for the painting, and who threaten to kill him if their demands are not met. Tulliver, however, has other ideas, and teams up with beautiful Cockney lass Kelly (Tamzin Outhwaite) to carry out a daring rescue attempt which will save his friend and allow him to keep the Van Gogh. 7 Seconds is a ‘dirtier’ score than Acree has written in the past, incorporating as it does a cache of snarling electric guitars and a more down-at-heel, caper-like aspect, notably in the “Main Title” and the ballistic action cues “Vanderbrink”, “Bomb Squad”, “The Getaway”, “Train Station Escape” and “On the Run”, which turn up the levels to new heights with increasingly frantic synth rhythms, more guitars, and even disco-pop effect which sound as though they would be out of place, but actually work wonderfully. The two “Heist” cues are a fabulous collision of modern urban beats, thrumming bass guitars and sampled vocals of what sounds like Portuguese rap music, really raising the energy levels. The clever “In Bed Together” embraces pseudo-Italian sleazy jazz, with orgasmic female voices, a lazy piano and string wash that wouldn’t have sounded out of place coming from the pen of Ennio Morricone or Francis Lai in the 1970s – this style is revisited in “Anders and Tulliver” and the swooning, romantic “Suza”. The whole thing swaggers with urban Euro-cool and brash, exciting action material which further proves that Acree has the composing chops to cut it in the big leagues, and reminds me of John Powell at his Bourne Identity best. Exciting, cutting-edge stuff. NAFM-016, 18 tracks, 50:39.
Visit Neal Acree’s official website at www.nealacree.com.
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