Soundtrack

"Where the Rum has Gone."
Review by Marius Masalar

No one remembers Hunter S. Thompson as an ordinary figure in the history of journalism, and the cultural contributions he is best known for — “gonzo” journalism, Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, and of course The Rum Diary — say a lot about what one can expect from the film adaptation of the latter book. While the film’s vaguely hallucinatory plotline meandered in a meaningful way on paper, the transition to film has been a difficult process, this being the third attempt since the book’s publication.

While critics have been ambivalent and generally unimpressed by this eventual cinematic take on the story, there is no denying its authenticity to the source material, for better or worse, and much of the atmosphere’s uniquely convoluted moods are contributed by film scoring veteran, CHRISTOPHER YOUNG. While most people think of CHRISTOPHER YOUNG as the king of horror scoring (which is understandable given his recent credits for Priest, Drag Me To Hell, The Uninvited, etc.), Young’s expertise reaches far beyond the frightening and macabre to encompass a variety of genres. It is thanks to this diversity of talent and considerable film scoring expertise that Young pulls off a successful score to a difficult film.