Lesbian Vampire Killers

[drew]

Music from the Movies

news: March 2009

Neck-biting stuff from Silva:

Debbie Wiseman's rip-roaring score for the British horror comedy Lesbian Vampire Killers is released on CD later this month by Silva Screen Records. The film, which sees James Corden and Matthew Horner (of TV’s Gavin and Stacey) in the middle of a rural community under the spell of an ancient Vampire curse. It’s entertaining stuff and Debbie’s broad orchestral and choral strokes – created with the help of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Crouch End Festival Chorus and Hayley Westenra – add a wonderful dose of gothic romance and drama to the glossy, neck-biting comedy. Something tells me the film is going to attract a good crowd when it hits British cinema screens on March 20th and you can discover the delightful score on CD from March 16th. Visit www.silvascreenmusic.com for ordering and download details, not to mention a look at the label’s colourful catalogue of releases.

A review of Lesbian Vampire Killers, plus an interview with Debbie Wiseman, is coming soon to MftM.

Debbie Wiseman

Sorry mods, but it is genuine!

[Dave]

Don't worry Drew, I saw that too. I will be very interested to hear what it sounds like (I might even watch the film if it's a good comedy!). Some might say that it's a natural progression beyond "Jekyll"! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

There are many different ways to broaden your audience and if Hayley isn't careful, we'll soon have to start reading all those Google Alerts about Lucy Westenra, in case Hayley's mentioned too!



Cheers, Dave

[Ross]

The movie Lesbian Vampire Killers is also mentioned in my programme for the Geoff Sewell and Incognito Artists concert ( see under Elizabeth Marvelly subtopic) . One of the Incognito artists was in that movie. Her name is Emma Clifford and she can sing, dance and act.

[drew]

If it has been more than 48 hours since you saw and heard Hayley live at Cheltenham and you cannot wait until Wednesday to receive your copy of HWSJ2, the soundtrack is now available for download from

Silvascreen

"The soundtrack features The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Crouch End Festival Chorus and million selling classical singer Hayley Westenra with whom Debbie collaborated on Flood."

[Tracklist removed]

(To the best of my ears) Hayley "appears" on tracks 1,3,4,5,6,12,14,15,17 and 18 but not a word is spoken.

Track 20 is the original from Showaddywaddy.

If you liked Flood (and the New World) you should like this (track 20 excepted). If you go to the movie website you might be put off by the thought of Lesbian Vampire Killers' music. Remember, this is Debbie Wiseman, the Royal Philharmonic and Hayley. Enjoy.

[drew]

Music from the Movies

Lesbian Vampire Killers

Reviewed by: Michael Beek

If you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise… Though for Jimmy and Fletch, however, a ‘hiking’ trip in deepest darkest Norfolk offers up more than a picnic. Indeed there isn’t a teddy bear in sight; instead, Vampires… Lesbian Vampires.

This entertaining romp is a fine big screen vehicle for comedy-partnership-of the-moment James Corden and Matthew Horne, who star as the hapless and unlikely heroes. Phil Claydon’s impressively snappy film offers buckets of ‘blood’, a bellyful of laughs and gratuitous shots of scantily-clad beauties ‘necking’ each other left right and centre, all brought to life with the help of a frankly fantastic score by Debbie Wiseman.

It is without doubt one of the more unusual titles on the British composer’s CV, but that doesn’t mean it has been attacked with anything less than someone of her talents can deliver. That of course is quite a lot and, true to form, Debbie has brought home the bacon with a rousing orchestral and choral accompaniment that could easily knock the socks off of any number of Hollywood’s current ‘epics’. Of course her tongue is firmly in her cheek here – in fact sometimes it’s poking out – as the grandiose swathes and rhythmic batter elevate the film skyward from its rather silly foundation. Helping her achieve this is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a ladies-only Crouch End Festival Chorus and soloist Hayley Westenra. Together they create an often spine-tingling score with moments of horror, gothicism, romance, action and of course a touch of humour to boot.

The score lends itself well to an album presentation, thanks to the variety of material created; therefore highlights come thick and fast. Album-opener ‘Centuries Ago’ presents a fittingly fantasy-like, somewhat bucksome main theme, while a love theme is introduced in ‘You’re A Virgin?’ The rather pleasant love theme is given its fullest rendering in ‘Jimmy, I Love You’, though it brings the score to a satisfying end in ‘Lesbian Vampire Killers It Is… Let’s Ride!’, while the main theme is a mainstay throughout and varied upon here and there. Typical Wiseman sonorities can be found in the latter half of ‘Adv_Nture’, itself opening with a wonderful horn-led call to adventure (funnily enough), while comical frolics stand out in ‘Give Me One Last Kiss’ and ‘My aXe Girlfriend’. The latter is wonderfully rambunctious and has a great physicality, borrowing from Offenbach’s famous ‘Can-Can’ to great effect. While it’s not the first time the piece has been quoted in a score, it works well against the on-screen antics.

Legitimately exciting moments appear throughout, with Debbie making the most of the RPO’s dazzling brass section. The score blazes to life early on, with the likes of ‘Run You Bellends’ (one of several very original track titles) and ‘Full On Lesbian Vampire Attack!’ offering great rhythmic strides as the string section hack away at their instruments, aided by flares and flurries of brass. The finale cues see the composer pull out all the stops – and not just on the pipe organ – as she creates some simply marvellous, hair-raising music. ‘The Crypt Of Carmilla’ sets things off with a gloriously over the top call to arms, my favourite cue, while sawing strings march us into ‘Carmilla, The Vampire Queen’ - itself becoming a big, ballsy set piece. The icing on the cake though is ‘Lesbian Vampire Killers’ which sees more repeated rhythmic motifs for strings, tymps and brass, not to mention the choral accents throughout. After a lull, the orchestra and choir reignite for a tour-de-force denouement of epic proportions, bringing about a finale any number of Hollywood fantasy films would be proud of.

I’m always impressed by the musical heights Debbie Wiseman is able to scale; this is big music and quite a rush on album. While it continues the sizeable, brassy antics premiered in the dazzling Arsène Lupin, the sound has been re-shaped and stepped up in many ways for this colourfully gothic horror comedy. It might also be said that this is one of the most ‘Hollywood’ Debbie Wiseman scores yet and very much at home alongside any number of well known fantasy epics, including Stardust – with which it bears some resemblance in places. This could be attributed to the enthusiastic input from the director, who is himself a self-confessed film music fan. Whatever it is, there’s no denying that Lesbian Vampire Killers is a cracking piece of work and the score has one hell of a bite.

Offensive track removed above.

[Ross]

i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gifI have just ordered the CD. I find I like Debbie Wiseman scores and of course anything to do with Hayley lol.I hope the movie comes to NZ as I like vampire movies.

[gordon]

I have just watched the trailer to this movie and feel that the subject matter and language would be offensive to the majority of Hayley's current fans.
In my opinion Hayley has made a big mistake by being involved with this project which could destroy her present image.
It is possible that she might gain new fans but at the expense of losing some of her present audience.

Comments please.

Gordon

[comet]

Och ! I would'nt be offended by a bit of bad language, I've worked with sailors, dockers, builders and the people who scrape other people up off the road after traffic accidents,

Alternative sexual preference and a bit of bad language with some honesty is preferrable to the hypocrisy and deceit of those in power in law, finance, government and religion,

"let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

[drew]

Just close your eyes and listen to the soundtrack.

There is a little taster of the musical style (sadly without Hayley) on Debbie Wiseman's Soundbytes.

It is unlikely that regular fans of James Corden and Mathew Horne (of Gavin and Stacey) will notice the very small print at the end of the credits and associate Hayley with the film.

We note that Hayley will be well out of the country for the premiere.

[Dave]

Hello Drew and everyone,

You can hear samples of all the tracks on the Amazon UK download site www.amazon.co.uk/Lesbian-Vampire-Killers/dp/B001TOBCXA/ref=mb_oe_o and if you click "Preview All" it will play a clip from every track, in sequence. You can hear Hayley vocalising on a few of the tracks.

Cheers, Dave

PS I don't know what proportion of Hayley fans will find her inclusion on the soundtrack to be offensive but obviously, some do. Mainly for that reason, I see it as unwise and a mistake for Hayley to be involved. It doesn't personally offend me at the moment, although of course, I haven't seen the movie yet. Judging by the samples, I do like the soundtrack though!

[roger]

Mar 14, 2009 16:02:52 GMT gordon said:

I have just watched the trailer to this movie and feel that the subject matter and language would be offensive to the majority of Hayley's current fans.
In my opinion Hayley has made a big mistake by being involved with this project which could destroy her present image.
It is possible that she might gain new fans but at the expense of losing some of her present audience.

Comments please.

Gordon

Well said, Gordon. I fully agree with everything you say.

Roger

[grant]

Hello everyone

Not wishing to get drawn too deeply into the pros and cons of Hayley's involvement with this movie soundtrack, I wonder how Bedlam (and Hayley for that matter!) would respond to the suggestion that this is a big mistake on Hayley's part.

I thought so too at first, but it is only a film score we're talking about here, not a staring role in a blue movie! and I can't see either Debbie Wiseman, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra or the Crouch End Festival Chorus for that matter, let alone Hayley, putting their reputation on the line.

Hopefully, we'll find out more background to Hayley's reasons for getting involved as time goes on.

Best wishes
Grant

[martindn]

Thanks Grant for a sensible comment. I have to say that I was repelled straight away by the title of this thread - just that suggested to me that it was not the right thing for Hayley. Perhaps she was asked to record a soundtrack with Debbie Wiseman, with whom she has collaborated successfully before and clearly respects,and did just that, without necessarily understanding what the film would be like. I can't imagine that I would enjoy watching it though!

Martin

[gra7890]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the link to the audio clips. It seems very similar to their collaboration on 'Flood'

Best Wishes,

Graham

[Jillian]

But then again, it is likely that the few people who really notice Hayley's involvement on the soundtrack are her big fans -- and her big fans know that Hayley has no intention of alienating her fanbase.

The reality is that people who find films of this nature offensive are not going to pay their dollars to go see it and there is a slight chance that someone who does really like it might just notice the soundtrack.

I think that she has more to gain by the addition to her CV and the connections with people in the industry she has made by doing this soundtrack. I don't think that it can hurt for Hayley to veer off the straight and narrow occassionally -- I personally think that it's pretty cool that Hayley is involved in such a fun movie!