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| Courtesy of Lakeshore Records |
April Fool’s Day is usually known as a time of fake outs
with wishful thinking, hinting at projects that might’ve been or should/shouldn’t
have been, usually with photoshopped pictures or fan art. In other words, it is a time for jokes about
things that don’t exist. But with the
recently re-released 4K restoration of indie director turned major Hollywood
player Adam Wingard’s 2014 cult masterpiece The Guest, a throwback to
80s neon synth laden scream queen action-horror, the good folks at Lakeshore
Records have with the help of Wingard have dropped something very unexpected
and special on the Spotify app. Much
like Johnny Jewel’s Themes for an Imaginary Film, a compilation of
unreleased tracks created for Nicolas Winding Refn’s film Drive,
Lakeshore Records and Adam Wingard present The Guest II: Original Soundtrack!
Comprised of twelve new tracks including OGRE Sound, Steve
Moore, Ghost Cop and even Wingard himself, the album now on Spotify is an
imagining of what might have been had a sequel to the cult Dan Stevens and
Maika Monroe co-starring sleeper hit gone into production. There’s still time and enough interest is
generating if any investors are listening.
Anyway, The Guest for all of its paeans to The Terminator
and Halloween III: Season of the Witch is best remembered for the
electrifying synth heavy score and collection of sizzling pop tunes. One of the few recent horror films to stoke
the fires of John Carpenter, Brad Fiedel and even shades of Tangerine Dream, The
Guest was both an actor’s movie giving full reign to Dan Stevens to carry
entire scenes by himself as well as a throwback to a particular era of
distinctly American early-80s sci-fi/horror action exploitation.
Whether or not there is an actual planned The Guest sequel
remains to be seen but for now this is an April Fool’s Day treat for fans of
Wingard’s film as well as the new resurgence of electronic keyboard heavy music
evoking notes from a bygone era that have since become the sound of the retro future. Coming out not long after Boy Harsher’s
recent horror/music hybrid The Runner dropped on Shudder, another loving
swim through the musical past and present stages of American horror, The
Guest II soundtrack album is another forward step in similar direction and as
a compilation album kind of a joy to listen to.
After a rough two-and-a-half years, this album is a gift to fans of The
Guest and we at the Movie Sleuth are happy to share a link to this April Fool's present!
--Andrew Kotwicki