Plaza Mayor Company Ltd present Vito Lo Re's original score for L'uomo Del Labirinto (Into the Labyrinth). The film tells the story of Samanta who’s abducted on the way to school by a giant rabbit. Fifteen years later, she’s in hospital, in shock but alive. With the help of Doctor Green she is trying to remember what happened to her. Together, they negotiate Samantha’s memories of the labyrinth, an underground prison, apparently with no way out, in which someone forced the young woman to play games and solve riddles and puzzles, rewarding her successes and punishing her failures...

Composer Vito Lo Re's original score for L'uomo Del Labirinto (Into the Labyrinth) is one that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It steers away from the cliches and delivers a wonderfully rich and diverse collection of themes. It's one that you'll not only want to spend a great deal of time getting to know, but it's essential that you do just that in order to peel back the many layers in order to really get to know the music.

It's part horror, part mystery... but just when you think you've worked out the musical direction (don't bother trying - you never will) Lo Re throws a curve ball like 'The Picture', which incorporates a brief, yet beautiful operatic solo, while 'Bunny's Lair' has elements of Bernard Herrmann's score for Vertigo.

Tracks like 'The Monster Room' build beautifully, delivering a wonderful theme that keeps the tension escalating. It also has a Bond-esque (John Barry) feeling - as does the following track, 'Escaping from the Labyrinth'.

'Into the Labyrinth' reminded me of the work of Christopher Young - most notably for Hellraiser and The Fly II.

Talking about his score, Lo Re said: "I used several synthesizers together with the orchestra, particularly to draw out the mystery of the labyrinth. The labyrinth is cold, wet and frightening. Electronic sounds are perfect to express these features. But when we need to convey not a situation but a character, there is still nothing better than the dear, old orchestra. No sample can do the same."

Overall, this is a rich and varied score that will grow on you the more times you listen to it.

10

Darren Rea