Music Review: Sideshow Sound Theater Presents FOOLISH MORTALS

Welcome witches and warlocks,

Today I will be reviewing the soundtrack for the feature documentary, FOOLISH MORTALS(2017), by Sideshow Sound Theater.

Allow me to set aside the soundtrack a moment to provide a bit of background. For those who do not know, FOOLISH MORTALS is a documentary about the fan culture that has sprung up around the Disney attraction The Haunted Mansion. People in this community have become famous for collecting memorabilia, making costumes based on the characters, or building recreations of their favorite scenes in their own house. In a way this is a sort of, “Inspired by” fan base that this documentary seeks to examine.

In many ways, the score follows a similar tactic of having an “Inspired by” sound. Along our auditory odyssey we are treated to tunes that feel like the works of Danny Elfman, with a dash of The Munsters, and some Haunted Mansion-esque tunes mixed in for good measure. I will admit, I found it rather fun trying to place the various influences on the score. Taken all together it is a wonderful concoction that feels very appropriate for the subject matter.

Now that is not to say that this entire soundtrack seeks to emulate the works of others as there are completely original tunes along the way. One of the standouts for me was The Music Box Souvenir Shop which felt familiar because of its sound, but also seemed wholly its own beast. Tracks like this showed the strength of the musicians work as it was able to stand completely on its own two feet.

All in all, there was a dark whimsy to the compositions which perfectly captured the feel of riding on The Haunted Mansion without ever retreading the same ground. I can easily imagine some of these tracks making an appearance at home haunts or regional haunted houses in the years to come. Fans of the works of Danny Elfman or just The Haunted Mansion in general should definitely give this a listen.

The FOOLISH MORTAL‘s soundtrack is now available to download HERE.