David Julyan's music for "The Prestige" offers a mysterious and dark journey to listeners.  The only catch is that you have to be a fan of horror style underscores to really appreciate the work here.

 

From the very outset, Julyan brings forth an undercurrent of mystery and atmosphere to the music.  There is no true emotion that I took away from the music other than that of dread.  It's as if the entire score was constructed to paint a dark mood behind the scenes.  If that's the case, than this is a very effective delivery of that.

If there are any moments in which the human emotions are captured in the music, it's very subtle and can hardly be detected.  There is a slight glimmer of hope all the way down on Track 15, "The Price of a Good Trick," but that too is overcome by score's atmosphere and doesn't take the listener into any new places.

Quite frankly, I don't know what type of audience is out there for music of this venue, but it's hard to imagine sitting around listening to this one for sheer enjoyment.  I guess it's a nod to the composer that the music put me in an uneasy mood after hearing this one out!  Certainly, on the basis of capturing an atmosphere or mood, Julyan succeed, but in the end, this will be a score that will appeal only to a very small minority of soundtrack enthusiasts.

Final Score: Dark, brooding music is the style at hand with "The Prestige," which makes for an extremely complicated and taxing listening experience.  Venture forth with this one only if you are an extreme horror fan who loves unsettling underscore.