Skyline (Soundtrack) by Matthew Margeson - Review

The Sky's Limited
Review by Richard Buxton

As a film score fan, one of the more comforting aspects of film is the fact that no matter the quality of the film, the score can be the saving grace. One can take solace in the idea that a score can be treated as an almost entirely separate entity to a disappointing film. The epitome of this is SKYLINE. The various trailers shown before release suggested a generic but nonetheless exciting alien invasion thriller. The reality of SKYLINE was a disaster from start to finish in all areas apart from the visual effects and score. From the script, to the acting to the direction, SKYLINE offered nothing to general audiences. Thankfully, MATTHEW MARGESON was seemingly detached enough in order to produce an engaging listening experience despite it being made up of largely formulaic ideas.

Despite the efforts of the composers, SKYLINE as a film fails to achieve almost anything it sets out to. Directed by visual effects artists COLIN and GREG STRAUSE, SKYLINE follows the struggles of a group stuck in an apartment in the midst of an alien invasion. What stands out the most is how little actually happens in the film. Rarely do the generic characters venture out of the apartment, and once they do it is only a matter of minutes before they return to the confines of the high-rise. A small budget clearly hinders the use of expansive locations, but with such sparse action providing few thrills, the all-important dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. Films set in such confined circumstances live and die by the writing, and SKYLINE dies a long and painful death from start to finish. Thankfully MARGESON’S compositions generally prove strong enough to be a diversion from the travesty that unfolds onscreen.

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