June 8, 2021
Composers Chris Ridenhour, Christopher Cano, & Mikel Shane Prather Bring Musical Life to The Asylum’s AQUARIUM OF THE DEAD
– Randall D. Larson
Premiering on Amazon Prime last May 21st AQUARIUM OF THE DEAD is the latest audacious fear feature from The Asylum, the B-movie studio best known for the SHARKNADO films and the Syfy original series Z NATION, plus all manner of shark-related and zombie-related horror-comedy films. The film is the third animal-related zombie film in director Glenn Miller’s Zoombies trilogy that began with ZOOMBIES (2016) and continued with ZOOMBIES 2 (2019) (The new film has a verbal tie-in with the Eden Zoo, fictional location of both ZOOMBIES movies).
The film stars Vivica A. Fox, D.C. Douglas, Erica Duke, and Eva Ceja as aquarium workers trapped in lockdown after a scientific accident causes sea creatures in the aquarium to become raging zombie animals. Despite its imperfections, writes Paul Lê in a review at the bloodydisgusting website, “something as hurriedly made as AQUARIUM OF THE DEAD still manages to wring out a smidge of perfunctory entertainment for avid B-movie fans. Come for the premise; stay for the zombie walrus.”
The film is scored by Chris Ridenhour and Christopher Cano, Asylum’s go-to composers since 2007, along with Mikel Shane Prather who joined the team in 2016. Their score really enlivens The Asylum’s generously over-the-top storyline and gives the film the kind of dramatic energy that enhances the suspense and CGI-laden zombie-sea life attacks that are central to the film’s overblown storyline while aiding its fast pace. Cano also supplied the end title rock song “Into The Sun,” which is performed by him and Michelle Aragon, a long-time vocalist and playback singer for The Asylum and other studios (she’s also the vocalist for Siva Noir and featured vocalist for Swappers Eleven).
Ridenhour and Cano have recently scored Fred Olen Ray’s thriller THE KILLER IN MY BACKYARD, set for release on June 17th via Hybrid, and are scheduled to score The Asylum’s MEGA SHARK VS. MOBY DICK, currently classified as “upcoming.” Prather recently scored The Asylum’s mockbuster APE VS. MONSTER (2021) and MarVista’s thriller SECRETS ON SORORITY ROW (2021), and will score The Asylum’s upcoming war movie THE REBELS OF PT-218, currently listed as in post-production.
See Related Story: The Musique Fantastique SHARKNADO Score Retrospective (August 2018)
Watch the AQUARIUM OF THE DEAD trailer:
