5 SPOT: Underrated and Overlooked Film Scores

Crash (1996)

Howard Shore - "Crash"

Undoubtedly the biggest name on this list is Howard Shore, whose compositions have graced myriad films such as Best Picture winner Spotlight, Silence of the Lambs, That Thing You Do!, the entire Lord of the Rings franchise and several others. Of the directors he’s worked with, he remains most loyal to David Cronenberg, and one of his most interesting takes on a project of his was that of 1996’s Crash. The film tackles the strangest of subjects, fitting in perfectly with the rest of Cronenberg’s repertoire: James Spader plays a Hollywood filmmaker who finds himself thrown into a curious sector in the underbelly of the city that gives a new meaning to the word “autoerotic.” To match the wormy, visceral story in which these characters seek carnal pleasure in the aftermath of car crashes, Shore constructs a score comprised mostly of dueling clean-toned electric guitars, just as sexy and dangerous as Crash itself.