Franco Micalizzi OST Stridulum (The Visitor)

This is the masterful score that Italian composer Franco Micalizzi created for the 1979 Sci-fi horror film Stridulum (aka. The Visitor). The Giulio Paradisi film featured a star-studded cast including Mel Ferrer, John Huston, and Shelley Winters. Although it wasn’t as commercially successful as expected at the time, its unique subject matter and expressive style eventually attracted a cult following. While Micalizzi is better known for his ‘Poliziotteschi’ flic scores and collaborations with director Umberto Lenzi, his trademark sound is unmistakably present on Stridulum with its visually evocative, engaging, and spacey take on funk. The film’s commercial performance aside, all this is enough to make Stridulum one of Micalizzi’s most captivating, if eccentric, works. Packed with great tracks such as the film’s main theme, the multiple variations on the ‘Sadness Theme’, and the standout sci-fi disco-funk of ‘Jerzy Again’, the Stridulum score offers plenty in the way of listening enjoyment. The present re-issue features the original artwork from the 1979 first pressing, along with bonus tracks including 7 alternate tracks and outtakes.