Elfman has found inspiration in the work of Tim Burton, and it's disappointing that he didn't find the same sort of directorial companion in Peter Jackson, an artist whose cinematic vision is just as powerful as Burton's but is less self-consciously defined. The score for The Frighteners sounds to my ear like uninspired Elfman; from the harps to the trumpet hits to the choir, it sounds like the composer is rehashing his previous scores as a warmup for his work in Sleepy Hollow. Perhaps it's the film's relative lack of depth that resulted in a score that reflects the same. Like the film, Elfman's music shows emotion, excitement, and characterization. Unlike the film, the score doesn't feel original.