Hans Zimmer veers sharply away from his signature blockbuster formula with
The Pledge, creating an atmospheric and darkly intimate score with legitimate nuance taking the place of the composer's patented sledgehammer subtlety. The music never resorts to bombast, instead embracing old-fashioned virtues like texture and pacing to create palpable mystery and tension --
Zimmer forgoes large-scale arrangements in favor of starkly simple instrumentation, bolstered by melancholy electronics that combine with guitars, piano, and violins to create a dreamlike otherness that gradually gives way to nightmarish suspense. ~ Jason Ankeny