Let the Right One In – OST

Posted on February 2, 2016 by emmakwall

Let the Right One In – soundtrack review

I finally found a second-hand copy of this soundtrack just before Christmas – I had been looking for one for YEARS (not kidding) as it’s not an easy one to buy unless you’re willing to pay mega bucks. Now I was willing to pay mega bucks, but my bank balance wasn’t.

I first realised it was an ‘interesting’ soundtrack when I saw it on Amazon – brand new – for £350. The price has shifted around since then, see below for today’s second-hand prices – but always been fairly high.

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High for a fucking compact disc anyway! And certainly higher than is realistically reasonable for music I can listen to on Spotify and YouTube when I have rent to pay.

But still – I really, really wanted it. In fact I LONGED for it. And further investigation on its Wikipedia page showed that only 500 copies of the actual CD were ever released. Like loads of soundtracks it was available in crappy and weird and too-techno-for-me-unless-its-for-my-mobile-ringtone MP3 format but hard copies were alas, limited. Well some of us still live in the stone age (circa 1997) and enjoy buying CDs. Plus I’ve accumulated a pretty cool soundtrack collection by now. And I damn well wanted it.

So in December I was browsing online music shops for soundtracks (like I often do) and low and bloody behold, I spied a second-hand copy (described as being in ‘excellent condition’) for sale for £6.99. I can only assume this particular shop never bothered to check the value and of course I ordered it – if it wasn’t the real thing nothing major lost.

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When it arrived I had to make sure it was real, but everything checked out. Gosh, will you listen to me! I’m saying that like I’m some kind of ‘expert’ antiques dealer on the History channel – of course really I have no idea what I’m talking about but I managed to look up its bar code, which confirmed it as being a ‘high value’ CD and the inlay and disc itself were printed with details of MovieScore Media – the production company that eventually released the 500 limited copies. It does look good, right?

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Yay! So now I’ve droned on about my exciting time purchasing a CD, I can get to the real nitty gritty – the music. Oh wouldn’t that be nice, if I talked about the music?

Swedish composer Johan Söderqvist wrote the score and it’s performed by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra. Weirdly both had collaborated before on the other Swedish vampire film Frostbiten – it’s kind of like 30 Days of Night, but funny.

Now it must be said that much of this soundtrack is rather bleak sounding but at the same time, it’s so genuinely beautiful that it’s hard to think of it as ‘sad’ music. It’s not uplifting but it’s……what’s that word people use? Achingly – I think that’s it. It’s not uplifting but it’s achingly lovely. Melancholy perhaps. But that non-threatening stage of melancholy we all secretly enjoy.

There is certainly hope in the music – but darkness too. And let’s remember this was written for a horror movie and I’m happy to report that among all the sadness and all the beauty, there are also genuinely frightful scores as well, which – if alone at home without many lights on – are quite scary to listen to.

For example, the track ‘Virginia in Flames’ (ouch) has a very dark and disturbing sound to it. It’s honestly quite scary to listen to – which is perfect, given the nature of the scene. And then there are tracks such as ‘Death of Håkan’ which aren’t as flat out scary sounding, but are very eerie and atmospheric. Spooky.

But my favourite track is (and always has been) ‘Eli’s Theme’. This was the first score from the movie I ever listened to outside of the movie.

It’s sooo very pretty – heartbreaking of course but full of hope and dare I say, some romance. A gorgeous and lovely score which surely has to be written from Oskar’s point of view – and by that I mean it’s not scary in the slightest. Just like Eli.

And the best thing is there are variations of Eli’s Theme throughout the whole film (or album – whatever way you want to look at it). Choosing the same approach as many other composers,  Söderqvist has written his real theme of the movie in this one track – and the rest is built around it.

So, anyway, I will leave you with a thought from the said man himself – Johan Söderqvist. I’ve wittered on for quite long enough. Cool I own it though, right?

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About emmakwall

Films, books, soundtracks, good humour
This entry was posted in Miscellaneous, Soundtracks and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

61 Responses to Let the Right One In – OST

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  1. J. says:
    February 3, 2016 at 18:05

    Bargain! You need to jump up and click the heels together when this type of deal comes along!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Lady Dickson says:
    February 3, 2016 at 16:38

    I suddenly need to see the hell out of this movie.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Zoë says:
    February 3, 2016 at 07:56

    Fucking SCORE!!!!! I was just looking and thinking those prices are outrageous, then saw that only 500 copies were made. Check you out lady! I am sure you are going to enjoy the hell out of it!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff says:
    February 3, 2016 at 02:11

    I love it when you do posts like this Ems, because except fora few instances I don’t pay enough attention to the music. But it really is an integral part of the movie isn’t it? I LOVE Eli’ s theme. It’s truly haunting.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Ryan says:
    February 2, 2016 at 19:14

    That’s awesome, what an great find! Loved the score for this one, too. Have you listened to any of the Crimson Peak score yet? I bet you’ll really like that one (if you haven’t heard it already)!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. vinnieh says:
    February 2, 2016 at 16:40

    It sounds really atmospheric and spooky.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. beetleypete says:
    February 2, 2016 at 16:11

    I was surprised that only 500 copies were ever made, and your dealer sure took his eye off the ball with your one, Em.
    I have a confession though, as usual. I have this film on DVD, and loved its bleakness, and the wonderful performances from the young cast. However, I couldn’t recall a moment of the music, and would never have thought of owning the soundtrack. (Then again, I have no soundtracks at all…) You are definitely the Queen of Soundtracks, (and perhaps of Essex too) and I am with you on CD ownership. Downloads have no nice boxes, no inserts to read, and no decent photographs or graphics to look at. Who needs them!
    As ever, Pete. xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • emmakwall says:
      February 3, 2016 at 14:05

      Aww Pete! What a lovely comment, truly made me smile! Queen of Essex! Hahaha!

      I’m glad you agree re the CD ownership 🙂 and technically they SHOULD last forever so what’s the problem?!! I don’t mind Spotify for at work etc but any album I love, I must buy! On CD!

      I knew you’d love this film, you have great taste. I’m not sure I really noticed the music either in all honesty but for some reason I started listening to Eli’s Theme on youtube and loved that, then I started looking for the CD and found it was expensive etc, the rest is history!

      My next planned soundtrack review is for a score I definitely noticed whilst watching the film 🙂

      Hope you’re well?

      Love, Wobbly Jiggy Em
      xxx

      Like

      Reply
  8. The Telltale Mind says:
    February 2, 2016 at 15:10

    Wow! That was a steal. I also live in the stone age and am a proud member of the club that still has a ton of cds and still burn a few now and then too.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. filmmusiccentral says:
    February 2, 2016 at 13:57

    oh wow, only 500 copies ever made? That’s insane! (But I’m glad you got your hands on a copy), I know the thrill of hunting down a particular soundtrack 🙂 That’s awesome!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • emmakwall says:
      February 2, 2016 at 14:37

      I know!! Thanks for your excitement too, it means a lot 🙂

      I only found out fairly recently about the 500 copies, it certainly made me want it more 🙂

      It’s fun searching isn’t it! Even if it takes years. What are your favourites? 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • filmmusiccentral says:
        February 2, 2016 at 14:40

        mine are my Star Trek soundtracks, my Disney soundtracks (especially Beauty and the Beast) and especially my remastered disc set for Quo Vadis (one of the first Biblical epics from the 1950s). My “holy grail” though would have to be Horner’s soundtrack for Krull, a hard copy of that one is near impossible to get your hands on.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  10. mikeladano says:
    February 2, 2016 at 12:59

    Wow!!! A true rarity! In my world we call these “Holy grail” items. I still need many to get. A copy of Iron Maiden’s Best of the Beast on vinyl for under $300 would be nice.

    Aaron over at the Keepsmealive.wordpress.com Site maintains a list for bloggers to look for Holy grail items such as this. You should check it out! Cheers!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • emmakwall says:
      February 2, 2016 at 14:38

      Thank you so much Mike!!! It is certainly a “Holy grail” item, I like that very much 🙂

      I’ll check out Aaron’s list, thanks Mike. And I promise if I ever stumble over a (cheap!) copy of Best of Beast I’d get it for you!! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • mikeladano says:
        February 2, 2016 at 23:00

        Why thank you! I wish I had bought it when it was brand new, I think it was still expensive (about $150). But now the prices are ridiculous, for copies that aren’t even in good shape. BAH!

        But congratulations on your CD, that’s the kind of story that I have basically built a blog around. LOL!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
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