Thanks to Jessica Stan for sending this one in to be reviewed.
Now I’ve mentioned in earlier reviews that I’m a longtime admirer of composer Naoki Sato. His scores for Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007) and especially Space Battleship Yamato (2010) remain among my favorite Toho soundtracks. In my review of Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura – Original Soundtrack (VPCD-81995) I noted that my enthusiasm for his recent work had cooled somewhat, but in hindsight that might have been a little unfair. Even if he’s no longer knocking out grand slams as consistently as he did in the mid-to-late 2000s, I still look forward to each new score he composes, knowing at the very least there will be a few standout tracks.
Which brings me, after that long lead-in, to this particular score written for the 2019 crime film about undercover detectives hunting a serial killer. I kept running into this soundtrack on various streaming platforms whenever my playlists shuffled, probably because Sato also composed the score for Godzilla Minus One (2023). Recalling Jessica had actually sent this in for review quite a while back (I’m a horrible procrastinator), it finally pushed me to give it a proper listen. So how does it fare? One pleasant surprise is just how much stylistic range the score offers: whimsical pieces, eerie cues and some full-on action. Unfortunately, at only 47 minutes, the album is fairly short, and a bit of mild repetition makes it feel even shorter when looped.
Starting off, the "Main Title", which is essentially mirrored later in the "End Title", is a whimsical cue with a slight edge. Odd as it may sound, it’s the kind of thing you could easily imagine accompanying a tongue-in-cheek ballroom murder scene. It’s one of the stronger tracks on the album. The “End Title” adds an accordion, which gives it a sillier vibe and, frankly, makes it a little weaker than the main version.
Another standout theme here is "Room 508," the album’s primary action motif and a nice showcase of Sato’s talent for frantic, high-energy writing. “X4” is also a highlight, shifting between epic and faintly eerie tones. Similarly, "Albi" swings from tense to frantic and works well on its own. To show the score’s full range, there’s also the gentle, piano-led "The Perfect Plan," which offers a soothing contrast.
Sadly it’s not all roses here. Tracks like "Serial Murder Cases," "New Facts" and "Five Rooms" are serviceable but repetitive. Under normal circumstances that wouldn’t be much of an issue, but since the "Main Title" and "End Title" echo each other so closely and the album is already short it amplifies the sense of repetition more than the material deserves. That’s a shame, because Sato does weave a fairly wide array of motifs throughout the score beyond the recurring main theme.
"Serial Murder Cases", "New Facts" and "Five Rooms" are all okay tracks, but very repetitive. While that might not sound too bad, given that the “Main Title” and "End Title" are so similar and this is a shorter soundtrack, it leaves a sensation of the score in general being more repetitive than it really is. That’s particularly unfortunate as Sato here has a variety of different motifs, outside of repeating the "Main Title".
Overall, I’d still classify this as another strong soundtrack from Sato. It’s not among his very best, but it contains a couple of themes I’d happily include in a "Best Of" compilation of his work. Considering the number of great themes he’s written too, I’d say that’s high praise in my book. |
