Saban Films releases features in every genre, but it’s their action/thrillers that are garnering the most attention at the moment. Earlier this year they released Freddie Highmore’s The Vault and more recently they released Josh Hartnett’s Ida Red and Last Man Down starring Daniel Stisen. The trailer for Last Man Down reads: “When Civilization Falls, Only the Strong Survive”, the strong being John Wood (played by Stisen), who is very reminiscent of Schwarzenegger in the great action films such as Predator and Commando. What would a good action movie be without a big action score to accompany it? We decided to speak to composer Alexander Arntzen about this very subject, he is the composer of Last Man Down. Read the full interview below. *You can listen to Alexander’s Last Man Down score here.
Talk about your Last Man Down score. How would you describe the tone of the score?
AA: I think the overall tone of the score is fairly dark, epic, & high energy. From the first moments the score takes control of the pacing of the film and doesn’t let go till the end. It has a certain level of dread that almost sounds like a horror film, but still predominantly an action Score at heart.
Last Man Down takes place after civilization succumbs to a deadly pandemic. Was this movie made before or after the pandemic? Was it eerie to score the film when this was pretty much happening in real life?
AA: This movie was actually made smack dab right in the middle of the pandemic! Sweden was the only country at the time that hadn’t done a full lockdown. So everyone involved either came from there or came in from out of country to shoot the film over 28 days in 2 different parts from what I was told. There certainly was an odd feeling working on something so close to home with what was going on at the time, but in this movie, the virus is left to be a little more open ended and mysterious as to its exact nature.
Last Man Down looks like an action film similar to ones with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone from the 90s and early 2000s. Did you go back and watch any of these films to get inspiration?
AA: It absolutely does! It was temped with some of those scores as well for guidance. However, I think Fansu (the Director) didn’t want me to get too bogged down in total emulation of those scores. The film does a great job already of giving you that classic throwback vibe and structure. The score itself only occasionally has hints at the 80s and 90s with certain synths I chose. I really tried to make a score that was as modern as possible, while still harkening back to some of those classic movies with traditional “Good Guy” & “Bad Guy” themes as well but with a modern sound.
You got to do a new version of “In the Hall of the Mountain King” for the film. Can you tell us how you put your own spin on this?
AA: Yes! I pitched the idea and Fansu was totally on board to try it out in one of the big shoot out scenes that seemed to work well with the pacing. I know there’s been other successful renditions of the piece in The Social Network, and even in Rap tracks over the years. I just thought, what would it sound like in an Action movie? I purposefully did a slow burn in building up to actually quoting the main theme that everyone knows. I vamp the progression using drums beats and a pulsating synth bass and a string ostinato that has been used throughout the film to keep the overall sound similar to the score as a whole and kept adding more elements till the final crescendo and then let it rip! I hope people enjoy it as much as I did creating it!
It was recently announced that your Last Man Down score is being released. If you could point to one or two tracks on there that you think best represent your work on the film, which would those be?
AA: Well as your last question asked, I absolutely, think the track, “In the Hall of the Mountain King” was one of the most impactful in the score. The “End Credits” is also a great suite of the main themes as well. But, a 2nd track that’s actually in the film would have to be “End of the Tunnel” which is one of the most robust versions of the “Villain Theme” theme in all its glory!
If someone sat down and listened to all of your film scores, would they hear any commonalities?
AA: I think in the same genre there can be some strong commonalties. I never want to become predictable, but perhaps I am slowly developing some sort of “sound” or “vibe” that could be recognizable. I am a piano player principle, so when a score calls for it, that kind of sound is very prevalent and the way I play piano is kind of particular in style. But, I have been told by people over the years that they are sometimes surprised when they hear my work in a genre they are not used to that it doesn’t sound like the same composer. I do like to be a bit of a chameleon and am always expanding my sound palette.
What sorts of projects do you see yourself working on in 5 years?
AA: I would hope to see myself scoring various features ranging from Action like this, to Fantasy, Sci-Fi, & other genre bending films that allow music to have an interesting premise to create a unique score around. Also, would love to work more in TV as I just find the space a fantastic way to really develop the themes of the project over a much longer period of time which sounds like an exciting challenge!
Another one of your recent horror film scores got a lot of attention, Initiation. What are you most proud of with that film?
AA: I think what I am most proud of is that pretty much the whole creative team that did the short film of it, “Dembanger”, all came back and worked on the feature as well. Growing with your fellow creative collaborators is such an important thing to me. This business is already so tough, so when you can find like-minded, passionate, and talented individuals, you want to hold on to them and and learn together and succeed together as you progress through the years.
You worked with Danny Elfman on “Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton“. Do you have a favorite Danny Elfman score?
AA: I did! That was an amazing summer. My very first score that I had to transcribe was the Overture to “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. I would have to say that might be my favorite. Otherwise, the Batman theme might take the cake. So iconic, especially in the animated TV series when I was growing up hearing it every day.
When you first started out you interned with Hans Zimmer. Was there something you learned from him that has always stuck with you?
AA: One big thing that I learned was that it’s not enough to just write a great tune. A major part of it is creating a score that matches the picture itself. We’re not just writing music. We’re writing it to the film itself. It should be connected fully by what sound palette we use to match the visual choices the DP made when shooting it as well. If you can combine both parts together, now you’re really making something amazing!