"Runner Runner" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Runner Runner (Original Motion Picture Score & Songs)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What does a high-roller fairy tale sound like when the house always wins? Runner Runner (2013) answers with glossy club cuts, Latin hip-hop swagger, and a lean, propulsive score by Christophe Beck that tilts from seduction to threat. The music paints offshore luxury in neon — and then lets the sub-bass drop out when the con turns on its mark.

The arc — arrival → adaptation → rebellion → collapse — plays in the soundtrack’s textures: lounge-cool and EDM in the recruiting phase; Afro-Latin and alt-rock as the stakes rise; then Beck’s tight motifs (strings, pulses, low percussion) when the FBI closes in and the boss stops smiling.

Distinctives: a compact 19-cue album that reads like scene headers (“The House Always Wins,” “Like Father, Like Son,” “Agent Shavers”), plus scene-specific source tracks (deadmau5, Foals, Control Machete, ChocQuibTown, Ozomatli) that keep Costa Rica’s party veneer humming while the plot sharpens underneath.

Genres & themes in phases: EDM & electro-lounge — seduction; Latin hip-hop & cumbia/funk — access; modern score ostinatos — pressure; alt-rock catharsis — consequence.

How It Was Made

Beck’s score favors short, nervy cues: pulsing synth layers, clipped strings, and rhythm beds that accelerate without shouting. Lakeshore Records released the score in late September/October 2013 as a 19-track digital album, sequenced to follow the film’s night-long escalation.

Music department credits include a supervising music consultant and a compact team of score mixers, coordinators, and contractors; the sound stays tight and glassy, leaving room for carefully chosen diegetic songs in clubs, pool decks, and bars. According to label/store listings, cue titles all but storyboard the movie, making the album a quick way to re-run the plot in your head.

Tracks & Scenes

“Runner Runner” — Christophe Beck
Where it plays: Opening throttle as Richie (Justin Timberlake) sizes up risk; a clean synth motif starts the clock.
Why it matters: Establishes the film’s heartbeat — glassy confidence with dread underneath.

“Strobe” — deadmau5
Where it plays: Party ambience while Richie first “clicks” with Ivan (Ben Affleck) at the compound; a slow-evolving trance glow over quiet power moves.
Why it matters: The pitch doesn’t need words — the room sells the dream.

“Uh La La” — ChocQuibTown
Where it plays: Costa Rica club sequence: VIP ropes, bottle service, Richie absorbing his new access.
Why it matters: Afro-Pacific swagger that makes the hustle feel like culture, not crime.

“Si Señor” — Control Machete
Where it plays: Post-win adrenaline at the house craps table; beats match the dice, cheers, quick cuts.
Why it matters: A cocky strut to match Richie’s first taste of house-money life.

“Dejala Corre” — Banda Los Hijos de la Niña Luz
Where it plays: After a pickup basketball game on the beach, the music spills into a sun-burned hang — jokes, quick bonds, and a camera that lingers.
Why it matters: Human scale amid the toys; the island breathes.

“Donde Se Fueron” — Ozomatli feat. Chali 2na, Alex Acuña & Dave Ralicke
Where it plays: Girls board Richie’s boat with a client; big grins, bigger front.
Why it matters: Festive brass masking transactional vibes.

“La Reja (Nickodemus Remix)” — Ocote Soul Sounds
Where it plays: Richie and Rebecca’s celebratory dance after his cash bonus; bar lights smear into a private moment.
Why it matters: A joyful loop right before the screws turn.

“El Tren” — Natalia Clavier
Where it plays: Quiet, intimate scene for Richie and Rebecca; the party retreating behind closed doors.
Why it matters: Softens the film’s edges; a reminder of why people fall for bad ideas.

“Fn Pig” — deadmau5
Where it plays: High-gloss tech/work montage; emails, transfers, the machine humming faster than Richie can think.
Why it matters: Momentum with menace; success feels like a trap.

“We Fall Down” — ASTR
Where it plays: Night-drive connective tissue while loyalties bend; cool detachment over warming danger.
Why it matters: The lyric hints at the comedown baked into the ascent.

“Inhaler” — Foals
Where it plays: End credits; a rasping, stop-start riff under the aftermath.
Why it matters: Catharsis without celebration — a fitting exit.

“The House Always Wins” — Christophe Beck
Where it plays: Ivan’s power explained and enforced; strings press, synths flicker like security monitors.
Why it matters: Theme-as-rulebook; the title says it all.

“Agent Shavers” — Christophe Beck
Where it plays: The FBI squeeze (Anthony Mackie) tightens; terse rhythms, lean orchestration.
Why it matters: Law isn’t louder than crime here — just sharper.

“Like Father, Like Son” — Christophe Beck
Where it plays: Richie’s personal ghosts surface; harmony narrows, pulse slows, the smartest cue doesn’t overplay it.
Why it matters: Stakes > stakes; it’s not just money.

Notes & Trivia

• Composer: Christophe Beck; the digital score album runs 19 tracks and ~41 minutes.
• Label: Lakeshore Records handled the 2013 release.
• End-credits pick: Foals’ “Inhaler” gives the film a rock exit instead of a triumphal swell.
• EDM backbone: deadmau5 cues (“Strobe,” “Fn Pig”) anchor the luxe-tech vibe in several party/work beats.
• Latin heat: Control Machete, ChocQuibTown, Ozomatli & friends provide the most memorable in-world jams.

Music–Story Links

When Richie tastes Ivan’s world, sleek EDM does the talking — sound as access card. As the relationship curdles, Beck’s cues tighten the frame: phrases shorten, pulses strap to the picture edit, and track titles read like warnings. Latin and Afro-Latin placements aren’t wallpaper; they frame who owns the room in any given scene (host vs. guest). By the credits, Foals’ crunch is a release valve, not a victory lap.

Reception & Quotes

Reviews for the film were chilly, but the music’s split personality — club polish + taut score — drew steady “fits-the-world” notes. Trade credit pages spotlight the compact music team and Beck’s cue design; the retail album makes that design easy to hear front-to-back.

“Glass-slick surfaces with a nervous engine underneath.” Album capsule

“The songs sell the sizzle; Beck sells the danger.” Score note

Interesting Facts

• Title cards as tracks: the score’s cue names (“The House Always Wins,” “Agent Shavers”) track scene beats almost literally.
• One-sitting listen: at ~41 minutes, the score album plays like a compact thriller without dialogue.
• Global flavor, local stakes: Spanish-language cuts are scene-specific — parties, bars, beach pickup games — so they read as diegetic world-building.
• Song not on the score: the Foals end-credit track isn’t on Lakeshore’s score album (it’s a separate master).
• Composer continuity: Beck’s sleek crime-thriller language here foreshadows later “precision pulse” work across studio fare.

Technical Info

• Title: Runner Runner — Original Motion Picture Score (plus on-screen songs)
• Year: 2013
• Type: Score by Christophe Beck + licensed songs (EDM/Latin/alt-rock)
• Label (score): Lakeshore Records; 19 cues; ~41 min
• Representative score cues: “Runner Runner,” “The House Always Wins,” “Abduction,” “Agent Shavers,” “Like Father, Like Son”
• Representative songs (film): deadmau5 — “Strobe,” “Fn Pig”; Foals — “Inhaler”; Control Machete — “Si Señor”; ChocQuibTown — “Uh La La”; Ozomatli/Chali 2na — “Donde Se Fueron”; Ocote Soul Sounds — “La Reja (Nickodemus Remix)”; Natalia Clavier — “El Tren”; ASTR — “We Fall Down”
• Availability: Score streaming on major services; songs distributed on artist releases/compilations.

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score?

Christophe Beck, in a tight, pulse-driven mode that mirrors the film’s hustle.

What label released the score album?

Lakeshore Records handled the 2013 digital release (19 tracks, ~41 minutes).

Which song plays over the end credits?

“Inhaler” by Foals.

What are the big EDM cues in the movie?

deadmau5’s “Strobe” and “Fn Pig” anchor key party/work sequences.

Are the songs on the score album?

No — the Lakeshore album is Beck’s score; the licensed songs appear in the film only.

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Apple Music/Spotify score listings; Lakeshore/Discogs release details; Soundtrakd & SoundtrackRadar scene-by-scene song notes; Metacritic credit roll for music department; film credits; official trailers.

November, 19th 2025