But as a recreation of the sheer visceral horror of totalitarianism, a hideous spectacle of tyrannical power unchecked, it is difficult to fault.

"[11] Nick James Scavo of Tiny Mix Tapes also assigned four stars, saying "It's the power and presence of Walker's flawed, pseudo-totalist music that picks at this sore historical moment, speculating its resiliency, foretelling both childhood and fascism to be ghostly political precodes, a fierce explication of their overlap.

"[14] Ed Nash of The Line of Best Fit gave 8/10 and wrote "Scott Walker is more interested in moving forward than looking back and with the soundtrack to The Childhood of a Leader his music is as unique as ever.

"[16] Adam Turner-Heffer of Drowned in Sound gave 7/10 and described it as "an impressive work but sans context, it largely will pass a casual listener by as merely a moody and atmospheric soundtrack without much for them to sink their teeth into.

[18] Donald Clarke of The Irish Times called it "MVP" of the film,[19] while Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described it as an "almost Herrmann-esque orchestral score from Scott Walker.

[22] Calling it as a "thundering" score, critic based at The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Scott Walker's music is always original, even if it tends to be used in an orgy of symphonic excess.