Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In - Written and directed by Tomas Alfredson - Rated R

Call this Twilight for adults, or don't, since I've read a few message board entries complaining about the comparison. Like it or not, the best way to describe this movie is in comparison to Twilight. It's about a young Swedish boy who is bullied at school. He dreams of a violent revenge on his mean classmates and a new neighbor, who happens to be a teen vampire, befriends him. I've never read any of the Twilight books and I have no plan to watch the hit movie, so I'm not sure if there's any similarities to this past the fact that it involves a young person as a vampire. It's close enough for me to quickly explain what this movie is like, though.

That said, this is not family friendly stuff. There is a decent amount of blood spilled (and drained) and there are a few gory sequences. It's not gratuitous at all, though. This is not a film that revels in blood, but when you deal with vampires, you need to have it. That doesn't mean it can't be handled well, though. For instance, there is an amazing and brutal fall in this movie. Remember in Titanic, when that guy falls and hits the propeller on the way down? This tops that. I had to scan back a couple times to see if I could spot a CG effect...I couldn't. And the make up effects for just one deformed character put the CG of Two Face in The Dark Knight to shame. The deformed guy in this film truly looks miserable and in pain; Two Face looked okay I guess, but I was very aware of the CG.

This movie is not all about the shock of violence and gore, though. There's actually very little of it, but I wanted to point out how well it was done first. But I don't want to get too deep into the story, though because, aside from the inclusion of a vampire, it isn't very original. This is very much your basic bully/revenge story. Of course, the vampire aspect makes it much more interesting, but it's still nothing to go on about. Also, anyone hoping for a lot of vampire lore/origin stuff will be disappointed. There are a few things, like the title itself referencing the idea that a vampire must be invited into a home (it's also from a Morrisey song), but it doesn't delve too deeply into it. This really shouldn't be called a vampire movie at all. It's a movie with a vampire in it. It's certainly worth a watch, though I don't think it was one of the best films from lat year (as some critics do). If for no other reason, you should watch it so you can claim the original is better when the American remake comes out in January. That is not a joke, it is in development with the new title: Let Me In. Hundred bucks says the gore and violence is tripled in the new version.

One more thing: The DVD offers the original Swedish audio track or an English dub. I thought the dub was awful, but if you just hate subtitles, it should get the job done for you.

Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

Last updated: 2010-05-10 23:49:44 by user06

Let The Right One In: Heart Shaped Box

Oskar’s troubled life is like Rubik’s cube, its many permutations seemingly unsolvable until he befriends Eli who bleeds tender mercy…and violent hunger. Director Tomas Alfredson crafts a gentle coming of age story tinged with archaic bloodletting, as Oskar and Eli slowly form a mutual bond of trust and love, both outcasts who haunt the periphery of reality’s penumbra. Their relationship builds slowly while we experience a few gruesome murders: young men captured and bled like cattle, the thick rush of life force collected into a plastic container.

A rip current of angst and mischievous horror lurk just below the surface tension, as we discover our dark eyed heroine stalking a darkened underpass, feeding upon unwary strangers and spreading her infection. Eli is in the care of a sadistic father figure: though never explained, there seems to be some incestuous affair as he murders to quench her cursed hunger. Oskar is being bullied at school, and it’s Eli whose reserved passion gives him strength to finally take a stand, to fight back and no longer become victimized. But this tangled web of horror begins to unravel as the neighbors discover Eli’s freakish secret, and together Oskar and Eli must escape to a new life…or undeath.

This is a beautifully shot film that relies on characterization and pacing without need to resort to CGI or flash-cut editing: the few images of horror are quite shocking and the true fear is in the soft animal sound of Eli’s growling thirst and her struggle to master this supernatural instinct. The mystery deepens in the depths of a swimming pool: suspended in his watery grave and lungs slowly filling with certain death, a ripple of salvation lifts him back into life. Oskar has finally found his niche, and carries his love in a heart shaped box to an unknown destination…towards a better (a certainly bloodier) future. Final Grade: (B+)

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Recommendations: The Birds, Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960), Funny Games

All reviews copyright Korova, Ltd. Visit Alex at his Home Theatre Blog, http://korovatheatrepresents.blogspot.com/

Movie Review: Let the Right One In (2008)

Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) is a 2008 Swedish film that was released to much critical acclaim, won a bunch of awards, and has attracted a cult following.  I am usually somewhat wary of such foreign films because they do tend to get over-hyped, but thankfully, this one is entirely worthy of the praise.

Without giving too much away, Let the Right One In tells the story of Oskar, a bullied young boy living in the suburbs of Stockholm in 1982, and Eli, a mysterious, pale young girl who moves in next door with her father.  The film is an unconventional horror-romance - where the horror is genuinely creepy and frightening, and the romance is heartfelt and strangely, sweet.

Directed by Thomas Alfredson and based on the best-selling book by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In is freakishly atmospheric.  It must be a combination of setting the film in the beautiful,  icy-cold Swedish winter and the finely-paced direction of Alfredson, who shows you just enough blood and gore to get your heart racing without making it seem gratuitous.

Many have said that Let the Right One In is Sweden's answer to Twilight - well, that's a bit of an insult to the former.  Don't get me wrong, I quite like Twilight, but Let the Right One In one of those rare horror gems capable of lingering in your mind even years down the track.  There are numerous scenes in the film (and one in particular) where the imagery has been etched onto
my brain forever.

4.5 stars out of 5!

[PS: Sadly, the film is being remade by Hollywood as 'Let Me In'.  It will be directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and the setting will be moved to a small New Mexico town.  Oskar will be renamed Owen and will be played by Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road).  I sincerely hope it will be good.]

PJM

Last updated: 2010-01-23 23:12:52 by pacejmiller