Let the Right One In review

What is Let the Right One In?

Jon: It’s a Swedish art-house vampire film directed by Tomas Alfredson that follows a lonely, bullied young boy named Oskar, who has a new neighbor. He’s a twelve year old named Eli that lives with her older guardian, and they are mostly night people. Soon, Oskar and Eli befriend each other, leading to Oskar’s conclusion; Eli is a vampire. The film tackles the vampire mythology in such a startling new way that Alfedson has created a genre-defying film.

Donny: Let the Right One In is the most original vampire movie to grace the silver screen in quite a long time.  Tomas Alfredson, an art-house director turns the vampire genre on its head with an amazing adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s stellar novel.  Graceful storytelling, amazing cinematography, and a beautifully stark landscape are the building blocks used by Alfredson to create a truly intoxicating film. 

How was the film?

Jon: I loved, loved, loved this film! Sometimes when a director outside of the horror genre creates a horror film, the end result is quite horrible. But director Tomas Alfredson treats each aspect of the film as if it was an A-list production and in the end, he has created possibly a new masterpiece. Every vampire cliché is, well, I hate to use the word reinvented, but Let the Right One In sort of puts a new spin on each part of the vampire mythology. The way Eli gets blood is startling simplistic but different at the same time. The relationship between Eli and Oskar is as mature, if not more so than anything I’ve seen this year.

The acting is superb. You’re dealing with mostly young actors, so the success of the story and believability is placed squarely on them. Lina Leandersson is absolutely amazing! Being her first film, there’s no evidence of being green. She completely inhabits Eli, so much so, I’m not sure if she is human. Joking aside, she’s calm, evil, and brilliant. It’s really a fantastic performance that is quite memorable. The boy who plays Oskar handles the task well too. Kare Hedebrant, this being his first film as well, handles the problem of showing Oskar’s inner rage and quite demeanor like a pro. I give all credit to Alfredson for finding these young actors (I heard it took him a year to find them). All of it pays off for the subtle things that might get pass you on first viewing. The nature of homosexuality is never fully brought up, but the actors handle such a controversial element as if it wasn’t there, leaving us with questions which should enhance your pleasure of the film.

The cinematography is excellent as well. From the snow-filled landscapes to the low lit apartment scenes, almost every scene is filmed in a medium shot. He rarely comes in for a close-up. There’s nothing flashy about this vampire film. It isn’t made for mass appeal and consumption. It’s an intelligent, brilliant take on the vampire mythos. Each scene a perfect set-up to the next shot. I don’t know if I would consider the film scary in any way, but the element of creepiness is in every scene, and you won’t soon forget some of the scenes. Crafted as an art film, but bloody enough to satisfy horror fans, Let the Right One In is the best thing to happen to the horror genre this year. I’ll stop gushing and simply recommend going to see as soon as possible. What did you think Donny?

Donny:  I was completely captivated from the first frame to the last.  Alfredson created a beautiful film that continues to haunt my memories days after watching it.  Like Jon said this film doesn’t copy genre conventions it defines them, and in doing so it creates a new world for the vampire to inhabit.  Instead of the standard blood-sucker flick Alfredson decided to create a film that deals with loneliness, loss, fear, revenge, and love while still offering up enough of the red stuff to keep the average horror fan satisfied. 

When I first heard about this film I was worried that it would turn out to be a subtitled movie of the week, mainly because children were at the heart of the story.  I love movies that focus on children (Goonies, E.T., Monster Squad), but I wasn’t excited about seeing a serious vampire movie centered on children.  Turns out I didn’t have anything to worry about because Let the Right One In is no movie of the week, in fact it is the best genre movie I’ve seen this year, hell it’s the best horror movie I’ve seen in quite a few years. 

Watching Oskar play with his knife threatening imaginary bullies instantly provided me with a picture of a lonely young man struggling to find his place in a vicious world.  A young man that finds solace in the company of an androgynous twelve year old that has been twelve for a very long time.  These children completely embody these roles.  It’s performances like these that deserve to take home Oscars.  Alfredson is a talented director that knows how to get what he wants out of even the most inexperienced actor, and he understands what it takes to make a beautiful film without sacrificing story in favor of dollar signs. Let the Right One In is more than a killer film, it’s a killer film that deserves to be seen, so if you’re reading this review find the nearest location showing this beautiful film and see it immediately.

What are your feelings on the upcoming US remake?

Donny:  Completely useless. 

Jon: Cloverfield‘s Matt Reeves is helming the remake. I do not know if they are going back to the novel or just doing a scene-for-scene remake. Good luck because they’ll need it. There is a few remake’s next year I’m excited to see, not to sound stereotypical, but I have no desire to see a remake of this film. It’s too perfect already. I can see them missing the point of the subtleness and ramping up the violence (from which the book had plenty of) and being what we call “Hollywoodized”. Do yourself a huge, gigantic favor and learn to enjoy films with subtitles because in the case of Let the Right One In, you could be missing a masterpiece if you’re afraid of subtitles.

Grade?

Jon: **** ½

Donny: *****

Rating: