Sorry, I might be a presumptive hater, but Twilight can’t even compare to the sheer brilliance of this little seen Swedish vampire flick, Let the Right One In.
To a genre already filled to the brim with stupid entries such as Queen of the Damned and Dracula 2000, Let the Right One In is a revelation and adds a fresh spin on the tired theme of blood thirsty night-dwellers.
Instead of excessive blood and gore, we get tamed blood and gore with sentiment, depth, and romance (yes, it’s a love story.)
Oskar is an innocent 12 year old boy living in a tenement in suburban Stockholm with his mother. During the day, he is scorned and bullied.
At night, he lallygags around the building’s jungle gym without any source of companionship. That is until Eli, a mysterious girl of the same age, moves in next door with her “father.” Oskar and she begin to bond, escalating into a premature romance.
However, Eli continues to be an enigma to Oskar as he inquisitively questions why she only comes out at night, smells funky half the time, and comes just around the time as various murders plague the suburb. His questions are soon answered when the true nature of Eli is revealed: she is a vampire.
Tomas Alfredson, the director of Let the Right One In, has created a bewitching gem with the help of cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema.
Executed with eerie meticulousness, the mundane and pallid Blackeberg, the suburb of Stockholm where the film is primarily set, helps to serve as a backdrop for characterizing the lifeless appearance of vampires.
Lina Leandersson, who plays Eli, the sole vampire, is a find. She is disarming to a fault, but embodies the murderous nature of her character with daunting believability. The viewer is made to sympathize with Eli rather than detest the vampire-girl as her addiction to blood stains her innocence.
The remake for Let the Right One In has already been set in motion for a 2009 Release. So, before Hollywood warps this beautifully spun tale into something unnecessary, go see it.
Let the Right One In is a ten on the Richter Scale and whichever Hollywood studio decides to govern the remake, well, you’re going to fall flat on your butt.