Let Me In

When I heard that someone was remaking Sweden’s Let The Right One In I had the same reaction as everyone else who has seen it; why? The original movie is so good, it translates well and is only a couple of years old. But since the majority of Americans seldom get a chance to see foreign language films, even if they want to, I guess it is a sound marketing decision. However, the aggravation for us film buffs is that the Americanization of these films so often ruins them. We hate to see a good movie destroyed.
 
To answer our fears, director Matt Reeves appeared at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con. His goal was to show respect for the original material while at the same time-sharing his vision with us. He followed his remarks with a clip from the film and I have to admit, it looked pretty good. Now that I’ve seen the movie I can say with all honesty, he did a remarkable job.
 
Let Me In is a vampire movie, but don’t let that keep you away. If you are turned off by Twilight, True Blood, and the Vampire Diaries, this is completely different. It is more of a relationship drama with kids. Kodi Smit- McPhee (The Road) plays Owen, a twelve year old boy whose parents are getting divorced. Small and slight, he is constantly being bullied at school but keeps it to himself rather than worry his already overwhelmed mother. Unable to deal with her sadness, he spends a lot of his time sitting on the playground in the snow. When he is called in to his room, he likes to spy on his neighbors with a telescope. Owen is an isolated and lonely little boy.

One night Owen spots a mysterious girl who arrives very late to move into the apartment next door. When she appears on his jungle-gym the next evening at first he is disturbed. It has always been his place of solitude and he was loathe to share it. But when he notices that she is barefoot and unaffected by the cold he becomes intrigued by her. Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) appears to be his age and just as lonely as he is, but he is wary. There is something different and strange about her. She informs him that they can’t be friends and he informs her that she smells funny. Despite this inauspicious beginning they become very close. Once Abby can trust him, she tells him her secret, she is a vampire trapped in the body of a twelve year old girl. She must kill in order to survive.

Due to Abby’s small size and the attention she would bring traveling alone, she has a caretaker who does her hunting for her. We know little about this repressed melancholy man. As a father figure Richard Jenkins (Eat Pray Love) protects Abby and tends to her every need. It is a well rehearsed routine that has been going on for ages and she definitely has a hold on him. Every night he leaves with his murder kit and looks for his next kill. He then hides the bodies and conceals them for as long as he can. When the murders are discovered, things will get too hot and they’ll have to move on again. You can tell that this is a pattern that has been going on for a long time.

I know that this sounds like an odd premiss for a movie, but it is really a beautiful film. Both the Swedish and the American films captures the loneliness of adolescence and the terror of being bullied. Owen is so full of rage over his circumstances that he practices revenge fantasies in his head. It is no wonder that he doesn’t run from Abby when he finally finds out the truth. He knows that he is capable of murder himself. Only his physique and size keep him from putting his tormentors away. If he had the courage and the means, they’d all be dead by now. That’s how angry and helpless he feels.

Let Me In is a masterpiece of mood and tension and parts of it are truly terrifying. But unlike your typical horror film this film won’t jump out and grab you. Rather it will seduce you and bring you in to its world. What would you do to protect your child? And to what lengths would you go for a friend? This is a horror film that will make you think. It is not your typical vampire film and it truly deserves your time. Let it in to your schedule and find the time to see it. Rent it if you have to. It is an excellent film.

Rating: First Run Let this film in, please