Let The Right One In.

FINALLY!
I had an opportunity to sit my butt down and watch this movie.
I'm glad I did.
If I could use three words to describe Let the Right One In its subtle, haunting, and heartbreaking.



I found out about this movie when I first started reading Freddy in Space. It sounded interesting. I was intrigued! But then I find the majority of vampire movies I find are usually less than satisfying with the exception of a few. This one goes on the list of satisfaction.

Let the Right One In is a simple Swedish film about a young outcast boy Oskar who befriends a young girl Eli. Eli happens to be a vampire. And that's pretty much the entire movie. But honestly, I don't believe it needs much else since its a beautiful character study of two outcasts finding each other in a cruel world.
Here's the Trailer


If you're planing to see this movie, keep in mind its not a balls to the walls horror film. In fact I consider it more of a drama with supernatural elements than a horror film. That doesn't make it any less interesting though. What I loved so much about this movie was hoe subtle it was. There were no major splashy effects or gore. Just little moments here and there that made you blink, then fill you with a strange eerie feeling. The subtleness of the effects and the vampire moments made Eli come across extremely creepy, especially moments when she showed her more animalistic side.
The music score was beautiful and rich but never overdone. I remember more scenes in silence than I do with incidental music which made many moments more tense. The cinematography was beautiful in an almost nihilist way. Vast canvases of white, grey and washed out hues covered the screen and only small accents of red used here and there to symbolize life and passion. It was a clever use of color but never hit you over the head with its statement.
But the real power of this movie lies in the acting. The two child actors portray their characters with all the reality and skill as any established adult actor. With weaker actors, I really doubt I would have liked this movie as much. But both were so charming, sweet, and ordinary you couldn't help but be sucked into their world. I heard they are remaking this for the U.S. which could be interesting. But I really hope that the powers that be both cast unknown children as well as cast children who are not overly cute but in that awkward gawky phase. I believe that is very important to the story and without it, you get another run of the mill vampire tale.

I highly recommend this movie. I believe its on par with movies like The Shining, The Exorcist, and Pan's Labyrinth. If you're looking for something more subtle and different, with wonderful characters and very subtle horror, this one is for you!