Let The Right One In
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Movie Reviews of Let The Right One In
Movie Review: very olde wine, subtle and complex, in a new bottle
Summary: 5 Stars
Opening scene: there he is, on his bed, presenting as pale (nearly nude) sacrifice to Nemesis-- the nasty tormenting teenage boys he must daily encounter at school.
Why is he (Oskar, well played by young Kare Hedebrant) a victim? The usual reason in such contexts: he is different from the herd. He reads--all sorts of esoteric stuff. He is intelligent. He is alone. . without allies or companionship or, even, familial support (his parents appear to be indifferent). Thus a natural victim, awaiting destruction. In addition, his nose runs constantly. His tormentors call him "pig."
Why is this pattern "olde wine?" Because while it does not replicate it resonates with many features of Norse and Anglo-Saxon myths of heroes and "dragons of chaos."
Set in the cold darkening of a Stockholm winter, Oskar can find no warmth, or strength, either inside or out. Until the appearance of a girl,
Eli, well played by Lina Leandersson.
She is, or will become, in a sense, his "white knight," his "salvation," his "right one,"and eventually his raison d'etre. . .and they will, yes, go off into the sunset together.
No, this not another trite teen romance. For the girl is a vampire. And no, this is not another vampire romance ("oh I just love your overbite").
What renders this relation anything but trite, and anything but a blood-sucking addict/victim symbiosis, are ancient warrior values: loyalty, courage, and revenge. Yes, revenge.
Forget about "New Testament" notions of forgiveness; of "turn the other cheek"; of "love your enemy" and so on and so forth. This story is about tearing to pieces the enemy that would destroy you. About never quitting the field until he, or they, are in bloody pieces. And about unfailing, unflagging dedication to your comrades--or comrade, in this instance, "the right one" you have let into your life.
Thus, the ancient warrior ethic in a modern film of remarkably brilliant conception and execution. No American "studio" or production outfit could possibly have made it. They would have spent tons of money and made lots of noise, gunfire and explosions and grunting and groaning. This is a film of silences, like a Bergman film, meaningful and reflective of what lies beneath the surface of a life--or in Eli's case, a death.
(The dubbing and subtitles are, indeed, horrible--but apparently the price to be paid for this excellent film. Shameful ruination of perfection.)
Movie Review: Horror Film Par Excellence
Summary: 5 Stars
From the country that brought you Ingmar Bergman, Ikea, and the Noble prize, Sweden, comes an amazing horror film. The Vikings would be proud of this film! This one will put you on the edge of your seat and then scare the begeezes out of you. At the most simple level it is the vampire story. The new twist, the vampire is around 12 years old and the story takes place in the land of very long winter nights, Sweden.
This is a fairly slow moving film with scare points put in at exactly the right moment to keep the viewer interested or on their toes. The sound is just absolutely magnificent, ominous music exactly where necessary (not campy and over played), deep bass sounds that heighten the situation, and crunchy snow all add to the drama and suspense. The production is stark and simple, but with a certain style; exactly what you would imagine from Scandinavia. Photography is well done, cameras are steady where they should be, and there is no obvious mindless handheld camera work.
The choice of 12 year olds for the vampire story seems, at first, to be a bit odd or wrong. But on reflection, the age fits rather well. The young boy, Oskar, is tormented by other kids. It's a common age where that can happen. There's an adult parallel that gets touched on with Eli, the vampire's caretaker or father (sorry, I'm not hugely well versed on the vampire myth so I don't know his exact role), and how he is bothered by the towns people at a restaurant. The whole layer of tormenting, is a wonderful addition to this story. Another film that deals with this very well is, Ben X - although not in the horror film genre.
The setting in Sweden is brilliant, in it's simple logic. Wouldn't vampires live where it's dark most of the time over half of the year? Well, there you have it, Sweden.
It seems a series of bloody movies have come out of Scandinavia recently, Cold Prey being another example of the slower paced, more intellectual film.
If you don't mind subtitles, and slightly slower, slightly less gory horror; this film is well worth seeing. It is almost 2 hours long. It could be maybe 10 or 15 minutes shorter with a bit of tightening up, otherwise it is the right length. I have purposely left off a discussion of the plot, except in the broadest terms. The viewer deserves to discover the twists and turns along the way.
Movie Review: Unsettling, disturbing and brilliant.
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't stress enough how much of a foreign film this is. American films and therefore American audiences generally expect something with more bang for their buck. Bigger, flashier, faster is normally what we get. And there are films that that philosophy serve well. But films from other countries, especially countries that tend to be a little colder temperature-wise, are much more deliberately paced. The movement in a film like LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is a little more staccato, like someone moving through snow and ice. Some steps are very slow and methodical, and the next steps may require faster movement in order to stay upright.
This is not to say that LET THE RIGHT ONE IN moves in an uneven rhythm; quite the opposite. It's a film that keeps its pace and its tone very consistent. To call this film a "horror" film is akin to calling WALL-E an "animated" film. It's pigeon-holing it and doing it a serious injustice. With all the hyperbole on the case for the DVD for this film, people are going to more than likely be expecting something that moves quickly and has lots of gore and sexuality, as most vampire films do. But that is just not happening in this film.
A lot has been said about the story of this film, and I don't have anything to add to that, but as far as my thoughts about this film are concerned, with a few exceptions, I just couldn't recommend a film from 2008 as highly. The two young leads have a chemistry together that puts most adult screen couples to shame. There is never a moment that seems forced, false or out of place. The dialogue, direction, and cinematography are all some of the finest that you'll see in a film all year. It's an extrememly moody film, that has moments of raw emotional brutality and shocking violence, because when it happens, you don't expect it, and that's exactly what makes a film like this work so incredibly well. Violence never should be telegraphed with a film of this kind. It should come as a bolt out of the blue that leaves your jaw hitting the ground, and that's exactly what LET THE RIGHT ONE IN does.
And there are moments in the film that you'll never forget.
Many fans of the vampire horror genre have been waiting for the definitive vampire film, and this may not have the epic sweep of something like Neil Jordan's INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE or the hyperkinetic bloodletting of one of the BLADE films or the nostalgia of the DRACULA films, but this is definitely the best "vampire" film that I've ever seen, and ranks amongst the best of 2008.
Movie Review: Don't Buy Into The Complaints, This Is A Great Film
Summary: 5 Stars
This is perhaps the single best movie I've watched in 10 years, and that includes the Americanized version "Let Me In" released just last year. I understand that all here don't know who I am, but I am an amateur writer, as well as an avid vampire movie and literature fan since the '70's.
"Let the Right One In" and "Let Me In" are the best vampire genre films I have watched since Stephen King's vampire masterpiece "Salem's Lot", which I firmly believe is the standard of modern vampire movies today.
It was probably better that "Let Me In' was an independent film here in America, because otherwise, modern day Hollywood, big budget gory special effects would have ruined what actually carried these films... their amazing acting casts and performances.
Powerful, emotional, horrifying, and endearing all at once, "Let The Right One In" and it's sister film "Let Me In" transcend the typical hollywood vampires portrayed as glamourous, exotic, and alluring. In these films, the young boys Oskar (Let The Right One In), and counterpart Owen (Let Me In), show the real side of growing up by dealing with divorced parents, alcoholism, searching for identity, and frightening school bullies. The young-looking vampires Eli (Let The Right One In), and American counterpart Abby (Let Me In), display the loneliness, violence, and eternal hunger for blood that more accurately desplays vampirism as a curse more than as a gift.
This is REAL film-making... dirty, intense, down-to-Earth, in-your-face story-telling that grabs you and doesn't let you go until the final scene is finished.
Poor subtitles be damned. I hate using sub-titles anyway. In "Let The Right One In", I just used the English voice-over version over the original Swedish language. The English voice-overs are a little tinny and don't quite seem right, but they still deliver the movie's story well. The Swedish film is more true to the book by author Jon Linquist with some minor story-line changes occuring in the American version "Let Me In".
I guarantee that if you're a true vampire genre fan, you'll watch this film and the Americanized version over and over again. I've watched "Let The Right One In' three times already, and "Let Me In" six times. Don't allow yourself to be denied what is a great film because others didn't like some DVD st-up features.
"Let The Right One In" delivers.
Movie Review: Intelligent, Sensitive, Nuanced, Intimate! A Very Human Story!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was absolutely transfixed with this film! A vampire tale like no other! None of the mind-numbing, loud music, explosions, obligatory soft-core sex scenes and predictable formulaic nonsense producers churn out these days! This film is refreshingly different!
A story of two children who have difficult lives and find each other. As oppressed children will do, they bond through the crucible of shared pain and lonliness.
Oskar is a lonely, depressed 12 year old boy in a single-parent household. Bullied at school, he fantacizes about killing his oppressors. Eli is a young girl who has moved in next door. They meet under strange cicumstances and connect as children do with simple acceptance.
Soon, Oskar notices he only sees his new friend only at night. She doesn't go to school, is usually barefoot and wearing only short sleeved shirts outside at night even though it is in the dead of winter in Sweden and she, "Smells funny".
There are many quiet, intimate moments as these two children grow closer. There is a lot of communication between the two without words as children often do with one another. The simplicity of such moments projects a profound complexity of communion between the two through shared understanding and sensitivity.
It is a wonderful, touching story as each character temporarily escapes the painful, loneliness of their own lives with the shared companionship of the other. As trust builds between the two, they share a profound intimacy that seems to transcend the normal closeness between two people. They soon come to rely on one another more and more as time goes on.
However, as Oskar begins to feel the normal burgeoniongs of sexual awakening as an adolescent boy, he is shocked and astonished with the reality that the girl he has grown so close to, is a powerful, savage predator, capable of unspeakable violence!
The film has a thoughtful, intimate tone and draws you in as you are reminded of the precepts of vampire legend and lore. You are witness to their time together and the difficult circumstances they must cope with while apart.
The film builds to a shocking and interesting ending that is neither gratuitous nor expected. I highly recommend this film to anyone!