LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
MOMENTUM PICTURES
RELEASED 10 April 2009
Great vampire movies are few and far between, which I find surprising for such a famous horror icon. ‘Near Dark’ (1987), ‘Salems Lot’ (1979, though more TV series than movie), and the first two ‘Blade’ movies (1998 and 2002) are the best exponents of the creature over the last thirty years, which isn’t much of a list really. Of course, the 1922 silent classic ‘Nosferatu’ still contains the imagery that screams ‘vampire’ more than any other film. Now with ‘Let the Right One In’, I’d say we have a film up there with the best vampire movies.
Set in Blackeberg, Sweden during the early Eighties, Oskar (KÂre Hedebrant) is a 12-year-old, blonde white-haired lonely lad who is picked on at school by three other boys. We start the film with him dreaming of standing up to them, and ‘sticking’ them with a knife, but Oskar is far too kind to ever do anything of the sort. One evening, new neighbours move next door to Oskar, a middle-aged man and his young 12-year-old daughter, Eli (Lina Leandersson). Over the following nights, Oskar strikes up a friendship with Eli in the housing estate playground. Meanwhile, her father is out stringing innocent victims up by their feet and draining their bodies of blood. It soon becomes clear that Eli is no ordinary girl. In fact, she appears to be a vampire!
Based on the novel by John Ajvide Linqvist (who also wrote the script), ‘Let the Right One In’ is unlike any other vampire (or horror movie for that matter) you’ve ever seen before. The basic fact that it’s Swedish and subtitled give it an arthouse quality, but then the moody cinematography and the slow-burn pace add to the tremendous atmosphere that builds. Blackeberg is covered in snow for the film’s duration, and these cold conditions lend the film a solitary and mysterious feeling. There are familar elements of the classic vampire myth dropped into the story at key points, but ‘Let the Right One In’s original story never feels familiar. The story about a young boy falling in love with a young vampire just hasn’t been done before, and it’s this unique tale that drives the film. There are some eeire scenes that will stay with long after the credits roll, and the film has a crowd-pleasing finale. Both young actors are brilliant in their roles, and the story gives them plenty of dramatic moments. Their tentative friendship is incredibly sweet despite never being conducted far from a blood-soaked body, and I may have read the film wrong, but the beginning of the film echoes the ending, which makes their relationship ultimately quite sad.
There’s a brooding score from composer Johan Soderqvist, and it will be interesting to see what relatively young director Tomas Alfredson does next.
The only thing left to mention about the film was it’s total lack of scares. I never thought I’d recommend a horror film that isn’t scary, but I am going to! ‘Let the Right One In’ is intelligent, thoughtful, and moving (but not scary.)
FOUR OUT OF FIVE