“I need blood… to live…”
With the explosion of Vampire lore unto the big screen in more than one adaptation of books, former movies and unique twists, it is a pleasure to see a fresh take on the blood lust. Let Me In as you may or may not know is a remake of Tomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In, a Swedish movie that I had the pleasure of watching and reviewing in 2008. For those of you who want to know my feelings in terms of a comparison between the two, I will say that the original’s subtlety and charm is not lost in this American version and many unanswered questions are filled in well by the extra scenes and improvements in Let Me In.
Shot for shot the movie is one in the same as the original but the extras keep it interesting where the original’s pacing beckoned sleep. I was afraid that the graphic showing of Eli… now Abby (Chloe Moretz) sucking blood and pouncing on people would devalue her charm tremendously but I was wrong all the way. And how can you ever dislike Chloe Moretz in any role, she is as talented as they come and if you did not fall in love with her as Hit Girl on Kick Ass, you will definitely fall in love with her here.
Plot and Storyline (slight spoilers):
Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a quiet 12 year old with an alcoholic mother and absent father is constantly bullied by Kenny (Dylan Minnette) and his two friends, Donald (Nicolai Dorian) and Mark (Jimmy Pinchak). His slight frame and parental issues makes him an easy target for them and he finds peace in playing by himself within the courtyard of his destitute apartment complex in the snow. One day a man and his daughter moves in next door and he becomes curious and pursues her as a friend. After a few failed attempts at awkward conversation Owen earns a friend in Abby and the two become friends and eventually much more. When bodies begin to pop up around the quiet complex however Owen learns of Abby’s secret lifestyle and why it is she can only play at night and is never seen during the day.
My Feelings on Let Me In…
Overall Let Me In was the same movie, there are a few things I wish were left in like Abby’s genital castration scars and the over emphasis on her bad odor when the two first met. The animation on super-speed Abby looked choppy and strange, so when she pounced on a victim I was more concerned with that than the actual neck biting that was going on. For this I will say that the original’s subtle approach of leaving it up to our imagination wins out. I loved that pictures are shown of Abby’s first Familiar when he and she were young in order to give us audience members a sign of what is intended for young Owen. This of course changes our perceptions of Abby’s first guy hugely from the original as he now appears to be using familiars versus having genuine love like we feel with Owen. But then there are the subtle things that lean on her having real feelings for Owen, her coming back to save him in the end and her trying the Now and Later candy knowing it would make her sick. It’s a dark, twisted story that is meant for you to analyze it after wards and surmise your own reasoning.
What annoys me though is that we aren’t shown poor Abby’s past, his transformation from a boy into a girl through a vicious and cruel act along with being turned into a monster that has to drink blood to live. The similarities in the kids being exploited and damaged by others only to find peace with each other is missed when we are left with no idea of what Abby’s past was. This should not have been sacrificed but I digress – maybe new viewers will get it.
Let Me In remains dark and similar enough to the original to be worthy of praise. This story is a hard sell to the Twilight tainted audiences of America but that isn’t to say it wasn’t a valiant effort indeed. If you are a fan of Vampire lore and wish for a different, more innocent spin on their lives then Let Me In is a well recommended movie for you. The children are beyond excellent in their performance and Matt Reeves deserves applause for the work he has done on this movie.
Cinephile and opinion writer, Greg Dragon has been a fan of movies since the 80's when Kung Fu theater was all the rage and Roger Moore was James Bond. As an opinion writer that has reviewed Box Office releases on a number of prominent websites, Greg is the founder and lead critic of Spicy Movie Dogs.
