Let the Right One In

francis5.0

this is pretty good but why is that kid swimming with his mouth wide open?

DirkH5.0

The biggest mistake you can make when watching this film is approaching it as a horror film.It isn't.What it is, is an almost existentialist coming of age drama that explores the limits of friendship, family and love. And what I love about it is that its conclusion is that there are no limits.Sure, there are horror elements here as its makers clearly set out to make a unique vampire film and at that they have succeeded. But they understand one thing really well. At the centre of the mythology of the vampire, made famous by Bram Stoker's novel, does not lie a horror story, but a story of tragic love, isolation and redemption. And that is what makes this film a unique experience. It shows that the need for companionship is strong and a compelling force. It also adds the touching innocence of a child's perspective, in which lies its true strength. It gives this film an emotional layer that is incredibly endearing. I love this film unreservedly as I do with most films that give me a unique cinematic experience. It managed to grab me, involve me emotionally and entertain me. The dichotomy of the genre it is molded in and the themes it tackles is best represented in one of the final scenes, the one in the swimming pool. What actually happens is horrific but it still made me smile a warm smile.

Repo Jack4.5

"I'm not a girl."That line by Eli still haunts me, and I think it can be taken in several ways. The first and more obvious interpretation is that she's just reminding Oskar that she's not human. But another interpretation is far more disturbing -- she's not a girl because she's an old woman -- her body may look like she's 12, but in reality, she's very old. Suppose you maintain that latter interpretation throughout the movie. You realize that her interactions with Oskar are calculating and manipulative. She's grooming him to be her new familiar, a role that could leave you old, lost, and broken (Eli's familiar), or driven insane (Dracula's Renfield). [EDIT: I read the book this film is based on after reading some of the comments. This review assumes the reader hasn't read the book either.]Let the Right One In harkens back to an era when vampires were menacing, and the traditions around the mythology actually meant something. Ironically, this was released the same year the Twilight series launched, a series that pretty much defanged the vampire genre while attempting to redefine vampiric traditions by making them daywalkers, glittery, and celibate (just writing that makes me shudder violently in disgust). Take, for example, the titular tradition of a vampire having to be invited into your home. Like a typical teenage kid, Oskar meanly taunts Eli, "What happens if I don't invite you in?" Eli promptly walks into his flat and begins bleeding from her eyes and ears. The tradition of never turning a child into a vampire, a theme explored more deeply in Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat books and movies like the neo-western Near Dark, has very dark implications played out masterfully within the frigid and dark setting of a Swedish winter in the projects. This isn't a budding teen romance, even if that's how things seem to play out as the story unfolds. It's an allegory of the old preying on the young and the unfortunate after-effects as portrayed by Eli's doomed familiar. When you are young and impressionable, you'd better let the right one in, or the consequences can be dire.