The American version of the Swedish horror film Let The Right One In.
Like the original, it s a very pretty film that focuses on two rather creepy kids. Abby (Chloe Moretz) who likes to kill people, and Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who knows a lot of bullies who need to be killed.
But more important than the bloodshed is the very awkward love story. When you think about how vampires generally drip of sexuality and combine that with the fact that no one in their right mind thinks of 12-year-old girls as sexy (including 12-year-old boys) you begin to realize how horrible being a tweenage vampire must be. I've not seen a girl in such a predicament played so well since Claudia in Interview with the Vampire.
This version does capture that awkward romance just as well as the original. I expected this version to be bloodier, as American films generally are as opposed to their overseas counterparts, and this film certainly did that. But then it went a couple steps further in tailoring to an American audience that frankly I could have lived without.
Must we always have explosions? And do we really need subtle points to be spoon-fed to us and then pounded down with a sledgehammer?
Yeah, we get the idea that vampires generally don't do very well in sunlight. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that dear old "Dad" isn't really dear old dad and Abby has known him a lot longer than just twelve years. Did we really need those points clearly illustrated?
However, I can excuse those little irritations because overall it is a very nice-looking film. While I wouldn't say that I prefer it to the original, I will say that it could easily hold its own.
Some of the camera work was very impressive, and the characters were certainly believable despite being downright creepy. There is a lot of computer-generated effects used on the Abby character which are laughable, but Moretz's portrayal of the character whenever she's not attacking somebody more than makes up for that.
I can also see how die-hard fans of the original might really despise this adaptation. While it stays pretty true to the original film, Let Me In does add a few bells and whistles that can be distracting. However, I will say that I prefer the opening scene in this one, as I think it sets the tone a little better and grabs your attention right off the bat.
For any fan of vampire films, it is worth a view.
Film information: Let Me In
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