Let the Right One in: Review By soylent green Lantern

First off, I pray that Matt Reeves (director of 'Cloverfield') can burn in a firey Hell.

I just had to get that out of the way.

"Let the Right One In" is a film that represents the interesting perspective on what it might be like to be a lonely child vampire who happens to be a Swedish murder machine. "Let the Right One In" explores the virtuous nature of isolation in the face of an ever-growing fever of paranoia. The film's setting is that of a bleak Swedish landscape in the late eighties. The not so distant Soviet Union is often talked about through the conduit of radios and serves as an encroaching force that is ignored by the local residents of this small town.

The town seems to exist in a perpetual state of darkness. This eternal night scenario is perfect for the pedophilia like nature displayed by the vampire's manservant. This manservant acts as an interesting catalyst for much of the film's events due to the fact his primary function of nurturing the vampire is completely interrupted by his idiocy and incompetence. Wondering why he can't seem to "get it up", he goes through his last licks of life unable to fully achieve his goal of self-fulfillment in the eyes of his innocently seductive young master. The prize for his loyalty is his death in the form of a consumable meal for the vampire child. Once his life is extinguished, the young vampire advances on the young boy whose name is pronounced Oskar.

Oskar is completely vulnerable to his external elements. His peers delight in his swine like completion. Interestingly, Oskar has a violent side to his distorted angelic face. He delights in the destruction and is equally attracted to the possibility of dismemberment and human causalities. In one particular scene Oskar responds to a question relating to the circ*mstantial evidence of this person's demise. He is qualified to answer this proposition because of his obsessive collection of newspaper clippings. Due to his isolation with his uncanny abilities he is quickly alienated by his classmates and is tortured throughout the course of the film. This torture comes in the forms of verbal abuse, whippings, and beatings. Of course this conflict is resolved by the friendship gained by a new girl who is equally complex and isolated. Oskar's parents are divorced. Living away from his father gives Oskar feminine qualities, which are juxtaposed against the dominant tomboy attitude of this young girl.

This young girl exclaims without hesitation that she is not a girl. She is quite literal in her own assessment because she is really a boy with his penis removed who also has inherit ability to suck blood and destroy the lives of anyone she seems to come in contact with. She dislikes her own condition and finds a small amount of solace in this young fragile boy. She seems to stalk him. We see her cat like eyes prey on this young man's emotions. She is quick to offer him assistance. She is also quickly taken by his charismatic charm so they decide to "go steady" with each other. Obviously, this steadiness is quite complicated; with her lack of genitalia and the ability to age. Despite these bizarre circ*mstances their relationship is extremely innocent. Oskar first hand views the young girl's ability to annihilate life. He remains very calm despite these drastic scenarios. He adopts an attitude of a much more conservative nature towards her advancements of extreme violence.

In one scene we see the playground bullys return to exact their revenge on poor Oskar. Oskar, taking the initiative to further his own self-image, decides to tone his body with weights and swimming exercises. The bullies arrive in the form of archetype interlopers who demand revenge for Oskar's previous transgressions. His late night swim is interrupted by the threat of his eye being cut out. Before these heinous acts could be executed, his fellow vampire bodyguard quickly dispatches Oskar's transgressors. The perspective throughout this aquatic scene expands on the vision that this elderly child has the inane ability to end human life. Oskar, relieved of his problems in the form of decapitations, decides that this new friend is worth keeping. In this instant, these two isolated worlds of questionable homosexuality and blood-sucking delight are merged and these two distant individuals understand the hardships of such a lifestyle.

Vampires in appearance usually carry an aesthetic of opulence and charisma like the character of Count Dracula. The vampire in this film displays opposite tendencies in the form of visible imperfections and destitute attire. Her appearance relays the information of her obvious internal conflict of loneliness. She is unable to find a person who understands or accepts her flaws as both a human and a vampire. Oskar tries, and ultimately succeeds, in showing her his acceptance in terms of their isolated microcosms. This film manages to explore a very unique distant world of the supernatural without having to directly explain it. "Let the Right One In" tells a Romeo and Juliet story of the supernatural where the different parties deal with the harshness of the environments they are thrust into with the mutual acceptance of their obvious flaws.