Let the Right One in: Review By Bryan Yentz

Okay, I’m just going to get this out there…

Vampires… At their most base, most generalized form, are one of the most unspectacular creatures/blood-suckers ever developed. Sure, Vlad Tepes was first acknowledged as the archetypal Count, spawning myth after myth despite the fact that what he did as a person was far more horrifying than anything a vampire could or has ever fictionally done. And I’m sure most people, even if they haven’t read it, still know of Mr. Stoker’s novel, Dracula. Okay, now this is all fine and good, but as we’ve gone on, we’ve further and further separated the vampire from anything serious, scary, sensual or sympathizing. There is nothing---I repeat nothing---scary or sensual about a person hissing as white teeth glint in the moonlight---NOTHING. In fact it garners more laughs than anything else. A favorite example of mine is from the first Underworld film (don’t get me wrong though, I liked the movie). Think back to the very beginning of the film---the subway, alright? Well there’s a scene where a vampire and a werewolf face off on the tracks. So what does each character do? Well, what any vampire and werewolf would do in this situation: transform. And transform they do… Well sort of. On the one side, we have the a guy’s clothes tear apart as his body bulges with brutish muscles; he grows taller---hairier… His face violently crunches and distorts into a protruding snout and maw housing dozens of razor-sharp teeth… And then… In an instant… He screams at the vampire with a raspy, phlegm-coated roar… Awesome… Just awesome… Oh, yeah---and the vampire! What does he do? Oh yeah… His teeth… They kinda grow a little and he hisses… Yeah… He hisses… It should be no surprise that his ass is politely handed to him by ol’ big an’ hairy. Hilarious stuff.

The irony is that I like werewolves, which the same argument could be made against… Anyways…

As far as I’m concerned, there have only been four films to ever truly capture the ferocity, terror and emotion that is supposed to be the vampire. They are:

1. Near Dark

2. 30 Days of Night

3. Blade: 2 (simply because the action was great, as was the excellent split-jawed Nomak).

4. And now—Let the Right One In

What I’m getting at is that the whole vampire thing has turned into one cliché-ridden joke that there is absolutely no reason to find any fear or power in it anymore. Vampires need a revival! And thankfully that revival has finally come…

What can I say about this flick other than it has renewed my waning faith in the vampire genre. It is elegant, poetic, beautiful and heartbreaking. Actually, even calling it a vampire film almost undermines everything else about it. I’m not saying that vampire films don’t have the capacity for all of this, but when someone hears “vampire film” they immediately scratch it off as some teeny-bopper Twilight crap; the same way many people scratch off Sharp Teeth when I tell them it’s an amazing book about werewolves (seriously though, read it). Where Near Dark nailed the realism; where 30 Days of Night nailed monstrous fury; where Blade 2 nailed action; Let the Right One In absolutely nails the emotion, as well as so much more.

Taking place in Sweden during the eighties; Let the Right One In (written by John Ajvide Lindqvist) tells the story of a lonely boy named Oscar in need of a friend. His parents are divorced; he’s ridiculed and attacked by bullies, and well… Like I said, he’s alone. Then everything changes when he meets Eli; a mysterious girl that happens to move into his apartment complex one night. Okay, that sounds like the foundation for every fairy tale story, but every fairy tale story this is not. What follows is a simply enthralling story about first love, devotion and standing up for oneself. Now, in less capable hands this would have been… Well. Like Twilight. Then again, this is everything that Twilight wishes it could be, but could NEVER possibly achieve. Let the Right One In isn’t about promoting today’s hottest young actors, or about trying to make something that tweens and teens alike can live vicariously through—it’s about telling a story; it’s about making a great film.

The combination of Thomas Alfredson’s direction and Hoyte Van Hoytema’s cinematography is absolutely perfect and makes each and every shot feel as though it was its own photograph. Meaning that---the film withstanding---each shot could have told its own story, simply because of how organized and great they all looked. Whether it’s little Eli vomiting on one side of a building as Oscar waits on the other; or a man draining the blood from a victim during a snow-covered night—these images last not because of their content, but the way in which it’s all depicted. It would have been easy to show all of this just to get the message across, but it isn’t often that a film of this nature takes such an elegant approach to not just showing you something---but making you see the subtle beauty in it as well. And that leads me into the next topic: Subtlety. Along with shots that attain near-cinematic perfection, the film’s subtlety is a godsend. Nothing is just tossed out at the viewer saying , “This is how it is. Now this is happening. Now this. Oh, and now this!” Thankfully, the filmmakers placed enough confidence in their viewers to be able to understand or read into things through simple, subtle images.

This also lends its hand in vagueness.

Now, a lot of films dot this when they really shouldn’t. They become vague and unpolished through questions that are left open and unanswered. In the case of Let the Right One In though, this is the style of vague that I love. The kind that makes you wonder and question without having it detract from the rest of the film. There are several, moments that spring to mind such as Eli’s quick transformations/facial changes that viewers not paying full attention will miss, as well as one of the briefest, most brilliant climaxes of any recent film---and the entire sequence is just one shot… Which doesn’t move at all. Moments such as these add to the surreal wonder of the whole ordeal, without making you wish that you had some explanation for it all. In fact, if they had explained and shown everything, it would have hurt my appreciation for it.

And in the audio department?

The sound design is expertly executed in as subtle a way as the direction. Cries being muffled by water, thick snow being trudged through, a body thudding against a metal roof; it all seems so simple, but because silence permeates so much of this film, when moments such as these occur—you really hear it. And if that wasn’t enough, they have packed this film with an amazingly moving score by John Soderqvist. It simply is a wonder to hear. It compliments the film so well, that even if you’re not watching it, you can still perfectly picture what the music is trying to convey. The emotion; the sadness; the power. It’s truly a remarkable soundtrack and one that sticks with the ears just as long as the images stick with your head.

If there’s one thing that people will most likely dislike, it’s probably the pacing. While I personally didn’t see it as a problem, many others might find that it takes too long getting started. That’s what I’ve seemed to run into when people watch it with me. The funny thing is---as I’ve already stated—if you’re not paying attention you easily miss out. Thus, the same people that found it too slow, also neglected to see what makes the “plodding” pace so interesting. That said, don’t think of this as a vampire film, think of it as a bittersweet drama about first love and the children it’s between. Simply, if you have any appreciation for the genre, or vampires, or you just love artistic storytelling, I think you owe it to yourself to at least give Let the Right One In a try… Especially before the remake (which is sadly already underway) hits.