Let the Right One In

The American remake of this movie is on it's way out (Let Me In) so I figured I'd watch and review this one as soon as I can to give some sort of insight on the new one coming out. To put it simply, this film is excellent, but you have to be in the mood to watch it.

Let the Right One In follows a Swedish boy in the suburbs of Stockholm who is constantly bullied by his classmates and his interactions with his mysterious new neighbor. At its core, this is a vampire movie which I'm sure as of late will be an instant turn off for a lot of people...and I guess a turn on for a lot of other people. Don't get me wrong, this is not your sparkle-in-the-light bullshit style vampire, they stay true to the more original concept of what a vampire is, burn in the sunlight, must be invited in to a home, etc.

The visuals and music for this movie set the tone very well for what you are in for. The music only accents what is happening throughout the film, and is often not heard at all. Much of what is used is more background noise than anything else, lots of dissonant tones with more lively music thrown in for the more lively parts of the movie. The film is for the most part pretty dreary and bleak with very peculiar love story thrown in. The set is designed so well that you really feel like you're there in the snowy winter of Stockholm, wear a coat.

The movie is definitely not action-packed though it does have its moments. If you want to watch an involved movie as opposed to just something on in the background, this might be more your style, just be warned that the pace is slow. I don't actually think the slow pace is even something to complain about though, it fits the movie perfectly and no other pacing would've made the movie come together the same way, which is something I'm worrying about with the U.S. release. That and the whole thing getting Hollywooded all to hell.

I had a couple gripes with this movie, one being the CGI effects they used on the cats to make them freak out and hiss in the presence of a vampire which just looked laughably bad. It really comes out in a section of the movie where a vampire is totally surrounded by cats and they're all going crazy, it just looks flat out silly. Maybe the Hollywood version will get this part right, hah.

The ending of this movie is absolutely incredible. It's invigorating and has you leaving the film wanting to talk to everyone about it. I highly recommend this film and would go as far to say that I've never seen a vampire movie anywhere near this good (which includes the original Dracula, but then I think most classics that are that old have been outshined by now anyway).

If you're in the mood for this type of movie, DEFINITELY check it out. Please, watch the original Swedish version, don't take the chance ruining this incredible movie on an American remake.

Grade: A