Yeah, I admit. I haven't seen "Let The Right One In" yet, even though it's been released for two years now. This is due to the film not being shown (or even sold in DVD) widely here in Malaysia, much to my dismay. So I now have no choice but to wait patiently until it appears on TV, or watch the inevitable American remake. So I'll try my best to avoid referencing the original and review this as a stand-alone film.
Here comes the good news: as a film by itself, "Let Me In" is a truly terrific horror drama. It scares you, thrills you, and moves you. We haven't had this great of an American horror film since, well, I can't remember.
Owen's a lonely boy. He frequently gets bullied, and his parents are getting a divorce. He even peeps at the neighbors across his apartment, and fantasizes about killing the bully occasionally. Out of nowhere, a mysterious girl and her father move into the apartment complex next to his. The girl doesn't talk much, and walks barefoot sometimes in the cold snow. Boy meets girl. As time progresses their relationship deepens, and more and more secrets about this girl are revealed bloodily.
Right off the bat from the trailers and posters' tag-lines, you can tell that "Let Me In" is a vampire movie. But, this movie is everything that "Twilight" wanted to be. "Twilight" failed miserably. In fact, why am I even mentioning "Twilight"? To add that to a movie this good is an insult to this film's (and the original's) reputation. "Let Me In" is genuinely scary and creepy, but it also has a real human connection and heart, thus giving it humanity.
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz are terrific in their roles and prove heavily that they are among the best child actors today. Smit-McPhee gives a hauntingly innocent performance as Owen, he not only looks the part; he also fills up character in the role with a varying degree of moodiness, creepiness, frustration, desperation, and - during his moments with Abby - satisfaction and subtle happiness. Moretz's performance as Abby has a bit of nuance to it, shades of innocence, gloominess and mystery are exhibited by this extraordinary child performer. And the chemistry between the two are great, that one can't tell the difference between actors and normal children innocently getting to know each other. Not forgetting Richard Jenkins, who also gives a quiet but concentrated performance as Abby's "father", making his character ever more creepy. And to round of the performances department, Elias Koteas as the detective is O.K. but his character is not really that important; and the actors who portrayed the bullies give out terrifyingly menacing performances, that you not only hate them the instant they appear, but you fear them. Add to the fact that these sort of people exist in the world even now and you've got something even more disturbing than a mere vampire.
It's mostly about innocence, this movie. It's not just about a vampire tearing people up - it has a beautifully written story to tell. And with that screenwriter and director Matt Reeves has succeeded. He had found a good story in the original novel/film, and decided to tell it to American audiences. But there is one thing about Reeves - he knows what he's doing. From the looks of the movie, it seems that Reeves put his heart into the film and really made sure that this film wouldn't be a rip-off, or worse, an insulting cash-in to the original - so he tried his best to be as faithful to the original material as possible. And this film by itself is great - that means Reeves did his job properly. The screenplay is written in a subtle, non-intruding (not shoving the facts down audiences' throats) way and the direction is focused and elegant. Instead of showing everything that happens like in many horror films Reeves took the old-school route and doesn't show us most of the terror, making us make it up in our mind, which is scarier than what is shown. And also the ability to control actors, both old and especially the young ones, to the extent that they deliver powerful performances, is something only a quality director can do. Matt Reeves has created a fantastic follow-up to his "Cloverfield" and he looks like one of the more promising American film directors to look out for.
Technically, the film is absolutely outstanding. The production design is homely/quaint, making it calm, peaceful, yet very moody when it needs to be. The editing crisply paces the film at a steady pace without it being too fast nor too slow, it moves along very nicely; you won't feel rushed watching the film. The cinematography is eye-poppingly, beautifully, and serenely framed. Lastly, Michael Giacchino's hauntingly melancholic score proves him as one of the best, most promising and versatile film composers as of late.
Of course, like every movie, there are flaws. Some of the cringing bloody/gory scenes (though moderate and not excessive like "Saw" and "Hostel") and one brief sex scene looks forced in to give the movie an R-rating (The bullies and their colorful language was enough to give this an R in my opinion). Having said that they do almost nothing to distract the movie's focus and good points. Fans of classic American horror movies, please give this movie a chance.
Now I am frantically looking for the original Swedish version. If this is already great by itself, I can't imagine how excellent the original must be.
Definitely, for me, one of 2010's best films. Bravo, Mr. Smit-McPhee, Ms. Moretz, and especially Mr. Reeves. Here's hoping to great careers ahead of you all.
Overall rating: 78/100
Here comes the good news: as a film by itself, "Let Me In" is a truly terrific horror drama. It scares you, thrills you, and moves you. We haven't had this great of an American horror film since, well, I can't remember.
Owen's a lonely boy. He frequently gets bullied, and his parents are getting a divorce. He even peeps at the neighbors across his apartment, and fantasizes about killing the bully occasionally. Out of nowhere, a mysterious girl and her father move into the apartment complex next to his. The girl doesn't talk much, and walks barefoot sometimes in the cold snow. Boy meets girl. As time progresses their relationship deepens, and more and more secrets about this girl are revealed bloodily.
Right off the bat from the trailers and posters' tag-lines, you can tell that "Let Me In" is a vampire movie. But, this movie is everything that "Twilight" wanted to be. "Twilight" failed miserably. In fact, why am I even mentioning "Twilight"? To add that to a movie this good is an insult to this film's (and the original's) reputation. "Let Me In" is genuinely scary and creepy, but it also has a real human connection and heart, thus giving it humanity.
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz are terrific in their roles and prove heavily that they are among the best child actors today. Smit-McPhee gives a hauntingly innocent performance as Owen, he not only looks the part; he also fills up character in the role with a varying degree of moodiness, creepiness, frustration, desperation, and - during his moments with Abby - satisfaction and subtle happiness. Moretz's performance as Abby has a bit of nuance to it, shades of innocence, gloominess and mystery are exhibited by this extraordinary child performer. And the chemistry between the two are great, that one can't tell the difference between actors and normal children innocently getting to know each other. Not forgetting Richard Jenkins, who also gives a quiet but concentrated performance as Abby's "father", making his character ever more creepy. And to round of the performances department, Elias Koteas as the detective is O.K. but his character is not really that important; and the actors who portrayed the bullies give out terrifyingly menacing performances, that you not only hate them the instant they appear, but you fear them. Add to the fact that these sort of people exist in the world even now and you've got something even more disturbing than a mere vampire.
It's mostly about innocence, this movie. It's not just about a vampire tearing people up - it has a beautifully written story to tell. And with that screenwriter and director Matt Reeves has succeeded. He had found a good story in the original novel/film, and decided to tell it to American audiences. But there is one thing about Reeves - he knows what he's doing. From the looks of the movie, it seems that Reeves put his heart into the film and really made sure that this film wouldn't be a rip-off, or worse, an insulting cash-in to the original - so he tried his best to be as faithful to the original material as possible. And this film by itself is great - that means Reeves did his job properly. The screenplay is written in a subtle, non-intruding (not shoving the facts down audiences' throats) way and the direction is focused and elegant. Instead of showing everything that happens like in many horror films Reeves took the old-school route and doesn't show us most of the terror, making us make it up in our mind, which is scarier than what is shown. And also the ability to control actors, both old and especially the young ones, to the extent that they deliver powerful performances, is something only a quality director can do. Matt Reeves has created a fantastic follow-up to his "Cloverfield" and he looks like one of the more promising American film directors to look out for.
Technically, the film is absolutely outstanding. The production design is homely/quaint, making it calm, peaceful, yet very moody when it needs to be. The editing crisply paces the film at a steady pace without it being too fast nor too slow, it moves along very nicely; you won't feel rushed watching the film. The cinematography is eye-poppingly, beautifully, and serenely framed. Lastly, Michael Giacchino's hauntingly melancholic score proves him as one of the best, most promising and versatile film composers as of late.
Of course, like every movie, there are flaws. Some of the cringing bloody/gory scenes (though moderate and not excessive like "Saw" and "Hostel") and one brief sex scene looks forced in to give the movie an R-rating (The bullies and their colorful language was enough to give this an R in my opinion). Having said that they do almost nothing to distract the movie's focus and good points. Fans of classic American horror movies, please give this movie a chance.
Now I am frantically looking for the original Swedish version. If this is already great by itself, I can't imagine how excellent the original must be.
Definitely, for me, one of 2010's best films. Bravo, Mr. Smit-McPhee, Ms. Moretz, and especially Mr. Reeves. Here's hoping to great careers ahead of you all.
Overall rating: 78/100