Let Us In (2021) User Reviews

One of the younger audience...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 10 September 2021]

I sat down to watch the 2021 sci-fi horror movie "Let Us In" mostly because the movie had Tobin Bell on the cast list, but also because this was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen.

And I suppose that "Let Us In" is aimed at a younger audience than me, because director Craig Moss' movie fell short of providing me with proper entertainment. But hey, suppose you are a pre-teen viewer, then I guess that "Let Us In" will fall into your liking.

The storyline here was just simply a bit too ludicrous for my liking, and it was so difficult to take the aliens, known as Jungspars, serious in any way. I just gave up on trying to let the concept sink in and sweep me away, it just provided me with no enjoyment.

The acting in the movie was actually fair enough, but the actors and actresses had very little to work with in terms of a proper script and storyline. So it was a struggle to sit through this movie. Tobin Bell wasn't really in the movie for all that long, which I found to be a shame.

My rating of the 2021 movie "Let Us In" lands on a mere three out of ten stars.

Could of been a contender

[gettintough · 5/10 · 9 September 2022]

This movie had a good premise. Acting was pretty good, but I take offense when little children are put in the position of using foul language every time you turn around. There is no need for it! The clique of girls bullying was not needed. It added nothing to the storyline. It could have focused more on the agenda of the aliens and their reasons for needing humans. Where they were from and their planets story. All in all a good young persons film other than pushing the foul language agenda. Most younger generation movies find the need to insert children being undisciplined by parental figures, such as in Poltergeist and ET. Showing kids being smart but disrespectful. It can be left out in my opinion.

Avoid this film. "I'm as serious as a tornado."

[simonmanessa · 1/10 · 21 July 2021]

Admittedly, I was quite baffled when I saw this film pop up in a brief New York Times article by Jeannette Catsoulis. Her somewhat favorable review, alongside comparisons to other iconic tween-centric properties such as The Goonies and Stranger Things, drew my morbid curiosity and I decided to view this film with an open mind, trying to stymie doubts about its quality and not go in to my viewing set out to dislike it. What transpired over this film's runtime left me confused and frustrated. Let's discuss!

This film was entirely bereft of atmosphere, compelling characters, and charm. The screenplay is shallow and predictable, relying almost completely on obvious, lazy tropes and formulas, from "Tragic Backstory = Instant Sympathetic Protagonist" to "Comic-Relief Sidekick" and all areas in-between. The characters, sequence of events, and set pieces are uninspired and derivative at best. When one inspects the filmography of the film's writer-director Craig Moss, who is responsible for gems such as "The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It" and "30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," one can understand immediately the quality to be expected from "Let Us In."

The script is so absent of creativity, it comes as no surprise that the performances of the actors and actresses involved are milquetoast and wooden, even from Tobin Bell of the "Saw" franchise, who is criminally underutilized as the "Creepy Town Weirdo" stereotype. At no point did I believe that there was confidence or energy placed in this film, both on-screen and off-screen. The cinematography is sterile and conventional, nothing is presented in an engaging or visually interesting manner to give this film any kind of identity. The score for this film is so painfully generic that I am convinced it was comprised exclusively of royalty-free music, it was that unbearable. The sheer volume of failures this film accumulates adds up over its runtime, resulting in an exponentially tedious experience.

Now if one wants to defend this film and its overwhelming wealth of flaws on the basis that it is a family-friendly horror film, that is very misguided. Having a family-friendly film of any kind, regardless of genre, does not necessitate a severe lack of quality and craftsmanship. The films "Coraline" and "Monster House" as well as the show "Gravity Falls" are prime examples of accessible, spooky, family-friendly media that have charm, are engaging and entertaining, and do not wallow in tedium and mediocrity. If the work is done and the effort is put in, then you'll never have to sacrifice quality for accessibility for all ages.

In short, "Let Us In" is a stellar role-model of what to avoid in filmmaking. If you as a viewer enjoy well-rounded characters, an intriguing premise, good humor, consistent internal logic, self-awareness, a half-decent script, and good chills, then do not waste your time with this, there are so many better options to choose from.

In The Vein Of Goosebump

[kelticdharma · 2/10 · 15 July 2021]

For anyone interested in the paranormal, believing this film to be the real deal, my advice is move along. I was sorely disappointed being someone very familiar with the actual urban legend of the Black-Eyed Kids. It may be a great family movie to watch with kids 8-12 but wasn't what I expected at all. For a much better film on BEK, check out Hulu's Into the Dark: They Come Knocking. Much more true to the paranormal research.

I think they got the genre wrong

[sonown · 2/10 · 4 July 2021]

This should be in the Comedy genre. I get they tried to make this a family-friendly movie, but couldn't they have tried to make it a little bit scarier or at least have a story that made more sense.

Laughed so hard watching the last 10-20 minutes of the movie especially. The story premise had potential, but it was just poorly executed throughout the movie.

2/10 - Made me tear up.

Don't waste your time

[millerfamilybills · 1/10 · 23 November 2021]

Very disappointed. Poor acting & references made to "special needs" & "is that kid on the spectrum" that were completely unnecessary. I gave it 1 out of 10, but if there was a zero option, that's what my rating would be.

In the tradition of ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK & GOOSEBUMPS!

[insprivet · 10/10 · 2 July 2021]

A great gateway horror for tweens/the younger crowd not yet ready for the intense, R-rated stuff. Very reminiscent of ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK and GOOSEBUMPS in all the best ways.

Wasn't horror but also wasn't bad.

[Shayankhan-7526 · 6/10 · 6 October 2021]

Ok I just get it that this one was not suitable for horror genre but still the movie was good. Acting was good,story was also good,and those black eyed people wasn't even too bad. I enjoyed the whole story from starting to ending.bBut maybe ending was kind of bit too dull. But yeah allover movie was worth to watch.

TERRIBLE

[louisajaustin · 1/10 · 3 February 2022]

Terribly written. Needed a better script, actors were decent but the story was BAD. And it doesn't even follow the urban legend of the Black-Eyed Kids.

AAVE

[taelorsmith-76877 · 1/10 · 23 January 2022]

Grossly upset at the lack of black representation (literally no talking parts) when they were using aave literally every 30 seconds - horribly might I add. "Thotties" "bye Felicia" "on fleek"?!

what is this?

[mrrebel-80382 · 1/10 · 1 March 2022]

I couldn't make it past 3 minutes. Tobin Bell most assuredly did someone a solid or he's broke as hell.. if you're going to be making a movie about the B. E. K. At least try to stick to the jest of the lore. Do yourself a favor and skip this nonsense.

Mediocre with side of butchering of the use of AAVE

[dvespi-25111 · 4/10 · 16 October 2022]

This movie would have gotten a better rating if it wasn't for the disrespectful and horrific use of AAVE used throughout the film. I mean the level of cringe was too unbearable for me to just scrape by and finish the movie. It was most likely a non Black American millennial or older who wrote this trash of a dialogue.

The film really should've been made with high schoolers or maybe college students. Because some elements of the film felt out of place for middle schoolers. At times I felt like this movie could have been a comedy, which might have made it more bearable to watch. The only saving grace I felt was the the use of Tobin Bell (even though he was in it for a few minutes). The lore of the "Black eyed children" could've been better explained and the ending of this film was kinda disappointing.

Even the title is stupid

[Moviedog26 · 1/10 · 21 August 2021]

You know when you are about to watch a really bad movie? When it has teenagers in it. You know how you ruin a perfectly good tv comedy? You bring in a small kid (most likely a relative of the producers). Game over.

Decent

[jdeines78 · 7/10 · 10 December 2021]

Its a decent movie. Has a creepy vibe. Not scary. Only problem is it dont follow the black eyed kids legend like it claims to. It would be a much better movie if the black eyed kids were in the age range of the actual reports and Legends.

Incredible "A' movie with heart made on a low budget.

[jw-wd · 10/10 · 3 July 2021]

To set the record straight, "Let Us In" was made on a low budget of $ 700K.

I know that for a fact. The other reviewer is very incorrect. This is a wonderful family movie, best described as Disney-ish with an edge. It stars a 12 year old who plays a 12 year old. Usually they get someone much older to play kids. All the young actors were actually the ages they played. Mackenzie Moss was amazing. The range and quality of her performance was impressive, as well as the rest of the cast. This is not a 'horror' movie. It is a heartwarming story of a girl who must find her way in the ruthless world of middle school while trying to save kidnapped kids who earlier bulled her. It has creepy parts and scary parts, but, as Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) said, this is a 'gateway' movie for horror that the whole family can enjoy and watch. Tobin Bell loves this movie and the amazing actors in it. My 5 year old granddaughter loved it, as well did I. Craig Moss (filmmaker & director) , did a phenomenal job, shooting only 14 days with kids, who have tutors and restricted hours, unexpected rains, and getting such a stellar cast and crew for so little. This film does what it was created to do. Tell an engrossing story about life, kids, school, friendships, hardships and persevering. Nothing new, but a lot of fun. Thanks.

Pretty good movie

[jneuman-94489 · 7/10 · 2 July 2021]

There were some cringe moments but it's a pretty good movie.

Let Us In

[marinaant-36217 · 7/10 · 28 December 2021]

I never expected it to be that good because from the trailer it gave me the impression that it was gonna be very stupid, it kinda was to be honest it was funny at some parts but in a good way, it was more of science fiction which I'm not really into but I liked this one, it was very interesting and I was shocked with the ending.

Loved it!!!!

[aj-79481 · 9/10 · 3 July 2021]

I knew once I saw that Tobin Bell was in this movie, I had to watch, and I wasn't disappointed. Great storyline. I'm impressed with the acting skills of young McKenzie Moss!

Fun watch

[jimilee_1971 · 6/10 · 5 December 2021]

This is a little campy, with some not so great child actors...but it was fun to watch.

The story line was solid and well thought out however it was predictable for the most part. My family enjoyed it and had no complaints with the movies as a whole.

If you like Stranger Things This One's for You!

[jbdead · 9/10 · 3 July 2021]

This is a really fun movie that you can watch with the whole family to. It's not hard core scary or gory but still very creepy. It's perfect for the tween and young teen audience. The kids were really well cast and gave great performances. The pacing was perfect and it holds your attention all the way through. Definitely worth a watch!

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[ryleeviz · 10/10 · 3 July 2021]

Wow! Great movie. I was on the edge of my seat the WHOLE time.

Fun Family Movie

[1boarder · 10/10 · 5 July 2021]

Some people seem to be expecting a slasher horror flick. That is not this movie. This is fun family movie, great for viewers 8-12 and their families. There are some "scary" moments, but it is a great story that parents should not find objectionable. I have watched it twice now. I enjoyed the second viewing just as much the first. The acting from the child stars is top notch. The cast is filled with up and coming stars. Many have active television shows they are on currently. Definitely a tighter budget movie (no noticeable CGI), but it has a great script. The editing is top notch as well. I am looking for to the sequel. I recommend grabbing the entire family, some popcorn and maybe even some root beer floats and enjoying a quality family movie together.

Descent for a family movie

[quincyguy · 9/10 · 16 November 2021]

It's a toned down scifi show with mild horror and adventure. Pretty great show for a family movie night. No jump scares or gore. No real violence or foul language. It's just kinda slow with plot but it's not so drawn out you get bored with it. It has a big goosebumps feel to it start to finish.

It's a good movie

[seraphitecult · 9/10 · 9 July 2021]

Whoever made this into a below 5 star are jerks, it's a horror kid movie and decently made. The kid actors are good too.