Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"Are you a vampire?"

2008 R / Horror Drama Directed by: Tomas Alfredson Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar

Tagline

Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire.

Summary Capsule

A young outcast boy gets a crush on the weird new girl and doesn't seem to mind at all that she only gives him advice at night.

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Amazon.com: DVD

Kyle's Rating: With admittedly not a lot of competition, possibly the best vampire film ever made

Kyle's Review: I have never seen Harold and Maude, though I've been told I should and I admittedly feel like I'm missing out a bit by not seeing it. I presume that the joy of that particular film lies in the wholly unlikely pairing of the titular characters, with their against-all-odds 'relationship' giving new meaning to life and love for both themselves and viewers, with the added uniqueness of the film's successful and cult-defining blending of multiple genres. When I first heard about the plot from a friend, who went on to explain how "cool" it was to bring love and death and the allure of suicide together in one film, I wasn't sure if it was a joke or a real movie. I guarantee a film like Wristcutters would never exist were it not for Harold and Maude.

"It's simultaneously a horror film, a love story, a learning-to-stand- up-for-oneself tale of courage, and a tale of the power of friendship... all told with some of the darkest and absolutely perverse undertones I've ever seen in a film I walked out of feeling completely jubilant and entertained."

In the back of my head, I knew while watching Let the Right One In that I was absorbing a film that deserves not only similar accolades as any cinematic pillar of cultishness we champion at Mutant Reviewers, but also medals and other professional awards. Fetishistic devotee blogs and tie-in toy lines. A chance to step in a metaphorical boxing ring with any Anne Rice film or book and win by knockout the Best Vampire Movie Ever title belt. It will surely receive the America remake treatment, but cultural differences would seem to ensure even a successful effort will be similar only in name and plot outline (a 12-year-old bullied boy showing signs of becoming a serial killer as hero won't play too well to American audiences post-Columbine). So for all intents and purposes, Let the Right One In will stand alone, Bergman-esque slowness and subtitles keeping the dumb and impatient from bothering with it. Enjoyed and cherished only by those with the patience, taste, and moral flexibility to root for a young would-be murderer and a seemingly-young immortal vampire girl to find true happiness with each other.

Which is, arguably, exactly how it should be. Who needs mainstream success when the devoted few will give your film immortality? Hooray!

Believe me, I wish it weren't so. Let the Right One In is such an accomplished film, utilizing practically every trick of cinema from past all the way to present (I'm certain a mix of both CGI and trainer tricks produced some of the angriest and aggressive cats I've ever seen) that it deserves so much attention than it's getting. Which I suppose is the nature of the business: a week or so before I drove into Hollywood to see it, I was lucky enough to see [REC], the original foreign film that was turned into what I hear is the absolute piece of garbage Quarantine. That experience reaffirmed/resigned me to the idea that original foreign films face a steep uphill climb to wider acceptance here in the states. Like I said, cultural differences and shorter attention spans. But then again, hey: America rules!

Beyond all of its immense technical and acting accomplishments (there is not a single bad performance in here, not a one!), the simple fact that it kept my interest as a vampire movie is a startling achievement. I can handle vampires as flashy stand-ins for "cool" (see: The Lost Boys) and dumb action horror films can be tolerated and even enthusiastically enjoyed (see: Dracula 2000 and, um, maybe John Carpenter's Vampires but then again not really). But it takes something special, like say Near Dark, to feel like there was actually a desire to tell an interesting story instead of adding window dressing to a stupid vampire-centric plot and hoping all the inherent and by now mightily played-out elements of vampires would carry the bulk of the storytelling. In case you hadn't already guessed, I not only don't care much for Anne Rice's novels, but I've fallen asleep twice trying to watch Interview with a Vampire. And this from a guy whose first major looooo-ong novel (read in the fifth grade!) was the unabridged Dracula by Bram Stoker and favorite early teenage years book was Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot. I love vampires, but give me something new, yeah?

Let the Right One In is something new. It's simultaneously a horror film, a love story, a learning-to-stand-up-for-oneself tale of courage, and a tale of the power of friendship... all told with some of the darkest and absolutely perverse undertones I've ever seen in a film I walked out of feeling completely jubilant and entertained. When you start thinking about the movie, and what the past held for some of the characters and what exactly motivated and sustained others and what kind of future is possible for the characters left standing... whoa, heavy, dude! Who's using who? How much consent is being given and is it knowingly so? At what point does unquenchable thirst warp motivation from being driven by the heart to being driven by ultimate survival? How the hell does anyone really expect a film with this kind of complex nuances to be remade for American audiences? No offense meant, but come on!

Of the film itself, in a perfect world I would urge you to see it without reading the book (soon to be published here in America, apparently) just so you can enjoy the film's lighter side. And make no mistake, it is surprisingly light and breezy for a story driven by a main character's thirst for blood. Although I laughed along with the bulk of the crowded theater, I was later struck by how effectively a scene where a surrogate father captures, strings up, and slits the throat of a passer-by to collect his blood in a well-used plastic receptacle for his "daughter" is presented humorously, with an inquisitive dog playing the role of ineffectual authority and the haplessness of the otherwise matter-of-fact accomplished murderer displayed through a sight gag and his vaudevillian antics when he notices he's left behind a rather crucial item at the scene of his crime. Be prepared to run through a whole range of emotions, as abhorrently violent and bloody scenes test your gag reflex and others rekindle that inner spark inside yourself as you see and recall what it is to find a soulmate who would gladly and without question stand beside you, the two of you against the world.

But some of you may seek out the book, and from what I've researched the book goes into finer and darker detail about the relationships and delivers with absolute certainly on horrible implications the film at best hints at, or allows the existence of. I think the film is ultimately spectacularly successful because you can interpret it in so many ways. It can either support every dark thought you have about what you're seeing on the screen, or validate your wish that everything is as it appears to be and rather than a story of subtle and practiced manipulations it's a story of destined soulmates. After all, even though I wish the film would not get run through the Hollywood system, within the film all she'd have to do is move here to America and find a nice cheap house near a blood bank with shabby locks and live happily ever after, right? Sure, why not!

In a perfect, cohesive world, Kåre Hedebrant (who plays the shy yet tender Oskar) and Lina Leandersson (who plays the vampiric yet caring Eli) would become superstars based on their performances. And the film, which features incredible impetus against bullying culminating in one of the best scenes of righteous comeuppance I've ever seen, would slot comfortably and perfectly alongside the best of John Hughes and Ferris Bueller's Day Off as one of those universal-appeal films featuring kids but preaching to all the virtues of finding your own way in life and cherishing the ones you love as true found treasures. If you don't think you'll be able to connect emotionally with what is essentially a touching story of young love (rooted strongly in the idea of "love" being such a vast and mysterious concept that long-lived humans and centuries-old vampires could never fully grasp all its complexities) affirmed amongst scenes of bloody murders, vicious bullying, and a man melting his own face off with a jar of acid, I don't blame you. If you're willing to test out your cult sensibilities with a film that plays upon seemingly every emotion you've got, though, I can't recommend Let the Right One In highly enough.

Sorry, Dark Knight. I just found my Best Film of 2008.

Chili and an oxygen-rich environment don't mix "There are many lemons like it, but this is mine!" Vampires. Always trying to get some snugglies in.

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Cats are apparently the first and extremely enthusiastically aggressive line of defense against vampires
• Swedish winters last FOREVER
• Vampires don't drink wine, nor can they eat any kind of candy, either. But they are very good at puzzles, since they tend to end up with a lot of time to kill
• That is actually excellent advice for solving a Rubik's Cube
• That is a REALLY cool interpretation of what happens when a vampire enters a room they have not been invited into. Thank goodness, and she was obviously aware, that a invitation can still be given after the fact!
• The bloody and instantly iconic image of Eli covered in blood got massively toned down for the theatrical poster... although it allows the ethereal beauty of Lina Leandersson to envelop you before you even see the film

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

I did just because it was my first film at Laemmie's Sunset 5, and it was cool to see all those crazy foreign names and hear the haunting film score. But my parking validation was good for another hour, so I understand if you would want to bolt.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

(SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!!) As stated in the review, the source novel goes deeper into the relationships and character traits, and it is all largely dark and disturbing stuff. The cinematic Eli's insistence that she is "not a girl" and the vague insinuations of Leandersson's brief and non-sexualized nude scene are developed more emphatically and speak to the ultimately androgynous nature of vampirism, while the literary relationship between Eli and her caretaker "father" is less vaguely touching and more creepily parasitic. Similarly, while the movie Oskar's obsession with serial killers and knives is somehow more charming than alarming, in the book early warning signs make Oskar's destiny obvious even before Eli enters his life. All in all, the novel sounds to be a high quality read that is devastatingly dark regarding all the characters and their lives. Whereas the film, perhaps brilliantly so, tweaks and smoothes out the source material so that it is possible for the story to be paradoxically sunny and hopeful. No, really. You won't believe it until you see it for yourself, so I urge you to do so!

Johan Ajvide Lindqvist, author of the novel, is a massive fan of The Smiths and Morrissey, so you're right: the title is directly inspired by the song "Let the Right One Slip In." The lyrics deal with vampires needing to be invited in properly in order to enter a room/house, and the important lyrics are these:

Ah . . . let the right one slip in
Slip in
Slip In

And when at last it does
I'd say you were within your rights to bite
The right one and say, "What kept you so long?"
"What kept you so long?"
Oh . . .

If you liked this movie, try these:

• The Lost Boys
• Harold and Maude
• The Girl Next Door