Let the Right One In

Låt den Rätte Komma In (2008)

Ranking: Yes
Slightly Trashy

This was the other movie I went to see while I was in Halifax, as I had heard a lot of good stuff about it and doubted that it would have an especially wide release. It was screened with The Scavengers, an amazing local short which I saw a few months ago at the AFF (I couldn't find it on youtube but here's the trailer).

Set in Stockholm in the '80s and about a 12 year old boy (Kåre Hedebrant) who is mercilessly picked on and bullied at school until he meets and falls in love with the weird girl next door (Lina Leandersson) who turns out to be a vampire.

I really dug this movie. I was sort of expecting it to be really scary, which it wasn't, it was more on the disturbing and pervey side, but it was also weirdly sweet and I spent a lot of time thinking about it afterwards. I really want to read the book now, although I've heard it's even more on the disturbing/pervey side...

Despite the fact that it was kinda sick and fucked up, it was also pretty romantic, which is actually the combination you want from a good vampire movie. Fucked up but romantic. And very intense. The entire film felt like it was shot in extreme close-ups (this is an exaggeration, but there were a lot of them ), with all kinds of weird focus-y stuff (which I could probably describe better if I had any idea what I was talking about, but I don't).

Also, I really liked the colour scheme (mostly grey) - it was just so overwhelmingly depressing or something. Everything was grey and washed out, everybody was pale. I guess that's what it's like living in Sweden... I dunno. I may have mentioned this before, but I want to go to Sweden. It seems like an interesting place.

Anyway, the two leads were really good, particularly Lina Leandersson, but both of them were sort of weird and ethereal but still very real and compelling. If that makes any sense... I hope they go on to do other stuff.

There is a remake of this scheduled for 2010 directed by the same guy what did Cloverfield, which is sort of obnoxious (why do they remake fucking everything?), although according to Wikipedia, dude is going to be adapting it directly from the novel rather than just making a straight up remake of the flick. So that's good I guess...

Anyway. This movie is the shit and you should try to see it if you can.

END

Directed by: Tomas Alfredson. Written by: John Ajvide Lindqvist, based on his novel. Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Peter Carlberg, Ika Nord, Patrik Rydmark, Rasmus Luthander.