Let Me In Review

Written by: alex1176   

When this American remake of the Swedish classic "Let the Right One In" was first announced, I was one of many who hated the idea. "The Right One In" was a quiet, haunting film that finely revisioned the vampire story. It was contemporary, chilling and quite touching. To me, a remake of a two year old film seemed to exist seemed simply for commercial reasons. In America, vampires are hot, so why not? Well, Roger Ebert gave it the same rating as the original; three and a half stars out of four. He's a respected film critic and I often seek his advice when contemplating a film choice. So I decided to see the film, something I never thought I would.

This version, directed by Matt Reeves of J.J. Abrams' "Cloverfield", is extremely faithful to the original film. In fact, it almost a shot-for-shot remake, but unlike the self-pretentious 1998 version of "Psycho", it's a movie that keeps the original story's intergrity. At its core, "Let Me In" is simply about the need for a loving companion. Reeves starts out his film differently by opening it with a major event and then flashbacks to two weeks earlier. He also sets the story in Los Alamos, New Mexico during the winter of 1983.

If you've seen the original, then you'd know that it contained exceptional performances from the two leads who played children who bond together despite their differences. "Let Me In" also has two great leads in Kodi Smith Mcphee and Chloe Moretz. They play the parts of the lonely, bullied Owen and quiet killer Abby, two souls who need each other more than they know. Moretz was indeed in "Kick Ass" where she uhhh...kicked ass as "Hit Girl". She gave a winning performance in that comic book satire and she's gives an equally good performance here. Mcphee (I'm unfamiliar with his work) hits all the right notes in his take of Owen. Their performances are mirror images of the original actors; quiet, but certainly strong and effective.

If you've never seen the first movie, then you're in for quite a treat. I still prefer the Swedish original because I found it to be a bit more haunting and atmospheric. But this American remake is a very respective translation. "Twilight" this is not. Some trivia for you; this movie was co-produced by Hammer Films, a British production company responsible for many visually lushful 60's and 70's horror films. Many of them starred the great Christopher Lee as Dracula. Their logo that appears before the movie starts is reminiscent of the DC/Marvel Comics animated logos.