Let The Right One In (2008)
Bullied 12-year-old Oskar finds some comfort in his next door neighbor, a 12-year-old "girl" named Eli who happens to be a straight up vampire. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN has consistently dogged me for many years now, hailed by exuberant critics as one of the best horror films ever but away from my sight chiefly due to a controversy with its DVD release. Upon finally sitting down and seeing it, I walk away with a stinging sense of disappointment. Make no mistake, the film is a real treat to behold, as director Tomas Alfredson plans out a slow melancholic journey through the ups and downs of two peculiar kids, who bare their animal instincts to each other in order to find some warm love within the always snowing Stockholm. The cinematography is great, often utilizing the depth of field or the reflections of mirrors, and the acting all around is pretty good, with Lina Leandersson being the obvious stand out as Eli. Plus, it is finally great to watch the famed pool scene, which does live up to the hype. Unfortunately, though this all sounds like it's a truly great feature, I was often left cold by the proceedings. I never really believed the main romance and felt it was more awkward and fumbling than a courtship between tweens really is. The score is fine but too heavy-handed at times, desperately hammering into me how beautiful and poetic this relationship is. And then you have the cat scene; this moment was kinda spoiled for me but even with the full context, the scene is laughable in a very bad way thanks to the dreadful CGI and bad execution. Maybe in time the film will grow on me and be as majestic as others say. Or, maybe I should just check out the American remake and see if Matthew Reeves had a better handling of this interesting twist of a vampire tale.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
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