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| Subject: Let The Right One In | |
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Author: Mr. Bungle |
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Date Posted: 18:22:40 12/22/08 Mon Author Host/IP: adsl-70-234-168-107.dsl.tul2ok.sbcglobal.net/70.234.168.107 Sorry to re-print from Myspace. It's not even a very well written review, but I'm fond of this and want to spread some words. Mr. B _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I've mentioned elsewhere my growing distaste for certain genres of horror. I love zombies but have been dangerously close to burn out for a while now, particularly with the zombie comedy, and any love I had for vampires was long ago buried under a similar deluge. They've been done to death, and often shitty. With vampires in particular it doesn't help that the advent of the sexy vampire gave rise to a whole poser subculture that wallows in superficial iconography, and for which I feel an amused contempt because they inadvertently fucked up my ability suspend disbelief. It's hard to get creeped out by something that's become a fashion statement. And the movies haven't helped. The last vampire flick I saw in a theater was 30 Days of Night, and it sucked, but even by vampire standards I wasn't expecting much; my disappointment laying mostly with David Slade who had previously directed the ultra-suspenseful Hard Candy and who dropped the ball in almost every way with his take on Steve Niles graphic novel. Before that it was John Carpenter's Vampires, which is a sort of guilty pleasure in its satirical crappiness. It was hypocritical, too. James Woods had a little rant about vampires turning into androgynous Euro-trash, and then they make Valek look like Trent Reznor just escaped from Goth-Con. There have been some fun forays in the genre (From Dusk Til Dawn and Blade II come to mind), but I haven't seen a legitimately great vampire movie since 1987's Near Dark. So it's fitting that Let The Right On In reminded me of that film. It shares a wonderful look that captures the solitude of the night, and two people that fall for the other, getting as close as they can while ignoring that they are as distant as the cold stars. But that's where the similarities end, as Near Dark has pot boiler action roots (seriously, that film kicks ass), while Let The Right One In is a fragile love story, albeit a morally ambiguous and bloody one. Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a 12 year old Swede, living in between his mom in a soul sucking apartment block and his father out in the country cabin sticks. He's already on the wrong side of the tracks as he fantasizes of stabbing his school bullies to death while being a book worm student, which becomes an almost a self fulfilling prophecy. He's a smart kid, but his level of alienation is palpable. Then he meets Eli (Lina Leandersson), a 12 year old girl who, with her father, has just moved in next door in the soulless apartment block. She tells Oskar they can't be friends but, a Rubik's Cube later, Oskar gains her trust. Eli is a vampire and she's not on her own; as she has a father who finds random people to subdue and murder so as to collect their blood. When it becomes apparent her father can't rise to the task anymore, Eli takes matters into her own hands. There is a little bit of magic with Let The Right One In that has less to do with the supernatural elements of the film. Its vampire is a MaGuffin for simple story of love at first sight. That it's a love story between children makes it even more enigmatic, but the vampirism could easily be metaphor were it not for the macabre consequences. The gorgeous cinematography and fantastic performances (these fucking kids can act) cement the themes of this film, painting with master strokes a haunting tale that will not leave your head any time soon. I'd go on more with the details but trying to explain what makes this movie work would be like trying to explain why a joke is funny. Let's just say I've seen the best vampire movie of the last 20 years, and one of the best films of 2008. 9 of 10 [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Re: Let The Right One In | Jimmy | 09:18:14 12/27/08 Sat |
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