Rich man’s Tucker and Dale vs Evil: This is a horror movie that’s not really about horror. Where Tucker and Dale use humor to pervert the horror genre, Let The Right One In uses drama.
★★★★☆
BOO! It’s Halloween! In honor of this holiday of candy and costumes, I was forced to watch Let The Right One In. I say forced because horror is not my genre. I don’t like being frightened, and in general I don’t think the movies are well made. Exceptions include Psycho, The Others, The Shining, The Cabin in the Woods, and this week’s movie. Let The Right One In is a 2008 Swedish film that I watched with subtitles. At its core, this film is not a horror film, but is a drama about relationships. Oskar is a young boy who is bullied at school by a boy named Conny and his cronies. When a girl named Eli moves into his apartment complex, Oskar begins to form a friendship and through this new friendship begins to be a less timid person. Also, Eli is a 200 year old vampire.
As I began watching Let The Right One In, I felt it was going to be a 3 star movie: boy befriends girl who is clearly different, probably a vampire, hijinks ensue when she starts killing people, boy discovers friend is vampire, some kind of confrontation (probably where someone has to decide whether or not to let someone in), end of film. However, as I watched the film, I realized that this wasn’t really a vampire movie, and the title referred not to a hackneyed conclusion, but to who people decide to let into their lives, and who they decide to form relationships with.
The movie is full of examples of failed relationships. Oskar’s mother and father are separated. We soon discover why when Oskar’s father chooses to end a night of bonding with his son to binge drink with a boozehound friend. Eli stays with a man named Hazan who chooses to kill people to feed Eli. Because of his association with Eli, he’s forced to maintain a low-profile. He can’t associate with other adults his age, he can’t have romantic relationships, also the aforementioned murder cuts in on his free time. Oskar’s tormentor Conny has two cronies who hate bullying Oskar and even cry when forced to hurt or humiliate him. Both still remain in his gang, but neither are happy by their association. Even Conny is influenced by his psychotic older brother and is a bully because of his brother. Everyone is influenced by their associations negatively. Aesop might have lived 2500 years ago, but a man being judged by the company he keeps is still as true today as it was then.
Let The Right One In is a well-made movie. Some of the acting felt a bit flat, but that might have been the language barrier more than the acting itself. The lighting and scenery of the movie make it feels dark and scary, but despite some rather disturbing scenes, there is nothing that could be called the traditional “bump-in-the-night” horror. The story kept me interested and does a very good job of building the relationship between Oskar and Eli. The big question throughout the film is whether Eli truly has feelings for Oskar, or if she’s just using him. Thankfully, the film gives plenty of ammunition for anyone choosing to argue either way. For me personally, I think Oskar’s a meek kid who’s getting used by someone well-experienced in the art of using people.
For those really interested in horror, this movie still hits all the hallmarks of vampirism. There’s no sparkly, moody, animal-blood drinking bullshit to be found here. Eli needs to drink human blood and any other food makes her physically ill. She can’t be exposed to sunlight, has extraordinary strength, doesn’t age. and needs to hibernate at regular intervals. Thankfully for me, the rule that a vampire cannot enter a home without being directly invited is in full effect, allowing me to sleep as long as no one comes to my house after dark.
This was a good film that I never, ever would’ve watched without Josh forcing me to, so I’m glad he did. I watch about one horrorish film per year, so this’ll fill my quota. It had some freaky scenes, but I was able to sleep after watching this. Although, truth be told, I was forced to watch My Cousin Vinny to really cleanse my brain. If you’re looking for a good horror movie to watch Halloween night and maybe you’re not super comfortable with horror movies, give this one a watch.
Let The Right One In is currently available for streaming on Netflix. WATCH IT!
Next week I’ve assigned Josh John Wick. Sometimes you’re in the mood for a low-plot, exciting, shoot-em-up film. This one really hits the spot.
cinemateur 