Let The Right One In - Film Review

Swedish media really came into its element during the 2000s, what with the success of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (remake by David Fincher in cinemas now), and the surprise international interest in tv series Wallander (remade in English with Kenneth Branagah). And, the subject of yet another redo (which lost the point), is Tomas Alfredson's peculiar, heavily symbolic 2008 drama/horror hybrid, Let the Right One In.

The story concerns troubled, bullied young boy Oskar (Kade Hedebrant), the product of divorced parents, his father being an alcoholic, who has an unseemly interest in murder. One lonely night, he meets new neighbour Eli (Lina Leandersson), an odd girl with a suspicious lifestyle choices and an aversion to the biting winter cold. Tentatively, the pair become friends, and the strong willed, almost benevolent Eli provides submissive Oskar with a stronger core of courage to stand up to his tormentors, and a brighter outlook on life. However, the closer they become, the clearer her quirks her, to the point it is obvious she is not a normal human girl.

One of the glowing positives about Alfredson's film, penned by the original book's author, John Ajvide Lindqvist, is that I'm able to describe the plot with some clarity without mentioning the fact that the Eli's affliction is being a vampire. While countless dross of recent years has used this phenomenon as it's main selling point in the wave of money making Twilight led creative stagnancy, LTROI uses it as a means, and isn't afraid to display the ugly side of the mythological archetype.

While the subplot revolving around the community's disturbed detective work to find the vampire, following the death of a local (Mikael Rahm) connected to an earlier killing spree by Eli's carer Hakan (Per Ragnar), who was collecting blood for his master, focusses entirely on this plot device, it acts almost as a story compromise, neccessary to avoid the viewer becoming too distracted by the meshing of fantasy with realistic, matter of fact framing. Although even this drives home the piece's themes of stigma and victimisation. But the film's heart is very much a coming of age parable, a character driven emotional love story that needs the unreality of mythical creatures to make it's point.


As such, the friendship between Oskar and Eli is vitally played out in avoidance of cliched child's behaviour, and after a slow, cautious start, they begin to get to grips with each other and develop a humorous interest in their respective habits and quirks, growing to the point that Eli loathes her vampirism for posing a threat to their romance. Young Hedebrant and Leandersson manage to bring strong, subtle energies to their roles as equally unique and unconventional adolescents on the fringes of cultural belonging. Simply, they only have each other, and both of the young actors are able to project this feeling throughout, without having to resort to typical child actor methods of gaining sympathy. There are no temper tantrums, bellowed retorts or emotional unyielding and manipulation, it all feels genuine and special.

Which is why the film works so well, and is so memorable, because it's played perfectly by Alfredson (who has admitted he doesn't care for vampires). The film never loses sight of its purpose and message, refuses to fall into the same crowd pandering horror margins which the 2010 reimagining by Micahel Reeves did. In actual fact, the story is barely horror at all, even though the violence is disturbing and grotesque, a vital cog in displaying Eli's perpetual torture. It's really just a story of empowerment through new friendship, which happens to feature a horror-based creature.

The result may bore some, who cannot abide the slow, patient pace and character centred dynamic when they were led to believe this was some cult classic Scandanavian horror bloodbath extraordinaire, rather than a touching emotional piece about two misfits and how they find the strength to endure through their friendship. A dark fairy tale, in effect, which is mounted as a realistic character piece. It's this honest slant which gives Let the Right One In such power, and makes it a must watch.

8/10