Let the Right One In (2008)

Let the Right One In is a 2008 foreign film made by Tomas Alfredson. I just randomly stumbled upon it and without knowing anything about the film, I was already intrigued by it. I couldn't find a source that had an english dub or subtitles (the film is in swedish). I just decided to hell with it and buy the blu ray. My eyes were glued to the screen while watching this film, and it almost hypnotized me. I did not expect the movie to be a horror/romance, and those genres meld together greatly in this movie. There are times where I'm terrified, and there are times where I feel soft inside. These feelings for me melded in such a unique way in the "pool scene". The film has beautiful cinematography and the shots of the swedish winter looked entrancing. The 2 young leading actors in this film had great performances, especially Lina Leandersson. The screenplay was also masterful because it somehow made the film half romance, half horror, and those genres didn't overtake each other. They were exactly 50/50 in this movie, and it is surprisingly a great mix of genres. The movie is a perfect length, and Tomas Alfredson directed this film with mastery. I wonder what happened to him in 2017 though, *cough cough* The Snowman. Everyone should check out this movie, It really deserves a 10/10

This is one of the greatest vampire movies ever made. Coming from cold but cinema savvy Sweden, this original version is superior in every way to its Hollywood insult of a bastardized remake. Touching themes from inherent evil to female manipulativeness to love to illusion and eternity, this movie is a must see.

The DVD cover states that it's 'the best vampire movie ever'. Reviewers on this board call it the best vampire movie ever. Even vampires the world over call it the best vampire movie ever.For this viewer, something got lost in translation along the way. Maybe my problem, if I have one, is that I'm way beyond the average age this picture most likely appeals to, which I presume to be a primarily teenage and young adult crowd. Even though the story isn't really hard to follow, abrupt scene changes in the picture manage to disrupt continuity, thereby presenting a choppy narrative. There are the prerequisite nods to previous vampire lore which I was thankful for, like Virginia (Ika Nord) turning into a vampire after being bitten by Eli (Lina Leandersson), and then bursting into flames in the presence of sunlight. But then there was the whole thing with the cats going all feral at one point in the presence of an infected person. What's the deal there? Never heard of that before.If you want to go head to head with the best vampire movie ever, you'll have to reach all the way back to 1922 and the original - Max Schreck's "Nosferatu". That's the one I judge all vampire flicks against and very few even come close, though Bela Lugosi's turn as "Dracula" in 1931 is pretty respectable. I know those classics don't hold the same fascination for the blood and gore fans of present day, but sometimes more scares are achieved by suggestion than seeing it splattered all over the place. That's my take at least, and I'm sticking with it.

I'm trying really hard to rate this movie on its own merits or lack thereof. I've seen both this version and the American version, and I much prefer the American one. I found the pacing in this version to be very slow and plodding, the cinematography dreary and tiring and didn't like the choices that were made for the dubbing. The chief bully sounded like a girl which kept throwing me off and made him a little unconvincing. The other dubs just were bland all around.I had a really hard time feeling any sympathy for the leads as well which surprised me. I didn't really care what happened to any of the characters, unlike my feelings about the remake. There are incredibly boring interactions between minor characters that made the film just drag for me and didn't have any context within the whole scheme of the movie. I kept thinking, "So what?". I'd recommend the remake in a heartbeat, but not this version. Too boring and slow for either a drama or a horror movie. Yawn.