Let Me In (2010)

“Let me in” is an American version of the 2008 Swedish film, “Let the right one in” by Tomas Alfredson.The film was based on the novel by John Avjide Lindqvist carrying the same title. The story revolves around a boy named Owen and mysterious girl named Abby. Owen was always bullied at school and during his torment because of his situation, he met Abby and there they shared their aloneness. Although they started as strangers at first, Owen became friendly to Abby when Abby told Owen that he should “fight back against the bullying and if all else fails she will help him fight the bullies”. Owen was a normal kid but conceals a deep sorrow inside him. His parents are getting a divorce and his longingness for fatherly love and her mother’s counseling including the usual bullying, made him think that his life is being ignored. Later, Owen found out that Abby is a vampire and needs blood to survive. In the end Owen still accepted Abby and they left Los Alamos, New Mexico on a train. 

Although I have seen the Swedish and American version of the film, I am comfortable to say that the American version is much better. I can say this because the American version expressed the much more darkness of the film. The minimal use words and conversations, expressed a more emotional and serious theme in the film. The cinematic approach matched the story making it better than its Swedish counterpart. The use of CGI may be a bit too much in the film, but I think it’s what Matt Reeves wants in his film. In the Swedish film, I did not see any computer animated effects at all instead of Eli’s distorted voice. The American version used lights that matched the mood to the scenes, like when the “Father” of Abby was in a car to get his victim and the dark ambience can be felt that did go in synch with the music played by the man that the “Father” will victimize. The greatest technical greatness (we’ll that’s my term for it) I’ve seen in the film is the scene wherein the “Father” fell down the slopes with a car. The camera was so still that it was like it looks really real. The 5 seconds of silence after the fall makes it more really great because it gave a reality feel. All in all I think Matt Reeves made a right decision about his approach on his film. There was no detailed explanation on how Abby came about. There was no historical explanation of her being a vampire. Owen saw the old puzzle toys of Abby including an old picture of a man with her that it seems to explain that the “Father” is not really her father but was not really mentioned in the film. The film left a lot of questions unanswered like “Where will Owen and Abby go?”, “Is it really normal for a kid like Owen to go together with a vampire not thinking of his parents?”, “Is Owen really a normal kid?”, “How really old is Abby and where did she come from?”, these are only a few questions that makes us wonder but it’s the things that made the film great. It makes you want to think and think again, and then believe.

I’ve watched a number of vampire movies and this movie to me is more like a fairy tale type. It attacks the audience psychologically and its novel roots can clearly be seen. I cannot say that there are no flaws in the movie, but to me it was a great film. It was expressive, somewhat dramatic, less terrifying, an inch of gore, majority of darkness, excellent cinematography and lots of questions equals great vampire movie. I recommend watching this movie to people that loves to read vampire novels. It extracts the elements needed for a vampire movie that is really interesting to watch.