Z/Web

This is a remake of the acclaimed Swedish film, Let the Right One In. I’ll confess that I “sort of” watched that one: I was doing other things while watching it (not a good idea as it was subtitled). Also, I watched it via Netflix streaming, which meant rewinding for a missed bit of dialog was a bitch, so that film left me confused. (That’s why I never “reviewed” it here as I don’t really consider that I’ve seen it.) That said, I saw enough of the original to see where this one differed and for the most part, I believe this version is superior. At least I preferred it. (But keep in mind that my main bias against the first one was that I was often confused — and that may have had much more to do with my lack of attention than the film itself.)

This version I found mesmerizing and clear. In the first, I was confused about who was who (for instance, for a long time I thought the caretaker was a vampire as well as the little girl). The car accident in this version was far superior, terrifically shot from inside the car as it crashed. But the main difference is the girl. When I saw the original, the girl didn’t fit for me: she wasn’t a bad actress, but just physically didn’t fit the role. Chloe Moritz in the new version is perfect: she somehow expresses both youth and ageless maturity. Most important, she has a sweetness and innocence that was key to the character for me. What makes her character creepy is precisely that dichotomy. That was missing in the original where the girl seemed too goth and weird.

Where the new film is weak, however, is in the excess of vampire effects. The girl looking demon-like when she becomes a vampire was totally the wrong approach. (Just the fact that I wrote “becomes a vampire” shows how wrong, for vampires don’t transform like a werewolf, but that’s how this felt.) Fortunately, that only happens in a few scenes, so it doesn’t ruin the film, but the film would have been far stronger — and Chloe’s character far creepier — if she’d stayed normal-looking while acting savagely.

The bottom line is these two films are a fascinating exploration of the difference between the European and American approaches cinema. Both are excellent but differ in tiny ways. The European version is more subtle, intellectual, and lacks flashy special effects. The American version is less subtle, which is not necessarily bad — I preferred the clearer story — but it does try to add more action. (It is interesting that those are the weakest aspects of this new version.) Fortunately the American version had the European one to build upon and much of it is almost a shot-for-shot remake, so in the end this isn’t truly American or European. It’s a nice compromise between the two and I liked it very much. A perfect example of the differences is in the two titles: “Let Me In” is simple and makes sense (vampires can’t come into your home unless you invite them), while I never understood the point of the extra words in “Let the Right One In.”

One other important thought. There was a moment in this film that chilled me. It was during one of the conversations between the boy and the girl where I sensed her profound longing to be normal. For a moment, she truly seemed like an alien being. For me, that was awesome. Most vampire stories don’t get that. Vampires are merely somewhat different from humans, are altered humans, or portrayed as humans with superpowers. I love the idea of vampires being completely alien from us. Looking like us but literally being unable to understand us. After all, we age and die, and they don’t, and though that sounds like a simple difference, it changes everything about one’s approach to life. That’s why the connection of the boy and girl in this film was so powerful: the boy was alienated by the bullies at school and the girl was alienated because she’s a vampire and together they formed a connection. Fascinating, amazing, and wonderful.

The debate over whether this version or the original is better is pointless: go see either or both. They are sides of the same coin. The main thing is you need to see the film. It is an incredible story, sad and creepy and wonderful and tragic, and well worth your time.