Let the Right One In

Lát den rätte komma in

(Sweden, 2007, 114 mins)

Digibeta

Selected Filmography:  

PRODS: John Nordling, Carl Molinder
SCR: John Ajvide Lindqvist
CAM: Hoyte van Hoytema
EDS: Dino Jonsäter, Tomas Alfredson
MUS: Johan Söderqvist
Cast: Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist

Twelve-year-old Oskar lives with his mom in a particularly bleak section of Stockholm. Geeky, awkward and just plain weird, Oskar is one of those kids that bullies seem to sniff out. One night, while practicing stabbing a tree (in lieu of his tormentors), Oskar meets the new girl who just moved in next door. Eli, preternaturally pale and self-possessed, might smell a little odd, but like Oskar she's dying of loneliness--as well as the need for human blood.

Director Tomas Alfredson (Four Shades of Brown, VIFF 04) has done the seemingly impossible by reinventing the hoariest of horror genres--the vampire film--with sly wit and surprising sweetness. The beauty is in the details, and Alfredson's particular genius is apparent in small perfect touches. The scene where Eli and Oskar dance to bad Swedish disco is a particular standout, but the film is filled with wonderful grace notes. The film's most enduring quality, however, is how perfectly it captures the aching loneliness of people on the outside. It is this need for human contact that makes even the most horrific of acts somehow forgivable. Kudos must be given to the film's two young leads whose natural and deeply affecting performances lend the film emotional honesty and rare power. A massive hit on the genre film circuit, Let the Right One In reminds you of the power that horror cinema, done right, can have. Winner of the Film Festival Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, Tribeca 2008, and Best Film, Best Director and Best Photography at Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival.

Rated: 14A; violence

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