More of a gothic love story than a horror movie, the Swedish-made Let the Right One In, available for streaming in Netflix Watch Instant, is one of this decade's best — and most elusive — films. It challenges its audience but at the same time avoids overly cryptic storytelling. Here is a film that genre geeks and art-house snobs can mutually appreciate. The year is 1981, the setting a cold, barren Swedish suburb called Blackeberg. Let the Right One In (the title is a reference to a Morrissey song) follows 12-year-old Oskar (Kare Hedebrant), a boy who is constantly bullied at school. He plays out fantasies of revenge by stabbing trees, collecting news clips involving murders and reciting lines from movies with vengeful themes (apparently Oskar has seen Taxi Driver and Deliverance). Early on, Oskar befriends Eli (Lina Leandersson), a supposed (watch closely) 12-year-old girl who happens to be a vampire. Both of them yearn for a connection, and find one in each other. Director Tomas Alfredson (his follow up is the excellent, Oscar-nominated Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy, released last year) and screenwriter John Ajvide Lindqvist — masterfully adapting his own novel — have pulled off something fresh: a seriously dark, twisted and postmodern take on the vampire genre. Eli's vampirism is more of an infection, similar to the zombies of 28 Days Later. The tone of the film is reminiscent of Unbreakable and Donnie Darko while also resembling the Japanese film
Battle Royale.
A rare author-adapted screenplay
The nearly 500-page book has been stripped down expeditiously to tell the main story of Eli and Oskar. It's rare when a writer is allowed to adapt his own material for the screen. I imagine it must have taken some swallowing of pride for Lindqvist to excise several characters and subplots from his novel, but his work in retooling the story should be celebrated. Together the book and film make nice complementary pieces. Subtlety and ambiguity are the film's greatest strengths. The audience is expected to fill in the gaps, but the clues are there for the watchful and intelligent observer. "Let the Right One In" may spark some debate with its shocking and violent climax, taking child brutality to a whole new level and leaving the viewer with a moral quandary to ponder.
This is one of the most beautifully constructed films of recent memory. Director of photography Hoyte Van Hoytema conjures memories of late Kubrick films, especially The Shining. He captures the oppressive Swedish winter and suburban malaise using shadows, reflections and darkness. This film feels cold. The dull, lifeless architecture and the weather are important characters in the story. This is a film that will stay with you — a perfect combination of art and entertainment. An English-language remake was released two years later (and it’s also available on Netflix streaming) with "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves at the helm, but most of the challenging elements were softened for American audiences, and the original’s subtleties were made too explicit. Trust me, skip the remake and stick with the subtitles. You won’t regret it.
