Let The Right One In, redo

 

     Over the years there have been many cliché vampire stories, Let the Right One In is not one of those. Let the Right One In captures what is cliché and beyond; reinventing new ways to show a typical seemingly predictable vampiric love story. 

 

      Let the Right One In seems to be just another vampire horror film at first. Oskar, a young boy who is an odd sort of loner who haves spouts of rage and wants revenge on the bullies who taunt him and Eli, our female counter point who is a young child of the night, fearless and who of course Oskar takes a liking to. The two meet outside their dreary apartment building and quickly establish similar interests through sharing a rubics cube and being neighbors. Oskar and Eli share a bedroom wall to which they sign morse code to each other every day and night, it doesn't take long for the two to be inseparable. The relationship they develop can be best described as “innocently sweet”.

     This film is more than just a love story. It is a complex telling of love and child like innocence; how people grow and love each other. The screenplay is interesting because it's kept pretty minimal. There is more said in the body language of the two young actors who play Oskar and Eli. Stories don't usually take the side of a child romance, especially when one of them has an insatiable lust for blood. The title ,Let the Right One In, stands for the vampire rule that a vampire cannot come into a humans house unless verbally invited. The scene where Oskar finds out what happens when Eli is not verbally invited in is impeccable, it truly shows how their relationship evolves, it is also a visualization of an age old symbol that one cannot be hurt by evil unless one knows about evil. The reoccurring trust and unconditional love throughout the story is essential to the amount of child like innocence Oskar has. Without the examples of maturity and what kind of beast Eli is brings to the story, this film would have fallen flat. I quite enjoy that the fact that Eli is a vampire is fuzzy until half way through the movie. Being a horror film, Let the Right One In has just the right amount of gore. This film is more atmospheric, thoughtful and emotional than typical horror films. 

 

       This is one of my all time favorite vampire/horror films to date for its unconventionality and original storytelling abilities.