Let Me In (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
Sweden's Let The Right One In, was one of 2008's better offerings; a dark morality tale about a lonely, bullied boy who strikes up a strong friendship with a young vampire girl who needed blood to stay alive. Now, America has gone and re-made it, just 2 short years later - now named 'Let Me In' (directed by Cloverfield's Matt Reeves). Most remakes are trash. This one isn't. In fact, it may even be slightly better than the '08 film.
'Let Me In' is set in the early 1980's in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Los Alamos' winter is similar to Stockholm (from the original film); and making it be the early 80's is important because there was no internet, cell phones, DNA testing, or security cameras around to debunk what occurs in the plot. The movie begins hauntingly with an unidentifiable burn victim being placed on the 10th (!) floor of a local hospital. And the story then flashes back 2 weeks for the rest of the duration. Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is an alienated 12 yr. old who is intelligent, but bullied at school. So when the mysterious Abby (Chloe Moretz) moves into the next-door apartment along with her 'dad' (Richard Jenkins), he is drawn to her. Barefoot, but claiming that the cold doesn't bother her, she seems to be even more bizarre than Owen. She tells Owen that they cannot be friends, but a bond forms btwn. them anyway.
They communicate through the wall btwn. their apartments using Morse code. She tells him how to handle the bullies. What we know that Owen doesn't is that Abby is a vampire whose 'food' is provided by the man who shares her apartment; her 'dad', but he isn't. When he can't fulfill her needs (or messes up, trying to), she must go out on her own. They both live in constant fear of being caught. And when Abby foolishly chooses a victim who lives in a nearby apartment, it attracts the dangerous attention of an investigating policeman (Elias Koteas). Can Abby continue to live in secrecy with her new guardian, Owen? Or will the feds get them? What of the bullies at Owen's school? Much violence, blood, & gore ensues; especially in the wonderfully cathartic final sequence (within a pool).
Many people are upset that this remake was made because the original art house film was so great. The figured that this movie would be 'Americanized' or dumbed-down by Hollywood for mainstream audiences. But that isn't the case, here. It's every bit as muted, ambiguous, & eerie as the original; just in the English language. And this movie even made some improvements (in my estimation). i.e., there are a couple of subplots in the original film which dragged proceedings, a bit. There is a spectacular action-horror sequence in the middle of this movie concerning a flipped car that left my mouth agape. This film also includes great sound design, creepy energy, elegant cinematography, Michael Giacchino's musical score, & a MUCH better understanding of the Richard Jenkins character. It's the basis of that character which provides a link for the Owen character; hence giving the film an extra boost of pathos that the story already inherently had.
Richard Jenkins is as stellar & sympathetic as ever as Abby's 'dad'. Watching Jenkins physically go through all he does to get blood for Abby is fun to watch (well, fun in a macabre way. i.e., hiding in back seats of cars to slit throats of unassuming drivers, hanging victims upside down to drain their blood into a container, etc.). Chloe Moretz impressed last yr. in (500) Days of Summer, earlier this year in Kick-Ass, & now again in 'Let Me In'. She's just a very solid, intuitive young actress. We know she's good. But to me, most impressive was Kodi Smit-McPhee (from last yrs. 'The Road'). To me, he exhibited the perfect blend of shyness, vulnerability, & underlying boldness in sticking it out with Abby (once he knows what she truly is). Taken on its own terms - and separate from the original - 'Let Me In' is a slow, deliberate, but well-made, well-acted, good-looking horror flick that's as scary & gory as it is a sweet coming-of-age tale.
Oh, and that 10-story hospital in the middle of nowhere is something else, huh?
'Let Me In' is set in the early 1980's in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Los Alamos' winter is similar to Stockholm (from the original film); and making it be the early 80's is important because there was no internet, cell phones, DNA testing, or security cameras around to debunk what occurs in the plot. The movie begins hauntingly with an unidentifiable burn victim being placed on the 10th (!) floor of a local hospital. And the story then flashes back 2 weeks for the rest of the duration. Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is an alienated 12 yr. old who is intelligent, but bullied at school. So when the mysterious Abby (Chloe Moretz) moves into the next-door apartment along with her 'dad' (Richard Jenkins), he is drawn to her. Barefoot, but claiming that the cold doesn't bother her, she seems to be even more bizarre than Owen. She tells Owen that they cannot be friends, but a bond forms btwn. them anyway.
They communicate through the wall btwn. their apartments using Morse code. She tells him how to handle the bullies. What we know that Owen doesn't is that Abby is a vampire whose 'food' is provided by the man who shares her apartment; her 'dad', but he isn't. When he can't fulfill her needs (or messes up, trying to), she must go out on her own. They both live in constant fear of being caught. And when Abby foolishly chooses a victim who lives in a nearby apartment, it attracts the dangerous attention of an investigating policeman (Elias Koteas). Can Abby continue to live in secrecy with her new guardian, Owen? Or will the feds get them? What of the bullies at Owen's school? Much violence, blood, & gore ensues; especially in the wonderfully cathartic final sequence (within a pool).
Many people are upset that this remake was made because the original art house film was so great. The figured that this movie would be 'Americanized' or dumbed-down by Hollywood for mainstream audiences. But that isn't the case, here. It's every bit as muted, ambiguous, & eerie as the original; just in the English language. And this movie even made some improvements (in my estimation). i.e., there are a couple of subplots in the original film which dragged proceedings, a bit. There is a spectacular action-horror sequence in the middle of this movie concerning a flipped car that left my mouth agape. This film also includes great sound design, creepy energy, elegant cinematography, Michael Giacchino's musical score, & a MUCH better understanding of the Richard Jenkins character. It's the basis of that character which provides a link for the Owen character; hence giving the film an extra boost of pathos that the story already inherently had.
Richard Jenkins is as stellar & sympathetic as ever as Abby's 'dad'. Watching Jenkins physically go through all he does to get blood for Abby is fun to watch (well, fun in a macabre way. i.e., hiding in back seats of cars to slit throats of unassuming drivers, hanging victims upside down to drain their blood into a container, etc.). Chloe Moretz impressed last yr. in (500) Days of Summer, earlier this year in Kick-Ass, & now again in 'Let Me In'. She's just a very solid, intuitive young actress. We know she's good. But to me, most impressive was Kodi Smit-McPhee (from last yrs. 'The Road'). To me, he exhibited the perfect blend of shyness, vulnerability, & underlying boldness in sticking it out with Abby (once he knows what she truly is). Taken on its own terms - and separate from the original - 'Let Me In' is a slow, deliberate, but well-made, well-acted, good-looking horror flick that's as scary & gory as it is a sweet coming-of-age tale.
Oh, and that 10-story hospital in the middle of nowhere is something else, huh?