Review of Let Me In (2010) by Vera W — 04 Mar 2012

Let Me In is an incredibly complex film. It is filled with nuance in not only the subtle emotions and expressions of the actors but the writers' choice of dialogue and even the nostalgic theme of the "Now and Later" candies, which evoke the notion of living in the context of Romeo's significant line, "I must be gone and live, or stay and die." The chemistry between Chloe Grace Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee is so powerful that Let Me In's success as a romantic drama almost overshadows its success as a chilling horror. This is hardly a cliché vampire film. It is arguably Chloe Grace Moretz's best acting so far, easily rivaling her stellar performance as Hit Girl in Kick-Ass, and Kodi Smit-McPhee masterfully portrays a conflicted middle schooler resentful of the suffering he sees and experiences. He immediately brings audiences back to the visceral emotions of their middle school days. Every line delivered by these two is done at the perfect volume, in the perfect tone, almost always an uneasy, uncertain whisper, except for Kodi's extremely convincing screams for help and mercy at the hands of the bullies. Richard Jenkins also does a smashing job, appropriately conveying a creepy, dying, but ambivalent and conflicted sense of duty and loyalty towards Abby. The bully actors, Dylan Minnette, Jimmy Pinchak, Nicolai Dorian, and Brett DelBuono do a fine job, especially for their age, and Dylan seems duly imposing and terrifying to Kodi's character. The rest of the cast's acting is without any noticeable flaw.

The film's soundtrack outside of the film is nothing to fall in love with, but within the film, it perfectly cues the desired emotions and serves its purpose very well. The only elements of this film that can honestly be criticized are its special effects, mainly Abby's vampiric form. When her form is shown in action scenes where she jumps around a lot, it looks a little bit too obviously computer-enhanced. At the same time, this uncanny quality contributes to Abby's uncanny nature. The few shots where Abby's vampiric face is shown up close, however, with Abby slowly looking up to the camera, displaying her bloody mouth and eyes, altogether seem a little bit gratuitous, but there are likely few options to improve such shots.These minor special effects flaws are vastly overshadowed by the film's excellent camera work (especially including a certain scene involving a car...) and, of course, the grade A plot, thesis, and acting.