Review of Let Me In (2010) by Jonathan B — 13 Jan 2014

A pretty decent remake of the excellent Swedish film "Let the Right One In", Let Me In is the story of a little boy, a loner who is bullied at school and the friendship he develops with a girl who moves into his apartment building.

The boy, Owen gradually gains the trust of the girl, Abby and slowly uncovers the dark secret that she is actually a vampire, cared for by a human minder who is tasked with procuring her the blood she needs in order to survive.

This English language remake shifts the action from a dreary, dark Sweden in the 1970s to New Mexico in the 1980s and this setting works equally well. The acting, especially from the two young leads, is good and the feel of the movie is dark and spooky.

However, truth be told, I'm not sure that the original needed this make-over. A great deal of the scenes from "Let the Right One In" are reproduced and the story is, therefore, very familiar but the pace is quickened here which I think is a shame as I loved the quiet, steady progress of the Swedish movie.

This version also lacks the group of neighbours who observed the action unfold with Scandinavian drollery that added so much to the vibe of the earlier film. It is rather gory but this is handled with care and overall, this is a watchable little chiller of a film, which is a little out of the ordinary.