Review of Let Me In (2010) by Brick — 01 Nov 2010

It's easy for any fan of the original film to be hesitant about his movie. After all, the old saying is that if it's not broken, don't fix it, and Tomas Aldredson's "Let The Right One In" is as far from broken as it gets. However, in this particular case, everything turned out just fine. Matt Reeves(Cloverfield) has really done an excellent job of staying true to the original while putting his own little spin on the story. The setting is slightly different, going from a Swedish town to a New Mexican suburb but it all still feels very familiar to fans of the first one. The mood is excellent as it manages to convey a wide range of emotions from sympathy to fear and everything in between. This mood is accompanied perfectly by the outstanding orchestral score that again, feels very familiar.

But at it's heart, Let Me In is about the characters. When we first introduced to Eli and Oskar in the original we fell in love with them and the idea of duplicating those characters seemed frightening. I'm here to tell you that Owen and Abby do their Swedish counterparts proud. This is, in large part, due to the fantastic acting jobs done by Kodi Smit-Mcphee(The Road) and Chloe Grace Moretz(Kick Ass). They manage hold true to the character but both add a level of charm that perhaps had not been seen before. Elias Koteas and Richard Jenkins round out what turned out to be a very strong cast with seemingly no week links.

No matter what title you go by or what language you speak this is a story that everyone should experience. Unlike the fanboy(girl) driven vampire films of late this is one that can really affect you. These are characters that you will care about and a story that you will want to see to the end. And if you're a die hard fan of the original like myself, who can't stomach the idea of this remake I urge you to give Let Me In a chance. It is easily one of the best films of 2010.