REVIEW: LET ME IN

My Rating:

Before we get started, I'd like to mention that I hope to write this review in two separate fashions; As a stand alone film and as a comparison to the original Swedish version, Let the Right One In.

First, as a sand alone film. Let Me In is a film about a couple of social outcast children; a weak, wimpy looking boy named Owen (Smit-McPhee), who befriends the new girl, a preteen vampire girl named Abby trying to get by in the apparently freezing, harsh city of mid-1980s Los Alamos, New Mexico. To say the plot is strong suggests that this movie has a plot in the first place. Yes, characters interact with one another as usual, but there is no clearly defined lines that guide the viewer towards what's happening next. Going into this movie with absolutely no understanding of what it's about would leave anyone wondering where the heck it was headed. I'm not suggesting that having a lack of plot is a bad thing, I think it helps drive the point that this movie is centered around children quite well (not worried about the future, just living in the now). It can just be frustrating for a slower-moving film to not be headed in any particular direction. So, I guess what I'm suggesting is that the lack of plot in Let Me In is surprisingly strong.

The casting choices for the film were spot on. I've been a fan of Chloe Moretz for a while, and am pretty excited to watch her career unfold. She has talent, and it shows in her role as Abby in Let Me In. The same can be said for Kodi Smit-McPhee; he is one of the few young actors that I've noticed to actually have a sense of how to use his talent. Both Richard Jenkins and Elias Koteas were fantastic, as could be expected. 

One of the greatest strengths in the film was it's cinematography. I was particularly blown away by a few shots in the film, one of which is probably the best shot I've seen this year (I won't spoil it, don't worry). The clever lighting and framing always kept Owen's mother's face just on the edge of being seen, but in the entire two hours of the film, you never once get a clear look at her. With how often she was on screen, I was impressed at how little I knew about what she looked like. 

Now, comparing the film to the 2008 Swedish film, Let the Right One In. Director Matt Reeves did a hell of a good job making this film look exactly like the original. The 'plot' is extremely similar, and the story moves along in the same fashion. I don't think that a remake was necessary, because the original was so good itself. However, I know that there are plenty of people who just hate reading movies instead of watching them, so I'd have to say that Let Me In is a very good representation of the original. 

The two main flaws of Let Me In: 

1) It's a vampire movie. Nobody likes that junk less than me. This would be a great film, if the vampire twist was taken out. I appreciate that this is completely different from any of these teen pop vampire stories I'm so used to hearing about, and the film does bring some classic elements of blood-sucker myths into the plot very well.  The vampire genre is way overdone; it's unfortunate that such a good movie had to come out at such an inopportune time.

2) Bad computer graphics. Every time they were used, it was interferingly obvious and totally ruined the scene (usually a very important one at that). I expected much better quality from the director of Cloverfield, but no dice. 

I'm over the fact that it's about a vampire. However, the slow moving story that lacks any direction mixed with badly done CG at some of the most crucial scenes of the film took a huge chuck out of my satisfaction with the movie. Although the cinematography was fantastic and the story was very refreshing, it wasn't a good time for another vampire movie to come out in an already blood-soaked market.


Released: October 2010
Length: 1 hr 56 min
Directed by: Matt Reeves
Written by: Matt Reeves (Screenplay), John Ajvide Lindqvist (Swedish Screenplay, Novel)

Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas
Rating: R