Let The Right One In

This is one that I had been waiting for a long time. In fact, it's been just over a year since I first talked about it on this blog, but it finally got a cinema release in the UK & Ireland, and it's something I am extremely glad I waited to see on the big screen. Without trying to sound overboard, I sincerely think that Let The Right One In is one of the best films I have ever seen, it left me breathless.

I don't know of any other film I've seen lately that has been as utterly affecting, as powerful, beautiful, haunting and as disturbing as this one. I'll often judge a horror film by how it measures up to the greats of the genre, and in this I have found one that does not merely measure up, it actually surpasses them. It captures a sense of social and emotional isolation even greater than that of Polanski's The Tenant, a sense of permeating darkness greater than that of The Shining or The Exorcist, and it comes off as more personally effecting than any of them.

I believe the best way for a horror film to succeed is to have characters that engage us, that we can relate to, and feel for. Not many horrors manage this, but the few that do are the ones that hit us the hardest; The Exorcist works so well because of how endearing young Regan is and how we're frightened for her. The protagonist of Let The Right One In is 12 year old Oskar (played fantastically by Kåre Hedebrant), he's seemingly alone in the world, picked on and tormented by other children in school, and his parents are separated. There's one scene in the film where Oskar is happy with his father, but when someone calls around, out comes the booze and Oskar is seemingly brushed aside by his father in favour of the bottle and his new company. This is a character I genuinely felt for, and for a horror movie, that's something extremely rare.

Oskar soon meets Eli (Lina Leandersson), who is from all outward appearances a 12 year old girl. She's moved in next door to Oskar along with a man that other characters presume to be her father. Coyly the two become friends, and Eli encourages the very timid Oskar to fight back against the bullies, where he had previously bottling up his anger into murderous fantasies. It becomes more clear to him that Eli is different, she's a vampire, but that doesn't seem to phase him and they grow a close bond.

The character of Eli is another triumph of the film, she's one of the most intriguing, yet absolutely chilling vampires ever portrayed onscreen. She doesn't say much, and her motivations don't seem all that clear. As the film goes on, I felt happy that Oskar found a friend, but for all the outward innocence of his and Eli's relationship, there seems to be something very cold and calculated about it and by the end of the film I wasn't sure if Oskar was redeemed, manipulated, or just another victim. The ending is left very open to interpretation, and that's what I found so haunting and chilling about the film. It's magnificently subtle.

I won't say that the film is perfect, there's one scene that I felt worked against it, you'll know the one I mean if you've seen it. But in all other aspects, this is an absolute masterpiece. Director Tomas Alfredson has made a film that looks nothing short of beautiful yet bleak and haunting, scenes are framed with a true artistry, and it keeps a steady pace throughout. It can be taken as a story of love and friendship, or something far more sinister. But overall, this is a film that is without peers, it is one of the most significant horror films in a very long time. The acting is superb, and rarely will you find young actors as good as the 2 leads here. Special mention has to go to the score by Johan Söderqvist, it sets the tone amazingly, it's as subtle yet powerful and as affecting as the film itself.

There's really very few films that have left me as staggered as this one, that have instantly solidified themselves as favorites like this has. I'd recommend it without reserve, whether you're a fan of horror or not. Let The Right One In, along with the likes of Ring and Don't Look Now, is what I'll be judging further Horror films against. It's raised the bar.