Vampires have firmly planted their blood loving selves in the movie world, television land, and throughout most of bookdom. People have been obsessed with these blood sucking creatures and I don’t blame them. They are riveting characters that can be used symbolically to represent different things within society. Vampires are almost always seen as outcasts and often represent the minority. This correlation is used successfully in the film, Let The Right One In.
This 2008 Swedish film centers on a boy named Oskar (Kåre Hedebran), who is constantly bullied at school. He has no friends and often fantasizes about standing up to these bullies. Oskar is lonely until he meets another outcast, Eli (Lina Leandersson). The two gradually become friends and hang out together every night, in the winter cold. Only, Eli is not just any outcast. She is a vampire. Despite this, the two friends fall in love. Each enamored with the other.
One thing that I particularly liked about this film is how grounded in reality it felt. Vampires are often portrayed as sophisticated coffin dwelling men from the 18th century. Let The Right One In puts the vampire curse on a 12-year old girl in a modern setting. Her father or guardian must become a killer, in order to supply Eli with blood, so that she can survive. The murder scenes are disturbing, since they feel so gritty and real. The father is so calculated in his methods, implying that he has been doing this sort of thing for a long time.
Despite his devotion, Eli seems ungrateful towards her father, often ordering him around like a child. He clearly cares for her. Perhaps he was somehow responsible for what she has become and feels a sense of guilt; therefore, resorts to killing for her survival. The film never reveals why this man is so devoted to Eli. The most logical conclusion being that he is her father.
In one scene, the viewer watches Eli pretend to be a girl in need on the streets and then suck the life out of a nice guy trying to help. She kills out of a need to survive, yet the people she kills do not deserve this fate. It’s troubling to see how cold and unrepentant Eli is towards her actions. At the same time, I never felt an emotional connection to the people she killed. Not once, was I upset over her victims’ deaths.
Oskar is the one person that Eli connects with. She would never harm him intentionally, but it is clear throughout the film that the temptation of blood can be uncontrollably appealing for a vampire. In turn, creating tension when the two hang out, making the viewer wonder: If Eli gets desperate enough, would she kill Oskar?
Poor Oskar, a nice kid targeted by three bullies. They call him “piggy,” play cruel pranks on him, and even whip him with a stick so they can get him to do what they want. Although the murder scenes are intense and the blood sucking scenes are frightening, it is these schoolyard bullying scenes that disturbed me the most. The fact that kids could be so cruel to someone else, just for the sake of being cruel, is heartbreaking. Oskar never did anything that would warrant such physical and mental abuse.
Eli encourages Oskar to fight back. She doesn’t understand why he would let the kids get away with doing those things to him. When Oskar finally takes a stand, it is such a gripping moment. I wanted to cheer because the feeling of excitement was so electrifying. The underdog finally got his moment of glory. His fantasy had become a reality. Oskar stood over his tormentor smiling, as if to say, I’m not afraid of you anymore.
To counter that adrenaline pumping scene, it is eventually followed by the most terrifying scene of all. The final scene takes place in the school’s pool. Oskar’s life is in danger, leaving me squirming in my seat. One part of me worried for his life, the other angry that something so evil could occur to such a nice kid. How the danger is resolved is truly remarkable. And the way it was filmed from Oskar’s point of view made it more spine-chilling because the director did not show the audience every gory detail. He left much open to the imagination, like old school horror films were so masterful at doing. I find that films that show too much gore, mainly torture, are not frightening. They are disgusting. The scariest parts in films are often when something is implied and your mind’s eye forms the visual.
This scene is followed by a short epilogue. It felt unrealistic and unnecessary. I think this little scene was pointless and took away from the punch of the previous scene. The film would have ended stronger in the pool area. Despite this minor hiccup, it does not tarnish the film as a whole.
Let The Right One In is a horror film from yesteryear. Equal parts drama and horror. Not once overindulging in the other, but using the two genres to better a story and elevate it to greatness. No pointless killing scenes. No meaningless teenagers being killed with a hook or machete. No poor acting followed by buckets full of blood. Just good old fashioned horror based in reality. Both in terms of the vampire and schoolyard bullying scenes.
The Breakdown:
Plot: 4
Characters: 3
Genre: 4
Technical Aspects: 3
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