Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
'I have been 12 for a long time....', 29 Aug 2009
Frankly, I haven't liked many of the vampire movies that hit the theatres in the recent past. They had very little substance, apart from gore and blood. The only upside was the superb special effects. One did not however feel they were `real' characters, if you can use that term for a bloodthirsty vampire.
Into this arid cinematic landscape comes Let the Right One In, a Swedish movie that tells the moving story of a young vampire. The hauntingly beautiful story is rather simple - the vampire girl Eli ("I have been 12 for a long time"), develops a relationship with Oskar, a 12-year-old boy who is tormented by classmates at his Stockholm school. Their relationship blossoms in a frozen landscape, amidst the frenzy of murder necessitated by Eli's thirst for blood and Oskar's travails at school. It is a voyage of discovery for both protagonists in the movie - they learn the finer points of life (and death) from each other.
The viewer immediately warms up to both characters, played brilliantly by the two first-time leads. It is hard not to sympathise with Oskar, who finally learns to `handle' his tormentors the hard way on Eli's advice. Eli is one vampire you do not hate - her life is one long struggle for blood, company and love. The film does have gore - but it is not the primary focus. It has plenty of blood, but in the director's hand it becomes the conduit through which the two characters bond. Oskar stands by Eli even after learning that she is a vampire. If that is not love, what is ?
In that context, The Right One is a love story par excellence. The one thing that could have prevented Oskar from reaching out to Eli instead becomes their greatest strength. In one instance, Oskar saves Eli's life from a potential killer. The would-be killer ends up being a source of blood for Eli. She repays her gratitude in the final sequences of the film. Indeed, the eerie swimming pool scene is one of the finest moments of horror seen on film recently.
As for the technical aspects of the film, the cinematography is nothing short of excellent. It captures the desolate and snowy landscape of Sweden so well that one cannot help feeling the cold. The special effects are excellent for a non-Hollywood film. I am sure they will have better special effects in the forthcoming American remake, but will it retain the `soul' of this Swedish masterpiece? The acting is uniformly good too. There is no doubt that two leads will get more roles in Swedish and foreign films in the future.
There is a great debate on the Internet about the subtitle translation, but I did not encounter any problems on this Optimum release. Having no knowledge of Swedish, I cannot say whether it is the best available, but it worked for me and I had no trouble comprehending the dialogues. Of course, one always has to take into account that in any language, there are subtle nuances, play on words and unique idioms and expressions that may not lend themselves so well to translation in to another language. I have also not read the book, so I do not know how faithful the film is to the book (I know some changes have been done). But taken on its own, the film is well paced. This could be due to the fact that the author of the book has written the movie script as well.
Technically, the DVD is brilliant and the blu-ray must be even better. There were hardly any artefacts in the many night scenes. The sound is not demo material, but the engineers have crafted it well to match the `atmosphere' conveyed in the film.
In short, this is one film you should have in your DVD/blu-ray library. It is a remarkable piece of contemporary cinema, one that you would not forget for a long time. It will require the full attention of your mind - and the heart - for 110 minutes, but it's worth every second. Films like this come along only rarely, so treasure it while you can.
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Drop everything and see it, 12 May 2009
This is not a just horror film, it is a moving modern fairytale that explores the relationship between two lonely children. It is the best film of 2008, probably the best film about vampires ever made, and one of the best explorations of childhood relationships ever commited to film. It is more "My Girl" with blood than a Swedish "Twilight."
There are so many strange, otherworldly and moving scenes in this film. They bond over a rubix cube in the snow. The morning when Oscar gazes from his window after Eli has left, wondering how she flew from his third story window. The moment Oscar finally asks Eli, through glass, the questions you feel he has been itching to for some time (Are you a vampire? Are you dead? Are you old? "I'm twelve" she answers, "I have been twelve for a long time.") It is searingly touching in its innocence despite how ridiculous the whole thing sounds. Then there is their parting, Oscar trying desperately to remain composed as he witnesses her feeding on a local man. After killing him she stands in front of Oscar, a huge ring of dripping blood around her mouth, and tells him they must part. He stares, his heart pumping, biting his lip. The first time he witnesses the raw truth of her terrible existence.
Despite decapitations, frozen corpses and pools of blood, at it's heart this is a gentle and touching story about two lonely twelve year old children - one cursed by urges she cannot control and the other inextricably attracted through his own isolation to this beautiful but beastly creature who appears one night in the playground outside his house.
The two leads (astoundingly both first time child actors) are electric. Their performances are so arresting that the film suffers for every moment they are not on screen. One of the final scenes featuring the pair was recently voted the best piece of cinematography of 2008, beating amongst others The Dark Knight to the honour. It's no surprise, because the film looks incredible. It is the tone and direction of the piece that moves it head and shoulders above any other film featuring a vampire or a gushing severed artery.
The trailers and posters are geared to make this look something like the Ring films, the creepy girl with greasy hair, the looming girl in a nightdress etc. This isn't Damien - it's not about strange children staring at the camera. It's hugely entertaining and moving original film making. Full of imagination, breathtaking in its bravery and vision. See it.
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35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely brilliant!, 13 May 2009
`Let the Right One In' is a Swedish thriller about a young, lonely 12-year-old boy named Oskar who's neglected by his parents and is bullied at school. One day he meets his new next door neighbour, Eli. Being the same age, the two make friends but Eli isn't an ordinary girl - she is a vampire.
I'd read a few decent reviews of this before seeing it at the cinema this weekend and although they were all saying that is outstanding, I wasn't expecting anything as good as this. The story sounded a little bit like the recent Twilight movie that I wasn't all that impressed with to be honest (as it was aimed more for teenage girls) but this film had everything - horror, suspense, romance, mystery and of course, a vampire. The setting is very dark and miserable giving the perfect ambience and it felt like it really reflected Oskar and Eli's feelings of being so cold and lonely. The story is fairly straight-forward but is so well written and well acted, I thought that it was superb. Being subtitled didn't spoil it for me at all - in fact, after about 5 minutes I didn't even notice I was reading them anymore.
Overall I strongly recommend seeing this film as it is easily one of the best foreign films that I've seen since The Orphanage and Tell No One and fans of horror thrillers should love this.
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