Let me in

I watched "Let the Right One In" many months ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have meant to, but never got around to reading the novel. It has an actual story, spending some time on actual character development rather than following Hollywood's current breakneck pacing trend.

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Originally Posted by Comeuppance These American remakes smack of pure laziness on the part of filmmakers here. Every other movie now is either a remake or a 3D film. That being said, Let The Right One In was better than the remake in every way.

For what it is worth, the producers/director of this movie have gone out of their way for months to say they are doing an english language version of the original novel, rather than a remake of the previous movie. Granted, it was the success of the previous movie that prompted this attention...
Still, it is nice that the english version will likely garner additional attention for a worthy story (and help re-darken vampires after all this twilight tween-ishness). EDIT: or not, now that I see the box office figures. *sadness*

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Originally Posted by Lothic Normally I don't like "remade" movies, especially ones that are based on recent originals. So when I heard "Let Me In" was based on a Swedish film made just 2 years ago I initially figured it was going to be a cheesy knock-off.

I agree, having the author support their effort (even recognizing the draw of the paycheck) provides a lot of endorsement to the effort.

I am pleased to hear positive reviews, and I look forward to seeing it.

And notably, I understand both movies manage to dodge a significant plot element from the novel (based on what I have read).

In the theater now for a matinee. Will post after with my thoughts.

Well funny you should ask. As soon as I got out of the theater and home it was time for No Ordinary Family and then so on and so on and so on then sleep then work then NOW I have time to write out my thoughts.

<<<Consider anything below a spoiler>>>







A little background for perspective reasons. I bought the book and the movie at the same time when it first came out on DVD (Target had some kind of special on the two together or something like that if I remember). I made a point to read the book first then watch the movie after. Really enjoyed both, a lot. Went to see LMI yesterday afternoon. (as stated before)

Overall- I think it's a good rendering of the source material, maybe a tad incomplete. The book itself is pretty dense with information and many more characters but I think the American version did a good job of telling the core story while hitting most of the important plot points along the way (just as the Swedish film did). The child actors did a great job and I think it's safe to say that Chloe Moretz is going to be a huge star one day. As far as it's relationship to the Swedish movie they both feel extremely similar in look, tone and pace. They did seem to take strides in making the two movies feel like the same story. My first feeling was it seemed like the movies were twins, but fraternal twins. I'll agree with someone earlier who said if you liked the first chances are you'll like the second. I'd venture a guess if you hated the Swedish film you won't care much for the American version. I enjoyed it and think as a remake it worked and as a film it worked.

Differences- (And I'd like to point out not all of the things I'll list here are necessarily bad, just different. I'll try to give my take on pro or con.) They did play a little bit with the relationship between Abby and "her father" and their relationship to make it seem less sexual and more old friendship. But I would point out that they didn't take that possibility off the table either, just that it seemed a little more platonic. The book and the Swedish film don't shy around the subject, it is what it is. Personally I think it's pretty important to the story, and while it's a very uneasy subject I think it does add a dimension of sadness and terror to the original story. Leaving this out, or at least heavily covered it up, didn't ruin the movie for me though. It just made the story a little more "shallow" or "unflavored". (More on this in a minute) They also did up the BOO! moments a bit and threw in a bit more gore, none of which were gratuitous or over hyperstylized like some American horror cliches. At some points it was a bit too CGI-y, but not a gamestopper. One thing I did notice very different from Swedish movie and book was the fact that most of the victims were relatively unknown to the viewer, where the book and even the Swedish film did a good job of letting us get to know these people and that makes their deaths all the more jarring (personally).

I really wanted to see the barfly's and hear their stories and see their stories. Having Virginia/Victoria and her story get distilled down to a few minutes didn't carry the weight it did in book or original film. Her transformation is the moment where the reader and viewer start to realize a lot of plot points up to that moment: why Eli sends Hakan to collect the blood, if she does have to feed directly from someone why she has to break their neck, etc. What took place over many days and was tragic and touching at the same time, was pretty much turned into a fancy FX shot. Sad, but not fatal. I also think there were subtle changes in the approach towards the children. This Owen (Oscar) was a little less sympathetic to me, and a bit more accepting of what Abby was doing. The Swedish Oscar (Owen) seemed a bit more innocent and less accepting to me. I think there was something very interesting and menacing in having the Swedish film Eli (Abby) be androgynous whereas the American version was so cute and feminine. The only way to make her stand out was not wearing shoes in the winter. The Swedish version had an otherworldly quality about their appearance that, for me, brought a certain cache and weight (and as I said in another post a sadness) to the part. The thing about the original characters in the book was they were both misfits and while we see Owen getting treated like a misfit, we don't get that from Abby as she looks relatively normal, especially after bathing. But as I said Chloe Moretz did a great job. Their relationship in the American version was fleshed out a little more and did have a bit more romance and sweetness (and suprisingly a bit more sexuality) than either the book or original movie did. Not enough to change the overall feel, but palapable and I think another way to soften it for the "American audience". In the book it was less about physical attraction and more about friendship between two friendless outcasts.


Back to the American Abby (Eli) and her "father". With the changes they made here it greatly changed the dynamic of the ending, even though it's almost a word-for-word/frame-for-frame recreation. Where in the book and first movie, it's more like two lost souls riding off into the sunset, what you see in this version is that she's merely recruiting her next companion and that Owen will end up with the same sad fate as "The Father". So in a way, maybe this ending works better, because upon looking back at the original two, that was what he'd end up being anyway; he was afterall, a boy and she a vampire. So it's hard to say which "works", but the American ending was a little less arty and a little more pragmatic.

Like with most adaptations my preference lies with the book (the original source material) as I think it has many more layers of flavor and nuance that you can't get from shortform media. While the overall story isn't really about what kind of "relationship" Abby has with the Father, it gives a depth and sadness to the character and the book that goes beyond a little boy and girl becoming friends against great odds. Some people prefer a distilled story, some like the full course dinner. Me, I like my books wordy with a gross amount of details. A comparison of the movies as I said before: fraternal twins or two sides of the same coin...if you like one you'll like the other yadda yadda. BUT I would encourage anyone to partake of any combination of these properties, they are all quite good and can be enjoyed alone, as a duo or even a full set.

Edit to reduce block o' text.

I had a chance to see it, and thought it was actually pretty good, and considering I am really so not a fan of gore, I appreciated the slightly less emphasis the film placed on that annoying element of modern horror.

And, hope you guys do not mind, but I forwarded your comments to my wife's uncle John Ptak. He is an executive producer for the movie (bought the rights at Tribeca), and was nervous about the reception!

Good review, you saw pretty much the same things I did. I'll remember to look at the Swedish films with the same open eyes when I see it on Halloween.

Thanks for the thoughts, MentalMaden. You have kept my appetite wetted to see it, and re-encouraged me to get the book.

I hope I make it to the theater for it this weekend.
And if not, it is adding to the top of my DVD queue as soon as it is out.

LoL, looking at the thread title, I came in here expecting to see people whining about the servers still being down nearly two hours past the estimated time. Instead I find a discussion about vamp soaps. I guess it's refreshing in a sense. At least we have something else to talk about.