Studio: Overture Films

Directed By: Matt Reeves

Written By: Matt Reeves

Rated: MA15+

Genre: Drama, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Running Time: 1 hr. 55 min.

In Theaters: Oct 14

Starring: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smith-McPhee, Richard Jenkins

Before I begin this review, I feel there are a few things you should know. For starters, those not in the know should be aware that Let Me In is an American Remake of the much loved foreign film: Låt den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One In)

The second thing you should know, is that I absolutely loved Låt den Rätte Komma In. It was, and remains to this day, one of my all time favorite movies. And when I found out that there was to be an American remake of this movie under production, I was absolutely furious.

 Not only was it going to be remade by Americans, the world famous classic movie destruction experts, but it was to be directed by Matt Reeves, the director of Cloverfield. Imagine that Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber planned to form a cover band, and start to re-release terrible versions of your favorite songs, and you’ll start to understand how I felt.

But after being persuaded to go see Let Me In with my friend on his birthday, my fears were washed away. Not only is Let Me In a great movie, in my opinion, it’s even better than the source material; Låt den Rätte Komma In.

For anyone wondering, the story is exactly the same. Thankfully, no scenes have been removed, edited, or just generally “Disneyed”. With the exception, thankfully,  of THAT scene (anyone who saw the original will know which one I mean). So don’t worry, very little has been changed to “fit a new audience” or “removed avoid offence”. Matt Reeves has thankfully been smart enough to realize that trying to improve the source material would end in failure, and an incredibly angry response from fans.

Now that’s all been explained, I can continue with the review.

Let Me In is the story of lonely young boy named Owen (Kodi Smith-McPhee), who meets a strange new girl, Abby (Chloe Moretz), who turns out to be a vampire. I you think this sounds like Twilight with the roles reversed, you’d be wrong. And an idiot.

Owen is brutally bullied in school, has no friends, and is caught up in the ugly divorce of his parents. Thankfully, Kodi Smith-McPhee doesn’t renew his role as a whiny piece of luggage, that we saw in The Road. Instead, his character is convincingly pitiable, and easy to sympathize with. You’ll feel sad for him as he walks friendless through school, and sits alone on the jungle gym outside the block of flats where he lives. When he watches his mother fight with his father over the phone, then crying on the couch, and when he looks at other couples with envy and emptiness, you won’t just observe his emotions, you’ll feel them.

Owen is brutally bullied at school. And when I say brutally, I mean brutally. Matt Reeves manages to capture perfectly the fear and intimidation that Owen, or any bullied child would feel in that situation. Something that can be very hard to perceive from an outward perspective. You won’t see a some 12 year-olds intimidating another 12 year-old, you’ll see Owen pursued by the very personification of fear and cruelty. These scenes are gritty, graphic, and unsettling. When Owen is absolutely belted by his tormentors, you WILL be disturbed, and you WILL be hit hard.

When Owen meets Abby, their meeting is awkward at first, but despite their young age, soon blossoms into a truly beautiful romance. The scenes that extend the relationship between Abby and Owen is at times, truly heartwarming, and at others, very sad, as Owen explores his powerful, yet underdeveloped feelings for Abby.

Abby is a vampire. And I’m not talking about one of those ridiculous new-age “interpretations” of vampires, I’m talking about a back-to-basics, honest-to-god vampire. Abby requires blood to live, cannot eat regular food, burns in the sunlight, climbs buildings, doesn’t age, lives forever, and cannot enter a home without being invited. Abby is an incredibly interesting character, and Chloe Moretz brings her to life, delivering her performance as a 12 year-old vampire that is both an old soul, and and yet still an innocent young girl, perfectly.

But Abby isn’t some misunderstood magical creature, she’s a murderer, a monster, and in some ways just as evil as the boys that torment Owen. Abby kills people, a lot of people. And the scenes where she stalks, and kills people are at times, truly chilling, and sometimes as disturbing as the ones depicting Owen’s torment. Abby is at times an innocent young girl, and at others, truly the stuff of nightmares. And Matt Reeves delivers this perfectly.

At this point, I think I should mention that the cinematography in this movie is absolutely perfect, I couldn’t ask for more. The director manages to use camera angles and lighting in ways that I thought were beyond him, making all the scenes beautiful, but at the same time using these tools to influence one’s emotions so very perfectly.

Let Me In has so many themes, it’s difficult to pin one down and label it as the main one but essentially, the movie is about Owen’s innocence lost, and eventual acceptance of his fate. But there’s far too many for me to list here, so if you want to know them all, go see the movie. Let Me In is also very difficult to fit into a genre, as shown by the obviously conflicting themes listed above.

In the end, Let Me In is well acted, well filmed, well written, and stays fiercely loyal to the source material. It’s everything I thought it wouldn’t be, and so much more, and succeeds in being a more than adequate adaptation for a western audience. In my opinion, it’s arguably better than it’s source material. You’ll feel sadness, pity, and fear,  but you’ll also feel, relief, happiness, and a powerful sense of hope.

I recommend this movie to everybody and everyone. Go and see it.

-Reviewed by Jack Kelleher