LET ME IN 4.0*** for the genre and 3.5*** overall

To begin with, I was quite skeptical at the thought of an American version/remake of the beautifully haunting Swedish film “Let The Right One”. But after seeing it, I'm happy to report that Director Matt Reeves has knocked it out of the park! This is an incredible movie... dare I say even as good as “Let The Right One In”. It is truly hard to believe that flawless adaptations ( it's based on the same book) of this great story could be done this well twice. But the level of skill on every point is startling. These are two of the best vampire film stories to come around in years. And since Director Reeves faithfully sticks to the story it means an audience who may not have watched the subtitled original will get a chance to take it in.

“Let Me In” is not the in-your-face horror movie as the previews would lead you to believe. “Let Me In” is actually a rather tender tale of boy meets vampire girl and how they come to bond with each other. Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a twelve year-old who is constantly and brutally bullied at school and has no friends and lives with an alcoholic mother. One night, Owen meets a strange, but friendly girl who moves in next door. She is 12 (more or less) and appears perfectly normal except she walks around barefoot in the snow. Her name is Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz) and as Owen gradually learns, she is anything but normal… she is a 250 year old vampire who was frozen in time as a 12 year old girl when she was vampirized .

Nobody could have ever predicted that someone could reproduce “Let the Right One In” in a way that is both original and different but at the same time faithful to the story. The performances by Kodi Smit-Mcphee and Chloe Grace Moretz are absolutely stunning. The films directing is right on…he let the child actors teach him what 12 year olds are like and he learned well…and the sound track is awesome… somber and lilting during the quiet moments and “Psycho”- like during the horror moments…great contrast.

The story and the film are a wonderful study of human nature and asks important questions. Are there truly evil people in the world? And are they always evil, or can they actually be wonderful in the eyes of someone else ? One of the great strengths of this film is that it constantly moves between two worlds--the sweetness of youth, and the true horror of what a vampire really is. We get a front row seat to both you’re left to decide if the evil outweighs the good.

If you’re a vampire movie fan, it’s a must see. If you’re a novice at this kind of film, this is a good one to “cut your teeth on”.

Clak