Let the Right One In (I've Finally Seen It!)

“Are you a vampire?”

“I live off blood, yes.”

Vampirism is a disease. It is an addiction. At least that is what is presented in the 2008 Swedish film Let the Right One In. The apartment of Eli, the young female vampire, resembles that of a junkie. She does not see herself as a vampire, however. As the above exchange indicates, she just needs blood. She kills because she has to. She does not enjoy it. As such, the film is not a vampire movie, but instead a film with a character with vampire-like traits. It is not a gimmick but a backdrop to an effective and haunting drama.

The film does not focus on Eli, however, but instead chooses to follow the young Oskar through his troubled adolescence. At school he is bullied and awkward, but at home he creates his own fictional world in which he is the bully. He yields a knife, ordering invisible victims to “squeal like a pig”. After all, that’s the nickname the bullies at school so often bestow on him. When his mother asks about his injuries, he lies to her. This may be a type we’ve seen in many movies about pubescence before, but it’s communicated so well that I bought into it.

Oskar is utterly helpless until he meets Eli, the young girl who just moved in next door. She is watched over by a man named Håkan, who is not her father but obviously a companion who cares deeply for her. Eli is the aforementioned vampire, but she does not do the killing herself if she can help it. She sends Håkan to kill others and drain their blood, something he has become less successful at doing in recent times. He is a character that is both hauntingly vulnerable and mysterious, a man who says little but seems intent on doing his job right.

Eli and Oskar form a special kinship that seems destined for something a bit deeper. She is resistant at first, as it is obvious she has been in similar situations before, but eventually she also lets her guard down. Perhaps this a calculated move, as she always seems in control. She tries to force Oskar to become bolder, to strike back at the bullies. As the film goes on it becomes apparent that, perhaps, she is training him for something. That question, thankfully, is never answered for the audience. Interpretation is a glorious thing.

Let the Right One In is, if nothing else, beautifully shot. We see Eli as Oskar sees her, something dangerous and beautiful that has come into his life. She is capable of brutal, violent things, but Oskar never watches them unfold directly. The climactic sequence is an absolute triumph, giving us closure without cheating or exploiting.

It isn’t perfect, but as far as vampire films go these days it’s as good as you are going to get. There are a couple sequences that don’t come off effectively thanks to cartoonish special effects and some poor execution (hint: cats), but as a whole this film is haunting and endlessly memorable. Tomorrow I will see the American remake Let Me In, and I will return with a review likely longer more detailed than this one. I have posted this to let you know that I have seen the original, and it is very good indeed.

Rating:  (out of 4)