Let Me In (2010)
Certified: 16
Duration: 116 minutes
Directed by: Matt Reeves
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas
KRS release

While Matt Reeves’s Cloverfield was a rough, low-budget surprise that turned the tables on the usual monster movie genre, Let Me In is a different kettle of fish. The film is based on the eerie and romantic 2008 Swedish film Let The Right One In which was adapted from the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist. The result is an accomplished, violent love story.

The film is anchored down by the beautiful acting of the two young leads, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz.

The film kicks off in 1983, where an unhappy boy named Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) lives with his mother in New Mexico. His parents’ marriage has fallen apart and his mother is drowning her sorrows in wine. Owen also has the attention of Kenny (Dylan Minnette), the school bully and his two cronies who make his life hell.

Safety arrives in the most unexpected of forms. New neighbours move in – Abby (Chloë Grace Moretz), a girl his age and her dad (Richard Jenkins), or at least Owen presumes the man to be her dad. The two soon become friends, even though Abby manifests strange mannerisms such as running out barefoot at night.

Meanwhile, her dad/protector kills to bleed his victims so that she can feed. Abby is a vampire who will be forever trapped in the body of a 12-year-old. A local policeman (Elias Koteas) starts to pay attention to all the killings. All the while, Abby and Owen’s friendship becomes stronger. But what will Owen do when he realises the truth about Abby?

This remake is less surreal than the original, but it also exorcises some of the elements that were a bit incongruous in the original. Let Me In comes with a cold touch to it that will leave its audience pleasantly creeped out. It also has a feeling of dread that permeates from one scene to another.

This version has scenes which are impressive to behold, especially those where Abby hunts and attacks her victims. As a vampire tale this one comes with touches of originality which went amiss in Twilight. It comes with a sense of haunting romance that is tangible rather than over-dramatised.

Let Me In looks at the vampire myth and explores aspects of the creature’s way of life. It increases the aspect of realism and sheds the aura of mysticism that usually permeates the genre. It’s interesting to watch how the creature of the night legend is dismantled and how new ideas are brought in.

Matt Reeves has a more controlled hand in Let Me In which is quite a change of pace from the frenzy he seemed to be in when directing Cloverfield. It gives us the chance to savour each scene in a more personal manner. Mr Reeves wisely opts not to over-emphasise the special effects and not depend on CGI. The film is not about gore but rather about intensity, which makes its scenes of violence all the more impressive.

In the acting stakes the young cast is impressive and bring a certain gravitas to the film. Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz bring an emotional whirlpool to the film’s core. It’s a revelation to look at Abby through Owen’s eyes – how he starts viewing her differently from one scene to another.

The ending leaves us with a haunting image and viewers are forced to ask how the two’s relationship can develop and what sort of relationship it would turn out to be. Viewers also get the feeling that the characters are caught in a cycle that will leave them pinned to each other, with “normalcy” as we know it being alien.