Let the Right One In (2008)

• Year: 2008
• Released: 12 Dec 2008
• Country: Sweden
• Adwords: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award75 wins & 58 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/let_the_right_one_in
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/let-the-right-one-in
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: Swedish, Spanish
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
• Runtime: 114 min
• Writer: John Ajvide Lindqvist
• Director: Tomas Alfredson
• Cast: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
• Keywords: murder, vampire, bullying, bully, sweden,

	7.9/10
	82/100
	98% – Critics
	90% – Audience

Let the Right One In Storyline

In the suburb of Blackeberg in Stockholm, the twelve year-old Oskar is a lonely and outcast boy bullied in school by Conny and two other classroom mates; at home, Oskar dreams on revenging the trio of bullies. He befriends his twelve year-old next door neighbor Eli that only appears during the night in the playground of their building. Meanwhile, Eli’s father is a serial-killer who drains the blood of his victims to supply Eli, so she doesn’t have to kill. Eli advises Oskar to react to Conny fighting back; however, he soon discovers that she is a vampire and he feels fear and love for the girl.

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Let the Right One In Movie Reviews

A dark dark tale, masterfully told

So many people reviewing this film on IMDb seem to focus on the sweet friendship between it’s 12 year old human and vampire leads. While this is a huge element of the film, this is a sweet story of childhood friendship in the same way ‘The Godfather’ is the story of a fathers concerns and worries for his kids; both true descriptions, its just that you would be missing the point if you came away from either film thinking that is what you had seen.

In truth, ‘Let the right one in’ is about as dark a film as you can get, and its a measure of its brilliant story telling that having seen it a week ago, its disturbing echoes have stayed with me and refuse to go away.

It’s also one of those films best enjoyed without prior knowledge, but impossible to review properly without disclosing plot elements, so be warned – SPOILERS AHEAD.

As another comment here has said, it’s the character Håkan that is the key to this story; for at the end of the film we are led to believe Oskar is stepping into his place. It is that fact, revealed in the final scene that gives the film its dark and nightmarish core; the blossoming friendship we have been witness to prior to this will offer no redemption to Oskar if this is path his relationship with Eli takes.

Håkan butchers boys not much older than Oskar as food for Eli. In this story, where the storytelling is of the highest order so many of its darkest whispers are just that, hinted and suggested at. Questions are alluded to that play on the mind, but are never answered. Why does Håkan pick these victims ? presumably they are Eli’s preference. What does that say about Eli’s interest in Oskar ? What is Eli’s true nature ? She has been twelve “for a very long time”, but we briefly glimpse her true physical age, in fact she is in late middle age; roughly the same age as Håkan. Her gift to Oskar in the films last moments; the brutal slaughter of his child tormentors. Entranced in her glamour, this makes Oskar happy, but how can this be happy or good ?

And then they go off happily into the sunset, Oskar presumably to be deadened to the soul destroyed husk of a person Håkan had become, butchering his fellow humans to provide Eli with food. You can see why I am puzzled when people think this film is sweet. In fact its conclusion is utterly chilling; Oskar has happily swapped the commonplace misery of childhood bullying for a fate that will truly be hell on earth and you know as he happily smiles in the films last shot that he doesn’t have a clue.

None the less, it’s superlative and a film I would heartily recommend. Like the greatest horror tales it succeeds by suggestion and playing on the imagination. It is also a truly great addition to the vampire cannon, a thing that can be said of very few variations on Bram Stokers brilliant original.

Potentially traumatizing…be careful with this one.

I am not particularly a fan of vampire movies and the only reason I watched “Let the Right One In” was because my oldest daughter was visiting and wanted to see it. Well, considering I am a sucker for a foreign film, I decided to watch along with her.

I know she liked it–mostly because the film was unique and incorporated a lot of folklore about vampires–stuff you often don’t see in other movies. As for me, I just appreciated that the film was different–not just a retelling of some old Dracula story or some modern sparkly sort of vampire tale. I could say more about the film and why I thought it was a pretty good film, but I think it’s more important I point out that this film is NOT for everyone. It is very, very bloody and vicious–and highly disturbing…seriously disturbing. Not all of this is because of the very vivid killings but because of a deeper part of the story involving genital mutilation and well as a twisted relationship between the two main characters! Yes, this is NOT your granddaddy’s vampire movie. So, if you want to see it, just be forewarned…and don’t rent it for your kids (unless you WANT to be a horrible parent and traumatize your kids).

Typically classy Swedish vampire story

This is one of those little European horror films that seem to come out of nowhere every now and then to blow the world away. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is a Swedish effort that tackles the overdone vampire genre in a unique, subtle way that falls some way between the two main types of vampire film at the moment: the teen-friendly romances a la TWILIGHT and the ultra-gory thrills a la 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. It’s far better than either of those films, a lyrical, touching and often haunting exploration of adolescence that just happens to feature one of the main characters as a vampire. Thankfully, the bloodsucking antics are kept low key, but even so I thought they were sometimes a little over the top (the bit where Eli climbs a tree has some obvious wire work that took me straight out of the film).

The film’s at its best when it’s a touching portrait of puberty, including all the usual staples: evil bullies at school, unloving parents, the sense of being an outsider, and overwhelming loneliness. The young cast are fine, with Kare Hedebrant particularly good as the beleaguered boy and Lina Leandersson as the put-upon vampire girl. I found the scene in which they innocently shared a bed to be the best in the whole movie. Otherwise, there’s romance here and some bloodletting, including a wonderful set-piece climax in a swimming pool of all places that finishes the film superbly. It may not be an effects-filled bonanza or a movie that blows you away, but LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is instead a mature and reflective exploration of some very dark themes.