American remake ‘Let Me In’ is a slick vampire tale

Let Me In probably passed under one’s radar when it came out in movie theaters in fall 2010. It was largely a box office bomb, and that’s quite a shame. The movie is a quiet, slick vampire tale that focuses on good characters and good storytelling rather than good special effects. In these days of 3D and CGI, it cuts across the grain in many ways.

Of course, many people might have bypassed the 116-minute drama because it has no big stars (Academy Award nominee Richard Jenkins is probably the most famous). Others may be completely turned off by a movie that is a remake of a Swedish-language film, which is itself an adaptation of a famous Swedish novel.

In its original form, Let Me In is known as Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist. The book, and its two cinematic incarnations, tells the story of Owen and Abby (Oscar and Eli in the original version).

In the 2010 English-language release, Owen is played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, an actor who perfectly captures the isolation of the character. Owen is a loner, choosing to hang out at the playground by himself and playing violent fantasies in his forlorn mind.

His solitude is interrupted when Abby, a vampire, moves in next door. In the 2010 release, Abby is played by Chloe Moretz (500 Days of Summer), in an equally impressive performance.

Thankfully, both movies, which are stellar pieces of film, focus on the friendship between Owen and Abby. Sure, Let Me In is a vampire tale, and there are horror elements to the story. But ultimately the tale begins and ends with this friendship between two lost souls.

There are side characters, and interestingly many of their story lines are cut in the cinematic adaptations. The book is a nearly 500-page whirlwind of characters and subplots that takes place in Stockholm, Sweden, and I suppose it’s expected that a two-hour movie would condense much of the story (plus this latest release is set in New Mexico). Still, some of the characterizations feel a little cheated.

In the 2010 release, Jenkins plays a character simply known as the Father, and he comes across rather sympathetic, even though he kills unsuspecting people in order to drain their blood for Abby. In the original novel, the character is named Hakan, and his back story is so dirty it’s almost unbearable to read. It’s interesting how both the Swedish film and the Hollywood one have morphed this quasi-villain into a tertiary character.

But still, Let Me In and the Swedish movie that came before it are worthy films in their own right. They both embrace the book’s central message of friendship and focus on Owen and Abby (or Oscar and Eli). One will notice that I haven’t mentioned vampires too much, and that’s because there aren’t too many examples of the vampire legend in these films. Yes, Abby cannot walk into a household without first being invited (hence the title). Yes, Abby is cold to the touch and doesn’t age a day. Yes, Abby sucks the blood from her victims’ necks and has fits of rage if she doesn’t get the life source she craves so much, but to cast Let Me In as a simple vampire tale would be wrong. This is a coming-of-age story that happens to have a few scary moments.

Somehow, a praiseworthy book has been turned into two praiseworthy movies.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Let Me In

•  2010

•  Directed by Matt Reeves

•  Starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz and Richard Jenkins

•  Running time: 116 minutes

•  Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, language and a brief sexual situation.

•  Rating:

Revised