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Archive for December 6th, 2008

eric on Dec 6th 2008 Movies

Sweedish Vampire Movie?

When I think of Sweden, I think of Ikea. It’s probably not right of me, but that’s how it is. I think of faux-modern style and cheap pressed wood pulp. I don’t think of vampires and darkness and really fun evil.

Well, I didn’t until seeing Let the Right One In. It’s the story of a 12 year old boy named Oskar who is bullied at school but never fights back. At night, he dreams of revenge. He then meets Eli who appears to be a 12 year old girl. She and an older man have just moved next door to Oskar. Eli only comes out at night and seems eerily unaffected by the freezing Stockholm temperatures.

Coinciding with her arrival are a series of bizarre murders in which the victims blood has been drained from their bodies. The murders, as we find out early on, are committed by Haken, the older man who moved with Eli. He commits these brutal acts for one reason. Eli is a vampire and she needs blood to survive.

But a young romance begins to bloom between Oskar and Eli. Meanwhile, Haken is becoming more and more careless with the killings. Because of his blunders, Eli has to hunt and fend for herself. Oskar, becoming evermore suspicious of Eli’s true nature, will soon find the strength he needs to face his own problems at school and to face Eli.

This is not a cute little coming-of-age film. But then, with a plot surrounding two twelve year olds falling in love, how can it not be? This movie is cold, it’s stark. There’s practically no day light and, taking place in the dead of a Swedish winter, there is only snow on the ground.

I wouldn’t really call this a horror movie. Not in the traditional sense. It’s not scary, but it’s not really supposed to be. It’s unnerving, unsettling and just plain dark.

Let the Right One In was based on a novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay. The novel is quite a bit different and I can’t wait to read it. It’s also being made into an Amererican movie by the guy who directed Cloverfield. So, please see the Swedish original first (and probably instead).

There is something about this movie that doesn’t easily leave you after you leave the theater. Definitely see this.

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