Review - Let Me In

Creeps and Chills in a Different Vampire Movie

The fascination with vampires has dated to before the dawn of time, no really.

So that really is an exaggeration, but it does seem that way. From Twilight to True Blood, vampires are front and center in movies and television shows everywhere. When they decided to remake Let the Right One In there were many who were skeptical, as this was a horror film people wanted left as it was created.

Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is having trouble in school. He is getting picked on viciously and doesn’t quite fit in with the other kids. And the other kids have no intention of getting along with him. Being the outcast is never an easy road to travel, but Owen is doing his best.

As Abby (Chloe Moretz) moves in next door, Owen finds someone who seems as mysterious as him. He finds her sitting in the courtyard of their complex and wants to know more, but all he is met with is the refrain that they can’t be friends. Despite that, they keep meeting in the courtyard and a friendship develops.

Los Alamos is a small town and when a young man is murdered, everyone wants to know what happened. Why did a man get brutally dissected and have virtually no blood remaining in his body? The friendship progresses and killings continue. Abby even lets Owen see her true self; will that be the end?

This is a quiet film that knows when to explode on the screen. A good mixture of bloody disgust with a bit of hair standing on end is featured in this tale of bonding. Two kids, uniting over their differences are standing together to help each other. It’s a unique coupling and one that can only work with the right cast.

And they have found the right cast here. Kodi Smit-McPhee expands on the performance that he had with The Road last year. He is the perfect person to play the kid that is on the outside looking in. Combined with Chloe Moretz, the two make a great couple of kids in different places in their life. And the two of them carry the bulk of the screen time, so it is vital they got the right actors.

There are moments that are a touch cheesy, but as a whole this has more creeps than chuckles. I found myself creepily enjoying this very adult oriented horror film. Let Me In got inside my head and came out a winner.

B

Let Me In
Overture Films

Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas

Rating: R for strong bloody horror violence, language and a brief sexual situation.
Runtime: 115 minutes.