Movie Review - Let Me In (2010)

A lot of people are going to tell you not to go see this. They'll say "It's just another pointless horror remake" or that it's clearly "an American rip-off" or that it's a "dumbed-down Hollywood cash-grab". Don't listen to them. Oh, they mean well. And 9 times out of ten I'd be right there with 'em. I don't like horror remakes either! And I really hate it when a perfectly watchable foreign film gets the Hollywood treatment just because lazy Americans don't like to read. But those people telling you to stay away from this have most likely not seen it. Because anyone who's seen it has got to admit, even grudgingly while eating crow... Let Me In is a damn good movie.

Now, to be clear, I have not read Let the Right One In, the 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist on which Let Me In (and the 2008 Swedish film Let the Right One In) is based. (I saw that first film, however, and found it haunting, beautiful and very, very good.) To those of you who read the novel and are wondering if this corrects some of the problems with the first film, I can only say "I don't know." I understand that the novel includes more backstory and clarifies numerous ambiguities within the first film. I can say with certainty that this new American version does not delve more deeply into the story's past nor does it make obvious certain ambiguous details of the Swedish Film. If anything, it sidesteps those details ever so slightly so that the audience isn't wondering if they understood "that" correctly. My guess is that if you are looking to this film to be any more accurate to the novel than the first movie, you'll be disappointed. It's actually a very close remake.

Oh, there are changes. Most notably in the character names and setting. It's still set in the 1980s, but where the book (and Swedish film) used that time setting to punctuate a certain depressed moment in Sweden's socialist past to affect a mood and tone with its Swedish audience, the American version seems to do so out of mere obligation: The original is set in the 80's so the American one is too. In fact, an early scene in which Ronald Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech drones from a television set is supposed to invoke similar associations for American audiences, but it doesn't have even close to the same effect.

The new movie also alters the time line slightly, starting two weeks into the story before backing up and picking up the linear order of events. I found this slight alteration particularly effective - In addition to grabbing the audience with an intense scene right from the start, it serves to pull the metaphorical rug out from beneath the feet of any expectant viewers who already saw the first film. I was impressed and hooked right from the start.

Other than these immediately obvious differences, much of the film is very similar to its Swedish counterpart. 12 year old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road) is powerless and marginalized within the snowy New Mexico apartment complex where he lives with his alcoholic mother. He regularly takes insults and abuse from the school bullies who see him as little more than a pathetic weakling, and his divorced father is nowhere to be seen though regularly heard as he argues with Owen's mother over the telephone. All of this begins to change the night Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz, Kick-Ass), a mysterious girl his own age, moves into the apartment next door.

Apparently dealing with her own loveless family situation and other serious issues (not the least of which is the fact that she doesn't seem to own a pair of shoes despite the thick layer of snow on the ground), Owen and Abby form a quick bond which blossoms into a beautiful friendship. Oh yeah, and people in the neighborhood are dying at the hands of a methodical killer who hangs his victims by the ankles and drains their blood.

Part of why this movie works so well is the incredibly talented leading and supporting cast. The child actors are wonderful, ably handling the complicated nuances of their on-screen relationship and bridging the contrast between horror and heart with deft and seeming ease. Old pros like Oscar-nominated Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) and Elias Koteas (Shutter Island) bring a seasoned edge to the film, as they infuse their respective characters with weariness, compassion and humanity.

Pulling the strings is director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), who I confess an unfamiliarity with before this film. (I missed Cloverfield upon its initial run, but if Let Me In is any indication of his talent, I'll be seeing Cloverfield on DVD soon.) Make no mistake... Let Me In is smartly directed. Obvious care has been taken with the look and tone of the film, which is at once bleak, horrifying, touching and beautiful. Various symbolic touches work subtly but effectively, such as Owen's puffy winter coat (which he wears even indoors, as if to add a layer of protection from those who would harm him) and a full wall mural of the surface of the moon in Owen's bedroom (pointedly showcasing his desperate isolation and loneliness). In a particularly inspired touch, Owen's mother is always obscured... you can never quite make out her face... a creepy and unsettling device that serves to further illustrate Owen's disconnect from his bothersome mother. A memorable car crash sequence is unflinchingly depicted from within the overturning vehicle, and one scene elicited spontaneous applause from the jaded Los Angeles film critics at the packed press screening that I attended. Matt Reeves really deserves credit here. The film is better because of his involvement and I have no doubt that the reason this remake works so well is because of his careful direction.

The film isn't perfect, however. I missed certain moments from the original film that accentuated the climax. Without that powerful sequence involving the father from the first movie, a certain defeated inevitability towards the final scene seems less pointed... more contrived, somehow, in the American version. Still, most of the film's changes actually corrected problems that I had with the original. I'll avoid the spoilers, but it's no surprise to me that murmurs of "Best remake ever" and "better than the first film" are buzzing about the internet.

At the end of the day, did we really need another Americanized horror remake? I don't know... perhaps not. I still think the original film is tremendous in its own right, and I would staunchly recommend seeing it if you haven't already. But in at least this one instance, I'm glad the film was remade. Because I was moved, touched, shocked and awed by John Ajvide Lindqvist's story anew.

And I urge you to ignore the naysayers and see it for yourself.

8/10