Let the Right One In
A 12-year-old boy befriends a mysterious young girl whose appearance in town suspiciously coincides with a horrifying series of murders in director Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of the book by author John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay. Oskar is a young boy who can't seem to shake off the local bullies, but all of that begins to change when a new neighbor moves in next door. After striking up an innocent friendship with his eccentric next-door neighbor, Oskar realizes that she is the vampire responsible for the recent rash of deaths around town. Despite the danger, however, Oskar's friendship with the girl ultimately takes precedence over his fear of her.
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: KÃ¥re Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist
In the basest of terms, a horror flick. But it's also a spectacularly moving and elegant movie, and to dismiss it into genre-hood, to mentally stuff it into the horror pigeonhole, is to overlook a remarkable film.
The young actors are powerful in draining roles. We care for them more than they care for themselves. Alfredson's palette is so drained of warm colors that even fresh blood is black.
Stick your neck out for this Swedish horror show. It's a winner, full of mirth and malice, plus a young romance you'll never see on the Disney Channel.
The beauty of Let the Right One In resides in the way the horror remains grounded in a tragic kind of love.
There is a remarkable stillness to many of the film's most indelible images, particularly the exteriors, which are so carefully photographed, and without the usual tiresome camera jiggling, as to look almost frozen.
Best International Film
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2009)
Tomas Alfredson
Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival (2009)
Best Horror Feature
Austin Fantastic Fest (2008)
Best Foreign Language Film
Austin Film Critics Association (2008)
Best Film Not in the English Language
BAFTA Awards (2010)
No lists