Let Me In (2010)

Directed by: Matt Reeves | 115 minutes | drama, horror, thriller, romance, fantasy | Actors: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Richard Jenkins, Jimmy ‘Jax’ Pinchak, Sasha Barrese, Chris Browning, Cara Buono, Elias Koteas, Seth Adkins, Rachel Hroncich, Dylan Minnette, VJ Foster, Brett DelBuono, Dylan Kenin, Juliet Lopez, Ashton Moio, Taylor Warden, Rebekah Wiggins, Deborah L. Mazor, Frank Bond, Gregory Leiker, Rowbie Orsatti, Jon Kristian Moore, Ritchie Coster

Foolish plans sometimes lead to beautiful results. An American remake of the Swedish gem ‘Let the Right One In’ – a gruesome and moving story about the friendship between a vampire girl and her 12-year-old neighbor boy – seems like such a foolish plan. There is a good chance that the Americans will gnaw away the sharp edges of the European original. The dividing line between good and evil, so paper thin in the original, will also become meters thick again. And who should play the vampire?

All that fear turns out to be unfounded, because ‘Let Me In’ has become an exemplary remake. Acts and characters have hardly changed, so that we still look at the friendship between two young outcasts with emotion and horror. Abby is a classic-type vampire who looks nothing like the designer vampires from the Twilight series or the sleazy variant from ‘True Blood’. Abby is primarily a tragic character, an age-old girl who has seen far too much of the world and is a prisoner of her own immortality. Her neighbor Owen is a lonely type, who lacks warmth and security at home and at school. And so needs a friend.

Vampire and boy next door are strongly played by talents Chloe Moretz (‘Kick Ass’) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (‘The Road’). Like Lina Leandersson in the Swedish original, Moretz manages to be girlish and ancient at the same time, combining childlike curiosity with age-old wisdom. In Smit-McPhee’s face you can read the doubts, fear and revenge of a boy who is harassed and has no one to fall back on. In a supporting role we see the wonderful Richard Jenkins (‘Six Feet Under’, ‘The Visitor’) as Abby’s weary accompanist.

While the differences between original and remake are minor, they are there. ‘Let Me In’ is a little more explicit in terms of violence, but much more subtle when it comes to the sex of the vampire. The action scenes are a bit more exciting, the visuals a bit warmer (although Los Alamos looks just as desolate as the Swedish hole from the original). Only downside is the score, which is too compelling and doesn’t excel in original sounds. The songs from the eighties are still good.

So no reason to skip ‘Let Me In’. Precisely by respecting the individuality of ‘Let the Right One In’, that strange combination of horror and youth drama, this remake stands up brilliantly. Just as much tragedy and depth as the original, with an extra shot of adrenaline as a bonus.