98% on Rotten Tomatoes for a modern horror classic.
In the history of horror films, no other creature has proven to be as popular and adaptable as the vampire. Hell, it’s almost like they never die and are able to inject new blood (pardon the pun) into the subgenre.
Just don’t mention Twilight!
From the shifting menace of Nosferatu, the Hammer films featuring Christopher Lee, the beloved ’80s cult-classics like Near Dark, The Lost Boys and Fright Night, right up to the modern comic-book adaptations of Blade and 30 Days of Night, film fans have had plenty to get their teeth stuck into.
This being said, every once in a while, a film is released that’s clever enough to revitalise the genre while standing out as something that’s original, brave and brilliant.
Let The Right One In is the perfect example of this.
Since being released in 2008, Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of the superb book by John Ajvide Lindqvist has rightfully been hailed as one of the greatest horror films of the 21st century.
The story revolves around 12-year-old boy that befriends a mysterious young girl whose appearance in their small town suspiciously coincides with a horrifying series of murders.
A fragile, anxious boy, 12-year-old Oskar is regularly bullied by his stronger classmates but never strikes back. The lonely boy’s wish for a friend seems to come true when he meets Eli, also 12, who moves in next door to him with her father.
A pale, serious young girl, she only comes out at night and doesn’t seem affected by the freezing temperatures. Coinciding with Eli’s arrival is a series of inexplicable disappearances and murders. One man is found tied to a tree, another frozen in the lake, a woman bitten in the neck. Blood seems to be the common denominator. But by now a subtle romance has blossomed between Oskar and Eli, and she gives him the strength to fight back against his aggressors.
Despite the danger, Oskar’s friendship with the girl ultimately takes precedence over his fear of her.
In an era of blood and guts, torture porn, demonic possessions and countless horror sequels and franchises, Let The Right One In stands apart as a rare gem because it deals with themes like loneliness, adolescence, the loss of innocence, bullying, despair, and friendship.
It’s also worth noting that Matt Reeves’ US version, Let Me In, was also one of the more enjoyable remakes but in our view, it can’t top the original.
If you like your horror films to be slow-building, well acted and with a fairytale quality, you’ll love this. Twilight, this is not.
The critics agree.
Washington Post – “A spectacularly moving and elegant movie, and to dismiss it as genre-hood, to mentally stuff it into the horror pigeonhole, is to overlook a remarkable film.”
Newsweek – “A vampire movie like no other.”
Philadelphia Inquirer – “Funny, fear-inducing, with periods of voyeuristic gore and an undercurrent of anxiety and dread, Let the Right One In is up there with the bloodsucking classics.”
Variety – “Calling to mind the work of Anne Rice and Stephen King, atmospheric adaptation of Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist’s bestseller is well directed by his countryman Tomas Alfredson.”
Screenrant – “One of the greatest vampire movies ever made.”
Let the Right One In airs on the Horror Channel at 02:20 or alternatively, you can watch it on Netflix.
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