Let The Right One In

This Swedish vampire film got its start at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival last month, and due to its overwhelming success has received a run in select theatres in Canada. And thankfully so, because it's a gem of a picture.

Be warned right off the bat - this is not 30 Days of Night or even Dracula. It's a very quiet and slow moving piece that is equally as touching as it is creepy. If you're one of those people who is looking for an action packed gore fest, save this one for when you're able to focus on a good storyline with plot and character development.

Let The Right One In is a story about Oscar, a 12 year old outcast who is constantly picked on by bullies and devoid of friends. The film opens silently with this scrawny and awkward boy looking blankly out into the snowy night from his bedroom, placing his hand on the window in loneliness. We are introduced to his feebleness when he faces bullies and never fights back. But then he meets Eli, a strange and beautiful young girl who moves in next door with her apparent father. She is strangely unaffected by the cold and can walk around in the snow barefoot without being bothered, though Oscar doesn't mind this and instantly accepts her (despite this and her other strange qualities). Slowly we are introduced to the idea that she is a vampire when we see her "father" capturing and killing people, pouring their blood into large containers. As Oscar starts to realize what she is he is neither phased nor frightened. For the first time in his life he has someone who actually cares about him, so much that the film's brutal and vengeful climax seems completely justified by these characters.

Even with the slow pace of this film, it was difficult not to be riveted. The audience was given just enough information about Eli to come to their own conclusions about her, and they got a chance to know her and Oscar as emotional beings rather than stock characters. And thankfully, director Tomas Alfredson understands that to make something truly creepy you don't have to see every detail, so that when he wants to make a real visual impact it's that much more effective (namely the demise of another vampire). He also utilizes an effective film tool that I haven't seen too often but am a huge fan of for it's frightening quality - using different terrifying faces on a character you've come to know. This was used most effectively in The Exorcist, when the audiences would see almost subliminal images of a demon face occasionally blasted across Linda Blair's. In this film, we get subtle visions like this in effective places - Eli's eyes adjust from cat slits to normal in sudden light, her face was altered in her vampiric state when consumed with the hunger for blood at strategic points in the film, and at one rather eerily touching moment when Oscar and Eli share a kiss we see a glimpse of Eli's true age in an extreme closeup of her eyes. We have no way of knowing how old she truly is, but in that moment of vulnerability her face became both terrifying and sad in its wizened state before returning to her soft young girl features.

The performances by the two kids are fantastic. Simple, curious, affected and honest. With Eli's confidence and caring, Oscar becomes instilled with the courage to fight back against his enemies, and Eli stands up for Oscar repeatedly in the only way she knows how, providing the films best jumps and creepy moments. However, the film's most touching and frightening moment came when Oscar questions Eli as to why she always needs to ask to be let in, and she takes it upon herself to show him first hand what happens if she doesn't. This results in the only moment when Oscar is truly frightened - not from her being a vampire, but because of the thought of losing his only true friend and causing her great pain because of his own curiosity.

I would hesitate to label this as a "vampire movie", because although the story centres around a character who is, in fact, a vampire, it is really a tale of love, acceptance and revenge. Yes, there are moments where the audience jumps, and there are moments where your breath gets caught in your throat. But the moments of connection to these very real and believable characters far outweigh the need for scares, making this a truly original and refreshing film.