Let the Right One In

Ever since Tiny Heat recommended it, I've had Let the Right One In (aka Låt den rätte komma in) on my Netflix queue. I've been researching vampire stories for my upcoming pop culture class in the fall. Working my obsessions into my work is easy with my job, thankfully! What I've been looking at is the history of vampirism (the invention of the vampire, its original lore in different parts of the world, its use as a metaphor). So in addition to the vampire movie and books I already love, I'm seeking out stories that try to add to and/or mess with the conventions of the myth. Let the Right One In is just that kind of story.

Now, you know me. I don't need an excuse to watch a vampire movie. Whatever, it was the last day I had to be available for students before the final. I came home from an extended endless office hour (or 5 hours) of lonliness and decided to treat myself with a movie. M. was taking a nap and he said that some of the noises from the movie were freaking him out in his sleep. That's how awesome this film is!

It's a Swedish film, and since I haven't heard Swedish spoken much and I hate dubbing, I read the English subtitles just so I could listen to it. Worth it. It's always worth it. I can't think of anything worse than dubbing.

This was such a good film. Not like a vampire film you know. Dark, haunting yes, but also more about lonliness and adolescence. And what it might really feel like to live next door to a vampire. Someone who needs blood to live, and whose hunger is dangerous. And what it might cost you to be a vampire in the guise of a 12 year-old girl.

It's about a 12 year old boy who is horrfiically bullied at school. He gets a new neighbor, a young girl and what seems to be her father/guardian. Turns out, his neighbor is a vampire. In the course of the story, they develop a friendship. She has been 12, it seems, for a long time.

I don't want to spoil it, but there is one addition to the vampire lore that isn't super consequential to the story. You know the whole aspect of vampire mythology about being "invited" in to a residence? A vampire has to be invited in order to be allowed to cross a threshold. Usually, it's a magical invisible barrier that prevents her or him from entering (at least in TV/movies). In this film, the vampire, Eli, asks to enter, but her friend, the central character, Oskar, questions the reality of the myth. He beckons her to come in with his finger, but never says it out loud. To test her. She comes in. She starts to shake. Then, blood pours from her eyes, ears, and mouth. Finally, her scalp and other pores start to bleed. It's almost as if she rejects the blood she's taken as punishment for not being invited. The pic above is the aftermath of her experience. Interesting penance, I thought.

It's a solemn, brooding, quiet film. It has interesting lighting and sound, and hints at things it never explains. But honestly, the last scenes were so intense and amazing and full of satisfaction that I ordered the book, written by John Ajvide Lindqvist. I would read the story, with MORE detail, even though I know how it ends. In the book, the vampire is androgynous, and there is a moment in the film where Eli says "I'm not a girl." So maybe I'm just taking some cues from the actress. Sadly, the author looks like this:

I heard there is a US remake in the works, filming now, called "Let Me In" because well, the whole Morrissey reference is apparently lost on Hollywood. But you should see this one. It's beautiful and scary and thoughtful. Don't wait.