Let the Right One In Reviews

(BluR) Freaky neo terror (with social substance) from heaty scandinavian winters. the boy hero is coming of age with ageless vampyr girl, tenderness and bloody topics, and a voice and themes searching his way...

It's no secret that "let the Right One In" is my second favorite movie of all time, and was, in my opinion, in no need of a remake. The experience of watching this movie is akin to that of reading a great book- afterwards you want to recommend it to everyone, in hopes that they will feel the way you did watching it for the first time.

Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant,) an unhappy twelve-year-old boy, is bullied by his peers and fantasizes about making them pay, though for the time being the violence stays within the confines of his imagination. While outside his apartment complex at night he meets Eli (Lina Leandersson,) a strange twelve-year-old who offers him for the first time a chance to dream of a different life.

Eli is not like other girls. She goes outside into the bitter Swedish winter wearing no shoes. Occasionally she smells like a putrid corpse. Animalistic growls emanate from her gut. But she floors Oskar with her concern for him and her insistence that he must fight back- no matter what the cost.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, Eli is a vampire- which doesn't stand by itself as a big spoiler, as it is eluded to in the first twenty-or-so minutes. Eli is not twelve, but rather thousands of years old, and her intentions toward lovelorn, nerdy Oskar are ambiguous throughout.

This is a extraordinarily well-shot film- the snowy, coldly beautiful backdrop is the perfect setting to tell this story, and the cinematography is gorgeous without being showy or pretentious. It is the kind of story that makes you fall in love with it's characters. It doesn't matter if Eli is a vampire or a zombie or even a robot- she is an undeniably real presence, and you root for her as she carries out what must be done.

Lina Leandersson is surprisingly good and carries most of the acting duties on her small, vampiric shoulders. Kåre Hedebrant is a little underwhelming at times but still makes a decent effort, and is nevertheless acts much better than Daniel Buttcliffe is the early HP years. He pulls off the mix of darkness and pain in Oskar's heart combined with his ultimate naivete.

There's a lot of symbolism in the second half of the movie (Oskar closing the doors of his toy cars, anybody?) which you may not catch if you are overly literal-minded or are not paying attention. The film never lets us forget the suffering of Eli's victims, including Lacke, a local drunk she ensnares with a nasty trick and makes a snack out of.

The strength of "Let the Right One In" is that it cares as much about it's characters as it's blood and special effects. The small bit of controversy it earned with its content involving children is unfounded, and should not deter you from watching what is most certainly one of the all-time greats in modern horror.

Let the Right One In, is celebrated vampire movie, that has moderate which is what is working for the film. The atmosphere and the performance all make it thrill that comes out as if originality is seen in the background of the plot of the film.

After such movies like 'Twilight', 'Underworld', 'Blade', '30 days of night' or 'Daybreakers', we finally got, out of nowhere, an original and striking vampire movie. I know, Sweden is not exactly 'nowhere' but I thought it was rather unexpected. Anyway, this movie was definitely one of a kind and I'm not sure you could describe it as an 'horror' movie since it really pushed the boundaries of this genre. Indeed, they seamlessly mixed the vampire loneliness with some teenage anxiety and the end result was quite impressive. Another thing I enjoyed was that, not like in 'Twilight' for example, they didn't add some mindless and boring action scenes. There was still some blood sucking but most of it was off screen but it was obviously not the point here. I guess the damned thing would still be an acquired taste since it was rather slow and there was no action scenes but it didn't bother me at all. However, I must say that a few details didn't really work for me, like for example, who was this old guy hanging out with her? And the (happy) ending was far from convincing, in my opinion, but these were some minor flaws. Anyway, to conclude, it was rather spellbinding to watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in something original involving some vampires.

It was so cute! Young actors/actresses in their roles were great, and the best thing in this movie was that it was so different! I've never seen a vampire movie like this, and I can't even compare this to Twilight for example. Seriously before seeing this I practically hated vampire movies, but this was so great that I have to change my mind.

The sounds Eli made when she was hungry or she ate were awesome!

I like horror movies. Something on the attempt to make the audience scared makes me curious to see this kind of movie. That's not the point in "Let the right one in". Somehow this is what makes it so unique.
Oskar is a sweet 12 year old boy that is very lonely and it is constantly humiliated and bullied by classmates. The story revolves on his relationship with a new neighbor: a 12 year old mysterious girl called Eli. She is a vampire and eventually encourages Oskar to stand up to the boys in his class.

This movie is special in so many ways. First you can see the changes happening in Oskar becoming more comfortable with the idea of revenge. Also there is the relationship between Eli and her "father" Hakan. I'll not discuss here all the possible meaning of Eli's relationships but it is suffice to say that it keeps you wondering.
In addition there is the constant fear from Eli that Oskar will reject her. Initially the viewer may think that is only because of the fact that she is a vampire but there is more. You can see her confusion and fear in the scene where Eli enters into Oskar's bedroom by the window and when they talk, she says that she is not a girl. It is very sweet and emotional.
The other two awesome scenes (this time for a much more gore fan) are the scene where Eli enters Oskar's home without being invited and the final scene at the pool. At the end of both situations you can see Oskar's sweetness surfacing again.
The movie has very beautiful scenarios and the sound is something else. I'm not talking about soundtrack. Watch it with the volume high. The sound effects in most scenes featuring Eli increase the perception of the film.

Overall, I think that it is a pity that Eli's past is not explored. But it doesn't compromise the movie at all. To me, "Let the right on in" is a masterpiece. Watch it at night with the lights off just to create a more immersive experience. But under any circumstances, this movie is a 10.

This movie sits atop almost every best of 2009 horror list out there, and it seems nearly everyone, including me, missed its theatrical run. It's a Swedish coming of age film about loneliness that happens to also be about vampires. Not just a good horror movie, but a great film. Arthouse cinema at its best. Eerie and emotionally charged, it has almost a poetic or lyrical feel to it. And since I'm convinced Swedes are all half-vampires themselves, the whole creature of the night culture couldnt be in better hands. Let the Right One is a great addition to vampire mythology. Definately see it before the American remake comes out.

See this, not Twilight.
Much more beautifully written and depicted than any dime a dozen vampire flick.

After seeing bad vampire films in the past, I was about to give this one a miss but seeing as it was receiving so many positive reviews and that it, according to many critics is "one of the best films of 2008". When I saw it, I absolutely loved it! Let The Right One In is the perfect example of how vampire films should be made. In the past, there have been bad vampire films that lack focus on story, have bad script/directing/acting or doesn’t involve any drama, tension or horror. Let The Right One In is basically what Twilight and especially New Moon should have been.


Let The Right One In tells the story of a young 12-year-old boy called Oskar who is going through a bad time in his life at the moment due to bullying from his classmates and spending his evenings imagining revenge against them. His life changes around completely when one night he meets a girl called Eli who reveals herself to be a vampire who is centuries older than Oskar. She just looks the same age as him. Their relationship becomes jeopardised due to this. Kåre Hedebrant's performance as Oskar was absolutely awesome! He was an almost perfect match with the character because he was all sweet and innocent but also in some ways psychologically dangerous. Lina Leandersson was FANTASTIC as Eli! She actually was the perfect match for Eli's character because she also was good at playing the sweet and innocent type but a very dangerous individual too especially when things started to change around and become increasingly dangerous for the public. It is a rather cute story as well as disturbing because it is a love story that involves children. It could've really failed by it being too cute or the story going way out of place by this but thankfully it didn't!


Tomas Alfredson did an absolutely fabulous job! He has basically single handedly grabbed the work of Catherine Hardwicke, Chris Weitz and David Slade in The Twilight films by the throat and ripped them apart! The film is extremely underrated mostly because it’s a foreign film. According to magazines and websites, Let The Right One In is the best Swedish film ever. It isn't only a scary film and romantic film but there is a lesson that is being told in this film which is mostly about bullying and that the bullying victims should stand up against them. The film has a lot of key focuses. Examples are bullying, drugs, paedophilia, prostitution and murder.


Let The Right One In is a beautifully disturbing film that will melt your heart due to relationship between the two kids but will break your heart and grip you due to its horror and violence. Without a doubt one of the best films of 2008, one of the best horror films and one of my favourite foreign language films of all time.

''You have to invite me in.''

Oskar; a shy bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli; a beautiful yet mysterious girl whom turns out to be a vampire.

Kåre Hedebrant: Oskar

Lina Leandersson: Eli

Lat den ratte komma in(2008) or in English Let the Right one in; Lets start by explaining the title of the film (as well as the novel upon which it was based) refers to the Morrissey song Let the Right One Slip In.
Also referring and according to vampire myths; vampires must be invited in before they can enter someone's home (this point is also expertly shown in the film).



Directed by the talented Tomas Alfredson, based upon the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist whom subsequently worked on the screenplay for the film. The material upon which Let the right one in is based was pure gold in terms of imagination; The film adaptation; equally magnificent in it's scope and capture of Vampire lore, at the same time putting a unique spin on the legendary subject matter. The story tells us a unique perspective from a child's eyes and a mysterious girl he becomes entwined with.
Let the right one in is in Swedish; sometimes the subtitles aren't even necessary as the characters use all sorts of methods and gestures that say more than mere words. Anyone whom complains about the subtitles should not watch; it is wasted on you. An unappreciative audience is an insult to this Let the right one in; because it is a magnificent masterpiece which lingers in the memory using clever circumstances and horrific happenings in equal doses. It rivals any horror movie in the span of the last 40 years in terms of effectiveness and creativeness.
Also tackling bullying from schoolmates, parenting skills from estranged parents and the imagination of a boy whom is innocent, graceful and shy.

The cast relatively unknown to me before; effectively portray believability and magnetism especially the two leads: Oskar and Eli. The acting is so real that I actually did not doubt for a second their growing love and chemistry throughout the story.
Another memorable character Yvonne played by Karin Bergquist turns out a surprising role as one whom becomes infected by the vampiric gene. Imaginative scenes including her falling down a stairs with cats covering her body or her burning in intense flames as a blind is opened in a Hospital defies belief yet captivates and enthralls at the same instant. Hats off for such clever techniques and acting.

Though the film takes place on location at Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm, the film principal photography was shot in Lulea in the north of Sweden; to ensure enough snow and cold weather.
Up to several tricks were used to create the right sound effects for a few gorier scenes used. Biting into sausages replicates the sound of biting into skin and flesh, drinking types of yogurt also were used to sound like drinking blood. The sound of the children blinking was made by the skin of a grape rubbing against each other in an almost blinking motion.
Also rightly voted movie of the year by Empire magazine, whom are sometimes compromised in terms of opinions and reviews(Surprisingly the first time a foreign language film topped their list since the mind blowing Cidade de Deus(2002) in 2003).

Overall, Let the Right one in is a visual, imaginative treat. A horror of renowned highness, a bloody tour de force and certainly one to be watched by any film appreciator.
Guillermo Del Toro director of the fantastical, realistic Pan's Labyrinth; said in his words of Let the right one in, '' As delicate, haunting and a poetic a film as you're ever bound to see''. That only barely begins to sum up the majestic, awesome quality this blood sucker piece is. This IS is the vampire movie of the decade, the swan song and testament to an old legend. It certainly beats Twilight on all counts having more romance, creativity, respect for Vampire lore and horror in Let the right one in's little finger alone.
Just do not pass up this opportunity, as the title suggests: Let the right one in. If you don't you will be the one missing out and that certainly sucks. A bloody dreamed up masterpiece adaptation.

''Are you a vampire?''