"Let Me In" is an adaptation of the Swedish Horror Classic "Let The Right One In". Being an adaptation many fans of the original may have been against the idea of an adaptation on the basis of many adaptations of other films in the past which had failed to do the original justice, those fans should be happy to know that "Let Me In" not only does the original's brilliance justice, but builds upon it to give an even better experience, and a new take of an excellent story to those who will see this film.
"Let Me In" (LMI) will make you do what the title asks, it will make you open your mind, heart and subconscious where it will plant a seed that will grow and continue to haunt you long after you have left the theater. Unlike most Horror genre movies these days LMI is a movie that doesn't lean heavily on visual effects and gore to scare you. Instead LMI builds its foundation in an already excellent story, complimented with great direction, acting, and cinematography. Normally the horror genre is one I choose to avoid due to the frequent use of cheap visual thrills rather then hard hitting emotional trauma and mental unrest. This is where LMI transcends the genre, as it is a film with depth and emotion that will truly stay with you long after the lights come on.
The acting in LMI is award worthy, especially Chloe Moretz as Abby, who's acting is amazing and makes the film's most complex character work. Give her the statue please! Worth mention for those who have seen the original is compared to Lina Leadersson who did an exceptional job as Eli, Chloe was responsible for both the acting and the voice, while Lina was dubbed. Also award worthy is Kodi Smit-McPhee as Owen, without Kodi's Owen to compliment Chloe's Abby the film would have lacked a soul and fell flat despite a great story.
The one area I thought the film lacked compared to the original was Musical Score, whole LMI has an excellent musical score, it is far more direct than the brilliant and creepy Score that supported the original, just nitpicking here though.
In my opinion LMI is a brilliant movie which perfectly compliments the original, as well as one of the best this year.
9.6/10
***Spoilers Below This Point***
I hope my review doesn't come off as disjointed since I have separated the spoilers from the rest of the review.
LMI is driven only by the relationship between Owen and Abby, two brilliantly conceived and acted characters.
Abby is a very complex character, many on the IMDb boards have taken Abby to be a pure evil, calculative, and manipulative 200 year old lady who has perfected the art of tricking others into helping her, I do not agree with this. Abby's character is brilliant because despite these 200 years that she has lived, she is still a 12 year old trapped inside of a monster. There are many hints throughout the movie that evidence this. For example when Abby's caretaker fails to bring back blood for her she is furious because she will now be forced to do the sinful deed herself. Abby's reluctance to get her own hands dirty is evidence that somewhere inside her the 12 year old girl still lives, rather than an insatiable monster who would jump at the chance to enjoy adrenaline pumping moments of a kill. This makes Abby kind of an ironic character, she is defined by her disease as a creature that lusts for human blood, as well as one with the power to obtain it herself, but instead she is reluctant to do so when it can be avoided, because somewhere inside her the 12 year old human girl still lives.
Owen is also a very complex character, but in a way that almost is the inverse of Abby. Owen is a helpless school boy constantly tormented by bullies in his school. He is weak, and has a poor family foundation with his parents going through a divorce. But, when we look into his character, and in certain scenes, we see he has a desire to do harm to his tormentors. One example of this is the scene where he is stabbing the tree with the knife and pretending that it is the group of bullies that torment him on a daily basis. So his character can be described as a weak 12 year old human boy, who wishes for the power to exact his revenge on his tormentors and imagines doing them as well, yet he still lacks the power to do so.
If one looks at this Owen and Abby work sort of like the puzzles Abby loves in that each of them compliment a void in the other, hence when they are together they are complete and they are happy. This is what makes them a perfect match, as when Abby is with Owen she can be her 12 year old self which the majority of her clearly prefers to be, and on the opposite end of the spectrum Owen is no longer lonely and at the same time has someone who has the power to defend him.
Neither of these characters would be even remotely believable without strong performances to back them up.
LMI is also one of the greatest Romantic Tragedies ever made, because despite the happy tone the film ends on, one is assured there is nothing but trouble ahead. Either Owen will outgrow Abby and due to his love decide to keep himself useful and become her replacement caretaker, or she will choose to share her curse with him, where both will have to share in the curse of what a Vampire is a Victim.
"Let Me In" (LMI) will make you do what the title asks, it will make you open your mind, heart and subconscious where it will plant a seed that will grow and continue to haunt you long after you have left the theater. Unlike most Horror genre movies these days LMI is a movie that doesn't lean heavily on visual effects and gore to scare you. Instead LMI builds its foundation in an already excellent story, complimented with great direction, acting, and cinematography. Normally the horror genre is one I choose to avoid due to the frequent use of cheap visual thrills rather then hard hitting emotional trauma and mental unrest. This is where LMI transcends the genre, as it is a film with depth and emotion that will truly stay with you long after the lights come on.
The acting in LMI is award worthy, especially Chloe Moretz as Abby, who's acting is amazing and makes the film's most complex character work. Give her the statue please! Worth mention for those who have seen the original is compared to Lina Leadersson who did an exceptional job as Eli, Chloe was responsible for both the acting and the voice, while Lina was dubbed. Also award worthy is Kodi Smit-McPhee as Owen, without Kodi's Owen to compliment Chloe's Abby the film would have lacked a soul and fell flat despite a great story.
The one area I thought the film lacked compared to the original was Musical Score, whole LMI has an excellent musical score, it is far more direct than the brilliant and creepy Score that supported the original, just nitpicking here though.
In my opinion LMI is a brilliant movie which perfectly compliments the original, as well as one of the best this year.
9.6/10
***Spoilers Below This Point***
I hope my review doesn't come off as disjointed since I have separated the spoilers from the rest of the review.
LMI is driven only by the relationship between Owen and Abby, two brilliantly conceived and acted characters.
Abby is a very complex character, many on the IMDb boards have taken Abby to be a pure evil, calculative, and manipulative 200 year old lady who has perfected the art of tricking others into helping her, I do not agree with this. Abby's character is brilliant because despite these 200 years that she has lived, she is still a 12 year old trapped inside of a monster. There are many hints throughout the movie that evidence this. For example when Abby's caretaker fails to bring back blood for her she is furious because she will now be forced to do the sinful deed herself. Abby's reluctance to get her own hands dirty is evidence that somewhere inside her the 12 year old girl still lives, rather than an insatiable monster who would jump at the chance to enjoy adrenaline pumping moments of a kill. This makes Abby kind of an ironic character, she is defined by her disease as a creature that lusts for human blood, as well as one with the power to obtain it herself, but instead she is reluctant to do so when it can be avoided, because somewhere inside her the 12 year old human girl still lives.
Owen is also a very complex character, but in a way that almost is the inverse of Abby. Owen is a helpless school boy constantly tormented by bullies in his school. He is weak, and has a poor family foundation with his parents going through a divorce. But, when we look into his character, and in certain scenes, we see he has a desire to do harm to his tormentors. One example of this is the scene where he is stabbing the tree with the knife and pretending that it is the group of bullies that torment him on a daily basis. So his character can be described as a weak 12 year old human boy, who wishes for the power to exact his revenge on his tormentors and imagines doing them as well, yet he still lacks the power to do so.
If one looks at this Owen and Abby work sort of like the puzzles Abby loves in that each of them compliment a void in the other, hence when they are together they are complete and they are happy. This is what makes them a perfect match, as when Abby is with Owen she can be her 12 year old self which the majority of her clearly prefers to be, and on the opposite end of the spectrum Owen is no longer lonely and at the same time has someone who has the power to defend him.
Neither of these characters would be even remotely believable without strong performances to back them up.
LMI is also one of the greatest Romantic Tragedies ever made, because despite the happy tone the film ends on, one is assured there is nothing but trouble ahead. Either Owen will outgrow Abby and due to his love decide to keep himself useful and become her replacement caretaker, or she will choose to share her curse with him, where both will have to share in the curse of what a Vampire is a Victim.