Let the Right One In

Simultaneously serene and action-packed, this movie has everything: nascent adolescent love, redemption, revenge, bloody murder, and vampires! Set in the bleakest reaches of Sweden, the movie depicts the blossoming relationship between oft-bullied Oscar and possible vampire, Eli, during the dark days of Nordic winter. But even though the movie is about children, it thankfully treats the audience like grown-ups, taking its time to develop round characters and build tension. The movie features a distinctly sparse design washed with light blues that hint at the climax to come, and a twist at the end that lends endless possibility to the world of the back story, and keeps you dreaming about the world of the future. Let the Right One In does precisely what a good movie is supposed to do by using a two-hour window to describe an entire lifetime, and, in the case of the immortal vampire, possibly much longer. You won’t be sure whether the characters are good or evil, but you will know the movie was awesome. See it before 2010, when Hollywood releases a dumbed-down American version and ruins it. –CH.

Director: Tomas Alfredson
Writer: John Ajvide Lindqvist