Let the Right One In

If I’d known Let the Right One In was a vampire film, I wouldn’t have bothered seeing it, which would have been very much my loss. In fact, it defies pigeonholing, blending the vampire theme with the crushing isolation suffered by a bullied 12-year-old boy. Tense beginnings move from the macabre to the darkly humorous, all against the backdrop of a snowy suburb of Stockholm. Oskar dreams of revenge, but he doesn’t have the nerve to stand up to his classmates. As his new neighbour Eli is driven to feed under cover of darkness, the local community struggles to comprehend a series of grisly murders. Scenes of blood and gore are fleeting, and all the more disturbing for it. It’s about the supernatural, yes, but it’s also a hauntingly beautiful film about very much human themes, like connections forged between outsiders, about the cruel things that kids do to each other, about love and acceptance and desperate circumstances. Under the direction of Tomas Alfredsson, the breathtaking cinematography and magical realism draw the audience in, ensuring that the film will stay with the viewer for a long time after seeing it.