Let the Right One In

Låt den rätte komma in [Let the Right One In]
Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Sweden, 2008
In Swedish with English subtitles

"Would you still like me if I wasn't a girl?" is the question of the hour in this new Swede vampire flick set in a grim and wintry 1982, an atmospheric snowbound thriller that pairs intermittently gory scenes with a sweet love story between two twelve year old outcasts. The problem with all this is that one of the kids, the otherwise adorable Eli (Lina Leandersson, nearly perfect here), prefers human blood to candy, a trait that will severely test her ties to the socially-awkward, constantly-bullied Oskar (Kare Hedebrant, also convincing) who clearly has some measure of blood lust of his own due to the abuse he takes at school. Although the scenes of vampire carnage are almost entirely goofy in comparison to the chilling way that the first victim is done in by a human predator at the beginning of the movie, director Alfredson still deserves props for his great visual style, an accomplished use of silence and sound (Per Gessle's garagey "Kvar i min bil" is even reminiscent of Jeanette's "¿Porque te vas?" in Cría Cuervos), and for coming up with a non-sexual "romance" as convincing as it is unconventional. Worth seeing but nowhere near as flawless as some people would have you believe. Rating: 3/5 stars.

Lina Leandersson really sinks her teeth into the role of Eli