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Let The Right One In
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Author:  Dennis [ Mon Oct 20, 2008 2:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Let The Right One In
A few comments, observation and questions. If you haven't seen the movie, stop right now.

I wish I could claim credit for this but my friend Brett had a thought about the title. I figured and never really thought any more about it that the title referred to the fact you need to invite vampires in. His thought was it really had to do with Eli letting Oskar in to her life. That, in some way, she was choosing to find a new guardian and she could only let the right kind of person in. The fact that she didn't turn him kind of supports that and shows the benefits of a relationship where folks have abilities that compliment each other.

Related to that, we were discussing as a group whether or not Eli's father was actually her biological father or perhaps a suggestion of what Oskar might become. She didn't seem to treat him like a father, but there isn't enough there to definitively say.

I was curious if Oskar's father was gay. I didn't really get that scene with his dad and the guy who showed up to drink, otherwise. Actually, now that I think about it some more, maybe it didn't matter. The point was his father would chose to cut off their time and spend it with someone else instead of his son who he doesn't see all that often. Therefore, it made Oskar's decsion to leave easier.

I know Lina Leandersoson did a great job, but just as good was Kåre Hedebrant who did a fabulous job protraying a sad, lonely confused boy starting to enter manhood. His struggles with bullies and his pretend sessions of standing up to them struck me as authentic. The two of them together were great.

I really hope Jeff can snag this around Halloween. I fear what the Hollywood version will do this. Molly Cyrus as Eli and one of those twin boys from the Suite life of Zack and Cody as Oskar.
Author:  not worldsfinest [ Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:54 pm ]
Post subject: 
I think you're right on about the title. I think the double meaning is certainly intentional.

I also didn't think the guy was her biological father, despite the fact that she called him father. Their conversations didn't strike me as being father-daughter. She struck me as the one in charge.
Author:  Infra-Kid [ Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:18 pm ]
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I have some free posters and cards for Let The Right One In that I'll be giving out at the Friday showings of The Innocents and Midnight Meat Train.
Author:  MarathonVet [ Wed Oct 29, 2008 10:03 am ]
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COOL!!! Where and when?!?
Author:  L.A. Connection [ Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:00 pm ]
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I love the horror cinema. It's the genre that got me interesting in movies in the first place. But, in recent years, I've gotten more and more dissatisified and even felt removed from the scene. Between the jokey self-referential post-SCREAM films on one end to the torture porn on the other extreme, there really hasn't been much to catch my attention. Toss in smarmy "it's only a horror movie" put-ons, a surfeit of glossy CGI, gore for gore's sake and numbing repetition and the genre seems largely bankrupt as of late. There ARE exceptions - THE OTHERS, THE SIXTH SENSE, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and, of course, Asian films such as the original versions of PULSE, THE EYE, THE RING etc..

So, when I read all the acclaim (including from mainstream film critics) for the Swedish vampire film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, I made a special point of seeing it. It's a very interesting, and, yes, serious, attempt. Atmospheric, moody and containing many good ideas.

++++++++++++ Mild spoilers ++++++++++++++++++

But, the script seems to have had a difficult time in transfering the novel. Trying to bring in as much of the novel as possible shortchanges some of the elements that are strongest in the film (the relationship between Oskar and Eli) in favor of subplots that aren't totally developed. Director Tomas Alfredson, with perhaps an eye to international sales, also stages a couple of CGI heavy sequences involving Cats and a hospital patient particularly, that drew laughs rather than shudders at the screening I intended. Swedish CGI aside, the scenes don't seem to be organically part of the same film that is such a carefully modulated character piece. More crucially, a critical revelation in the novel is so botched that I wager most of the audience never catches it -- even after seeing the entire film.

What is good is the rich setting. You practically can see your own breath in the air for one feels that you are in the wintry Scandanavian environs. Oskar and Eli's relationship is about as intense as you are likely to see amongst pre-teens in any kind of film (it will interesting to see how much of that sexual tension survives the U.S. remake in the works). It's so carefully constructed that the subplots do disstract, and the climactic ending (not the epilogue, which is OK, but unnecessary - see below) seems tacked on. The film has a more subtle, touching and devastating conclusion about 10 minutes before the credits actually roll.

The inevitable US remake will be interesting. I'd guess that there will be more of the backstory (American audiences seem to demand to know everything about what happened before and have their characters explained to them!), and even more emphasis on the "horror" sequences, not to mention additional CGI. See this version first. It isn't the savior of the genre, but a decent addition to it.
Author:  Dennis [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:48 am ]
Post subject: 
L.A. Connection wrote:
More crucially, a critical revelation in the novel is so botched that I wager most of the audience never catches it -- even after seeing the entire film.


What would this be? I didn't realize there was a novel. I see it is available on Amazon and based on the description of Eli I think I might know what you are referring to, but I'm not positive. If it is what I think, I know the scene you are referring to.
Author:  L.A. Connection [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:28 pm ]
Post subject: 
Dennis wrote:
L.A. Connection wrote:
More crucially, a critical revelation in the novel is so botched that I wager most of the audience never catches it -- even after seeing the entire film.


What would this be? I didn't realize there was a novel. I see it is available on Amazon and based on the description of Eli I think I might know what you are referring to, but I'm not positive. If it is what I think, I know the scene you are referring to.


Since it is such a HUGE spoiler, I will send you a private message.
Author:  MarathonVet [ Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:49 am ]
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Please send to me as well, I'd really like to know.
Author:  Dennis [ Fri Dec 12, 2008 5:14 pm ]
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Dispatch reviewed Let The Right One In. Warning, the review spells out the "spoiler" L.A. connection and I were discussing. The reason they reviewed it, it is playing at the Lennox.

http://dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2008/12/12/1AA_LET_THE_RIGHT_ONE_IN.ART_ART_12-12-08_D4_QCC75DA.html?sid=101
Author:  L.A. Connection [ Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:08 am ]
Post subject: 
Dennis wrote:
Dispatch reviewd Let The Right One In. Warning, the review spells out the "spoiler" L.A. connection and I were discussing. The reason they reviewed it, it is playing at the Lennox.

http://dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2008/12/12/1AA_LET_THE_RIGHT_ONE_IN.ART_ART_12-12-08_D4_QCC75DA.html?sid=101


Damn straight! I can't believe they spell it out so clearly in a review! If I hadn't seen the movie I'd be royally po'd!!
Author:  Mecha74 [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 5:18 pm ]
Post subject: 
Comes to DVD March 10th according to varying horror sites.
Author:  MarathonVet [ Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:26 am ]
Post subject: 
Someone took the cover of the song Sweet Child O’ Mine by Taken by Trees (from the last house on the left remake trailer) and set it to scenes from Let the Right one in.

It fits really well.

It’s spooky and kinda sad … I really like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83wnOB3QCA
Author:  L.A. Connection [ Wed Mar 25, 2009 7:24 pm ]
Post subject:  DVD LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Apparently, the DVD has all new subtitles, and this article says they are seriously dumbed down from those in the theatrical release....

http://iconsoffright.com/news/2009/03/l ... in_to.html


Let The Wrong Subtitles In To LET THE RIGHT ONE IN?!
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If you're an avid reader of this or just about any other horror web-publication, then no doubt you've heard plenty about the Swedish indie-vampire flick LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - a somber, haunting & beautiful tale directed with finesse by Tomas Alfredson. In the last year, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN has quickly garnered "cult" like status among genre & movie fans alike. It managed to top the "best of 2008" lists for just about every horror website out there, and has become a favorite for the entire ICONS staff here. So, naturally, we were all rather excited that the film finally was released last week here in the US on both DVD and Blu-Ray.

I personally decided to host a screening of the DVD with a handful of friends that had yet to experience LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. (Mind you, I'd already had an advance early screener copy of the movie for months and had seen it twice during it's limited theatrical run, so it's safe to say that I knew the film rather intimately. We were all excited to watch a top quality DVD version though in the comfort of my own home.)

About 20 minutes into the screening, I was absolutely horrified.

The subtitles had been drastically changed since the last time I saw it, and dare I say... had been completely dumbed down? Sure, the basic gist of what the characters were saying was kind of there, but missing completely was the dark humor, subtleties and character nuances which made the movie so powerful and a favorite amongst audiences last year. I tried to carry on and ignore it, hoping that only a few of the translations were off... but... I was wrong. Just about the intent of every single line of dialogue was completely off and ruined the movie.
Author:  Dennis [ Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:32 am ]
Post subject: 
Argh. That sucks.
Author:  AEinhorn [ Thu Mar 26, 2009 11:22 am ]
Post subject: 
Slightly good news, the distributor has seen the outcry and is fixing the subtitles back to the theatrical release.

The bad news is that they aren't offering to let people trade them in for the fixed version, and the only way to tell the difference will be looking at the specs on the DVD case - which will make purchasing the DVD off Amazon or another online source difficult.

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/03/24/magnet-to-correct-let-the-right-one-in-subtitles-but-not-offering-exchanges/
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