Review: Let the Right One In

A Magnolia Pictures release 2008

Directed by Tomas Alfredson

Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire.



A chilling film about adolescence, love, and vampires, Let the Right One In sounds like an arthouse grindcore mess but manages to marry budding romance with bloody horror in just the right way. Alfredson's snowy white/pitch black palate, cold Sweden setting and deliberate pacing create a truly unsettling mood, one that grows throughout the picture and shakes off any absurd notions that come with the idea of human/vampire love. The child actors are terrific, particularly Lina Leandersson as the ancient vampire Eli. And the film has plenty of blood and effects to keep any splatter fan happy, without being too silly. An original and enjoyable film that was unjustly shut out of this years Oscar race.