Let the Right One In

I've spent the past week or so pondering horror films. More specifically, that I find a great number of horror films released (for lack of a better term I guess) "nowadays" to be somewhat lacklustre. So last night I was rifling through my brother's DVDs and was intrigued to find he had a copy of Let the Right One In (or, Låt den rätte komma in). I hadn't ever gotten around to watching it or it's American remake, Let Me In, so I promptly sat down, quite ready to have the bejesus scared out of me. 

Not so, bro, it seems. 

Rather than the jumpy, terrifying vampire flick I was expecting, I found myself watching a gorgeous coming-of-age film. A captivating, beautiful one at that. Being that Eli, the mysterious girl that our bullied, lonely protagonist Oskar becomes involved with is a VAMPIRE, one has to expect a certain amount of darkness to the film. Well, there's plenty. Much of Let Me In takes place at night, in the gorgeous, snow-covered landscape of Sweden. The black night sky, the falling snow, the thoughtful meandering pace of the film made for a cinematic experience that was completely mesmerising. Let the Right One In is absolutely beautifully photographed. Every shot, every scene, is something to behold and be swept up in. Of course, it helps that the two young leads are superb also. While of course, given the subject matter and the fact that Eli does feast upon a number of locals throughout the film, Let the Right One In does have the ominous feeling that you'd expect. The kind that makes one expect tragedy to befall poor Oskar at any moment. However, rather than huddling under a pillow, I found myself enthralled and charmed. Winner.