REVIEW : LET ME IN

LET ME IN

Young love. Great isn’t it? But this is the horror genre, and so any kind of puppy love is doomed here. Still that has never stopped any of us watching the train wreck as it unfolds before our eyes.

Lets forget that Let Me In is a remake of 2008 Swedish break out hit ‘Let The Right One In’ and the frustrating dumbing down of the title for the western audience. ‘Let Me’ judge the film on exactly what it is.

Owen is a lonely young kid, forgotten by his parents, who are in mid-divorce, un-noticed at school, apart from negative attention from the school bullies, he dreams of taking his life back, but never has the guts to bring it fruition. Enter: Abby, the girl next door, but with a twisted difference and as Owen listens through the paper thin walls of his apartment at night he begins to suspect that there is more to this girl that meets the eye.

After a number of chance encounters with the Abby, it becomes clear that the two share a special bond and the bodies start piling up around them.

There is a lot to ‘Let Me In’, great characters, beautiful cinematography, some fantastic writing at times, although some feels a little forced, and especially feels placed for the trailer. But there lies my only single large-(ish) gripe with ‘Let Me In’. I won’t bring the original into this as in a world of remakes that miss the point; this sees the point and sticks to it, to the letter, whilst making it interesting to original fans and first time viewers alike.

At heart it’s a simple forbidden love story, with some sickening twists that lead to an ending that pays off nicely for fans of the macabre. Let Me In is a winner in my book, and I find it sad that genre fans are staying clear after the flood of poor remakes over the last few years. But let me tell you now ‘Let me In’ should not be tarred with the same brush. As remakes go, it’s better than ‘THE RING’, as films go it’s probably the best theatrical horror you’ll see this year.

I do have a little bit of an issue with some of the transitions from live action to CGI which kind of pulled me out of the movie for a moment and threw me back to the likes of the first Spiderman movie. But that’s me being picky. All in all the effects work is absolutely above par.

OVERALL

‘Let Me In’ delivers an exciting and emotional mix of true character mixed with the horrors of growing up and the ‘very real’ horrors of what lurks in the night. A great piece of film that comes close to art and never feels too pretentious. No sequels please, leave us on a high.