DVD review (region 2)
Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Starring Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
Release date 3 August 2009

Bullied schoolboy Oskar (Hedebrant) befriends his new neighbour, an odd child by the name of Eli (Leandersson). Oskar eventually discovers that Eli is a vampire who reluctantly feasts on local residents...

From The Shining to Don’t Look Now, many of the greatest horror movies are all the more unsettling for their ambiguity. It’s something that certainly applies to Let the Right One In, an adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s acclaimed novel; the author has reshaped his book into a screenplay that, if anything, leaves even more unexplained. You’ll emerge from this movie speechless and uneasy, reflecting on its various mysteries and loose ends: this is both a gripping reshaping of the vampire flick and a fiercely intelligent art movie.

The child leads, playing two very different outsiders, are phenomenal, conveying all the awkwardness and pain of growing up with a convincing naturalism. Both characters are distinct, believable creations: Oskar is a cripplingly shy child with a deeply unfashionable bowl cut who fantasises about taking violent revenge on the bullies who make his life a misery. Eli is an androgynous-looking young girl with straggly hair and haunted eyes that convey all the pain of her condition; she’s still recognisably a child, fascinated by Oskar’s Rubik’s cube, but is unable to attend school or eat sweets without throwing up, leaving her trapped between two worlds. Surrounding the pair are some memorable, offbeat supporting characters, including a bully who bursts into tears whenever he attacks Oskar and a neighbour who lives in a cramped apartment overrun by cats.

There’s precious little of Twilight’s pretty vampire chic in this world. You'll find no clean-cut characters, fashionable brooding or romantic scenery here. Instead, the film depicts an early-80s Stockholm suburbia that is unforgivingly hostile: the snow never relents and neither do the bullies or the blood-lust. Together, Oskar and Eli form a bond that counters the outside world, with Eli encouraging Oskar to hit back against the bullies (which he does in one unforgettable sequence) and the pair communicating with Morse code through their walls: this is as much a movie about love and friendship as it is a horror movie.

But a horror movie it unmistakably is, subtly playing on vampire tropes (rather than a coffin, Eli sleeps under a blanket in a bath) and filled with a scattering of terrific set-pieces. Eli’s guardian, Håkan, attempts to find victims that will provide blood for his charge, but, in scenes that are simultaneously disturbing, amusing and tragic, his attempts seem destined to end in disaster. Eli is forced to seek out blood for herself, accidentally turning one of her neighbours into a vampire along the way.

Alfredson has created a beautiful and evocative movie that is infused with a weird atmosphere where we’re never entirely sure what is real, amplified by a haunting yet hopeful soundtrack from Johan Söderqvist. The camera makes even the most innocuous objects like a table or a pipe deeply sinister, while strangely jarring moments, such as the presence of a collapsing Fabergé Egg puzzle, hint at a much wider story that exists outside of the film’s narrative. The dialogue is sparse (though every word spoken feels important), and characters communicate just as much through glances and occasional moments of intimacy.

In an age when conventional, generic vampire movies are pumped out on a weekly basis, a strange and unforgettable film like this reminds you of the vast possibilities left in the genre. Guaranteed to leave you unsettled for weeks afterwards. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 10/10
One of the horror highlights of recent years, this is compulsory viewing.

Click here to read an interview with director Tomas Alfredson.