Let the Right One In 11/28/08

Have you ever heard of this movie? Probably not, right? Movie's like this are a good reason for my habit of obsessively checking the buzz on Rottentomatoes. There's no other way I would have known of the existence of this weird, creepy, and effective Swedish vampire love story. Usually I wouldn't see this type of film. I don't like the horror genre in general. Still I thought, if a Swedish Vampire Movie somehow found its way into a Southern Californian suburban theater, then it must be pretty good.
And it is. It's very good. It's not your typical vampire movie. It's certainly bears little resemblance to the modern horror genre which gets its originality from devising new ways to kill off its characters. It's not even that comparable to your modern movie. If I had to draw a resemblance, it would be to Hitchcock. The pace is similar. The mood is similar. It uses empty space to draw up suspense. The most important parallel though is the way the story interacts with its audience. Alfred Hitchcock loved inserting in his movies scenes that played with the audiences emotions. Take Psycho for example. Norman Bates is covering up a murder. Very bad right? But don't we want him to get away with it. Or how about 'Rope.' The two killers have stashed a body in a chest. They are horrible people, but are presented in such a way that we don't really want them to be found out. This movie is the same. It presents us with a villain, a 12-year old vampire girl played memorably by Lina Leanderrson, that is emphatic to the point that, by the end, it didn't matter how many people she had killed. I wanted her to get away. 
The reason she is so likable is because of the kind relationship she makes with a young boy named Oskar. Oskar is a weak defenseless kid who is ostracized and bullied at school. Lina slowly becomes his girlfriend. If you took out the vampire plot, it would be a pretty sweet young-love story. So the conflict in the audience is thus: We like and empathize with Oskar. Oskar likes Lina. If Lina gets caught or killed, it will hurt Oskar. Thus hopefully Lina doesn't get caught or killed. Thus lots of people will die because she's a vampire. If you think this is a story that will stay with you for awhile then you are right. This movie is not easily forgettable.
Above all else, I learned a lot about vampires. Did you know that cats don't really like them? And that they can't come into your room without permission, thus the title. This is the only foreign film I have seen this year, but it is good enough for an Oscar nomination. Then again, that really depends on the competition. So I have to plead ignorance on that account. It probably won't get any other nominations. And no I haven't and probably won't see Twilight, so I can't compare the vampire movies. I have an inkling that mine was better though.