Let Me In may star two extremely talented child actors, but it is definitely not a movie for kids. Director Matt Reeves doesn’t pull any punches in this violent remake of the acclaimed Swedish vampire film, Let the Right One In.

Let Me In delves deep into the somewhat troubled psyches of two young people in New Mexico during the early 80′s. The boy, Owen, is severly bullied at school and spends most of his time by himself. Then he meets Abby, a mysterious girl who moves into his apartment building. They gradually become friends, but the fact that she’s a vampire severely complicates the whole situation.

Keep in mind that this is a review of Let Me In alone. I intentionally avoided seeing Let the Right One In in order to go into the remake completely fresh.

The core of the film is the relationship between Abby and Owen. Despite all the supernatural events that surround them, the film focuses solely on this pivotal relationship. The entire movie is shot from the kids’ perspectives, which really makes you identify with them and their feelings. The adults, save for an important few, have little impact on the story, leaving the entire film resting on the two young actors’ shoulders. And up to the task they are. Although we’ve seen Chloe Moretz break out in (500) Days of Summer and get violent in Kick-Ass, she continues her upward climb with another solid outing as the young vampire. The stand-out here, however, is Kodi Smit-McPhee, whose fantastic performance really makes the film. Although we had previous seen him in The Road, this film gives him a chance to really have an entire two hours to showcase his acting chops. Earlier this year, The Last Airbender almost killed all of my hope in child actors but Let Me In shows how a skilled director can get magnificent performances from his entire cast.

Director Matt Reeves, who helmed the 1996 independent film The Pallbearer starring David Schwimmer, co-created Felicity with J.J. Abrams, and most recently helmed the hand-held monster film Cloverfield, is quickly establishing himself as an extremely talented filmmaker. In addition to extracting brilliant performances all-around, he also showcases a great eye for beautiful composition that he couldn’t showcase with Cloverfield. Beginning with the opening long shot of the ambulance traveling through the snow, the entire film is shot mainly in whites and reds, all with a certain melancholy aspect. The low camera angles are essential in keeping the movie told from the kids’ point-of-view. Each and every scene is imbued with a certain ambiance that creates a wonderful, coherently creepy feel throughout the film.

The director also shows how to create an extremely suspenseful film. From the first scene of the movie, the audience knows they are in for a really scary film. Don’t misunderstand, Let Me In is definitely more a horror film than a thriller. Produced by Hammer Films (who produced many classic horror films during the 30′s, 40′s, and 50′s), this movie is filled with blood and gore and it doesn’t shy away from showing everything. However, it doesn’t rely on cheap scares but rather each scene slowly builds to create excellent suspense. Add to this the eerie atmosphere that pervades the entire story and you have yourself one terrifying film.

Still, what really shines through are the characters of Owen and Abby, the choices they make, and their relationship with each other. The film is unflinching in its presentation of a very dark childhood that these kids go through. Owen and Abby are presented as much too psychologically burdened than kids of their age should be. In addition, the message that the film’s conclusion presents is troubling and thought-provoking. I can’t discuss specifics without delving into spoiler territory, but know that the themes of revenge, trust, and love are very adult. The way the movie makes you think well after you’ve seen it is a mark of how good it is.

Let Me In takes an intriguing premise and delivers a great film that makes you really think while providing a solid vampire horror film all driven by brilliant performances and great direction. If you’re looking for a good scare this weekend and you want to be engrossed in a fantastic love story devoid of romantic tropes, definitely go see Matt Reeves’ Let Me In (or Let the Right One In if you have Netflix and want to save some cash).

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Today, we have the first photo of Chloe Moretz in Let Me In, the American remake of 2008′s Let the Right One In. Check it out below, courtesy of OhNoTheyDidn’t (in the form of a scan from Entertainment Weekly):

The remake, helmed by Matt Reeves, generated a lot of controversy when it was announced shortly before the film even hit the US. The story centers on Eli, the new girl in town, and Oskar, a quiet 12-year-old, who form a friendship. I won’t say any more, but as it turns out, Eli is not what she seems to be.

The remake is supposed to be a slightly different take on the original novel, with the two main characters renamed Abby and Owen, who will be played by Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Chloe Moretz first came onto most people’s radar in last year’s (500) Days of Summer, in which she played Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s little sister who is wise beyond her years. However, she generated controversy in last month’s Kick-Ass as the foul-mouthed, uber-violent Hit Girl. Apparently, her parents wouldn’t let her watch the original Swedish film so she really should be going in completely clean.

Production on Let Me In started last November, but this is the first we’ve seen from the film so far. What do you think? Should this remake even be happening? Is Moretz right for the part?

The idea of a vampire like Bromley feeding off the misery of his own kind is an intriguing one. But the Spierig brothers never truly commit to dissecting the economics of supply and demand during a time of crisis. Then again, it’s just one of many ideas pursued by the Spierig Brothers that are never fully realized.
How about the allure of vampirism being too strong to resist? You don’t age and you live forever. Hey, I understandable why a girl would rather burn to death in the sunlight than remain trapped for eternity in the body of a 10-year-old year child. But why would Dalton – 35 (again for the 10th time) and upwardly mobile – resist being a vampire when his human-hunter brother Frankie (Michael Dorman) embraces it? Dalton’s actions reveal that vampires do not completely lose their moral code when their humanity is sucked right out of them. So what gives? Don’t look to the Spierigs for any insights. They like to think they are making a treatise on the human condition, but they’re actually too busy concocting new ways to kill off everyone in sight…read more [ShockTillYouDrop]

In “Daybreakers”, the latest film by the Spierig Brothers, the year is 2019 and vampires rule the earth. It’s ten years after a single bat bite triggered a viral epidemic that transformed the bulk of the human race into undead bloodsuckers, and society has altered accordingly. The streets are mostly empty during the day, blood is the chief economic good, and the purity of your plasma is directly proportionate to how much money you make. Ed (Ethan Hawke) is a vampire hematologist who has spent every year since the transformation trying to synthesize a plasma substitute; he’s hoping to give vampire-kind an alternative to blood-farming the few remaining humans left on the planet. After a chance encounter with a group of human resistance fighters that include ex-vampire Willem Dafoe, Ed is integrated into their efforts to perfect a cure for vampirism and stop the genocide of the human race…read more [Quiet Earth]

Usually guts and gore isn’t my thing. Horror films often fill me with concern over who is going to clean up the mess and as such, I tend to leave the more gnarly film reviews to our resident horror hound Sebastian Cordoba. But I decided to review new Australian vampire flick Daybreakers myself because it’s home grown content and I was keen to see what our fellow countrymen did with the vampire theme.
I must admit I was fearful – blood-sucking films are a dime a dozen at the moment and I was afraid that this film would simply be a shameful grab for a bite of the vampire pie. But thankfully Daybreakers is a shining light in this rather dimly lit genre…read more [TheVine]

Daybreakers was good, intelligent fun with blood splatter and jump-out-of-your-seat moments that are lacking in horror films today. The Spierig brothers have done an exceptional job of taking the conventional vampire film and turning it into something new and fresh. They have plenty of moments where they go for the jugular, but if you were to take their story and replace human blood with oil, you can argue it is a social commentary on how humans would react when cut off their most valued resource.
Plenty of action – including some cool car chase scenes – and at least 10 jump-out-of-your-seat moments, Daybreakers delivers on bringing a bloody good story packed with severed limbs, chopped off heads and (of course) the burning of vampire skin when exposed to sunlight. I would be remiss if I didn’t also note some incredible visuals also. A scene in the subway where the lights routinely go out and the waiting patrons all have the red beady eyes was a highlight…read more [KillerReviews]

The Spierig brothers’ first feature, Undead, was a meagre homage to George A. Romero’s classic zombie movies, substituting uninspired ironic humour and gross-out laughs for genuine terror. With Daybreakers, their cinematic reference points are still easy to spot – this time it’s the dystopic futures of Blade Runner and Minority Report – but the writer-directors have abandoned cheap laughs for a tenser tone and more thoughtful approach.
Daybreakers draws much of its strength from its well-developed future society, absorbing the viewer in a fluorescent-light world that has been adapted to suit the nocturnal needs of vampires…read more [ScreenDaily]

While we have not seen it, I have heard solid things about this from close friends in the business. Stay tuned for our own take on this Vampire film.

Check out an International Trailer for the upcoming vampire tweener film Twilight. Twilight stars Kristin Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Cam Gigandet, Peter Facinelli, and Nikki Reed.

I will be in attendance for this film in a few days for the screening and will report back on it. From my last post I have been rewired into thinking it may be a fine film. We shall see won’t we!!
Check out the Int’l Trailer below.

The film opens November 21, 2008