Mondo Celluloid - Review » LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

There really is something to be said about going into a movie blind, as I did tonight for the Swedish film Let the Right One In (Lat den ratte komma in), so I won’t spoil the experience for the rest of you by saying too much. What I will say, without exaggeration, is that it ranks immediately among the finest vampire films I’ve ever seen.

This film is a finely tuned classic on so many levels, and a constantly surprising pleasure. I can’t remember the last time my expectations were so largely surpassed - all I knew about this film was that it had been heavily lauded, but I could not have expected this much craft and dedication to detail, mood, and character from a horror film, especially in these sad times for the genre (the days of Rosemary’s Baby are long gone…), and even more so considering the state of vampire films (has there been one original, successfully stylish take on vampirism since The Hunger? Or Near Dark?).

A consistently gripping and surprisingly humorous tale, Let the Right One In manages to earn comparison to The Reflecting Skin and My Life as a Dog, two films as disparate in tone as they are classics of their genre. It is the rare horror film that is a must not just for fans of the genre, but for lovers of film in general - I anticipate great buzz for this film when it is released October 24th (L.A. audiences will be able to catch it at the Sunset 5), and encourage anyone reading this review to watch it as soon as you can.

Seriously - it’s that good.