(Long Island, N.Y.) Another day, another Hollywood remake. And this time it’s quite possibly the most unnecessary one yet. Let Me In is based the 2008 Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In. Yeah, 2008. As in, it’s only two years old. But the thing is, everyone spoke Swedish in that one, and Hollywood thinks Americans are too stupid to deal with subtitles, so, they went out and hired Cloverfield director Matt Reeves to do a remake.
Reeves made much ado about how much he loved and respected Let the Right One In. He went on to say that his version wouldn’t be a mere remake, but rather a new take on and the novel it was based upon, penned by Suede author John Ajvide Lindqvist. From there, Reeves went on to create a nearly shot-for-shot recreation of the original film.
I’m totally serious here. Aside from a few tiny, tiny little changes, this is the same movie; same dialogue (except in English), same characters, same time setting (the 80’s), same everything! I just don’t get it…I mean, how much of a total whore does a filmmaker feel like when he’s just filling in the dots like that?
And the thing is, Let the Right One In was a brilliant movie. The tale of a 12 year-old misfit boy and the relationship he forms with the vampire girl who’s just moved into his apartment complex was gripping, emotional, horrific, and most of all, in direct opposition to all the clichéd trends constantly perpetuated by modern vampire films. It was truly a unique, atmospheric, and fascinating film, and remaking it is the equivalent of offering someone the Mona Lisa, only to have them tell you, “Nah, that’s okay, I’m gonna have someone paint a brushstroke-by-brushstroke copy, except we’re gonna change her smirk into a half-smile ’cause you guys don’t know how to appeal to the masses.”
Anyway, Let Me In exchanges the snowy Swedish setting of its template film for the snowy American setting of New Mexico in the winter. Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a lonely kid who gets bullied in school but has fantasies of gutting his assailants with a knife. Needless to say, he’s a very well-adjusted kid. Enter new neighbor Abby (Chloë Moretz, who played Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass), a strange girl who appears to be Owen’s age. Abby is quiet, somber, and is often seen walking around barefoot in the snow. Needless to say, she’s a very well-adjusted kid. At first the two appear to clash, but it’s not long before an awkward bond forms, eventually giving way to young first love.
While all this gooey-sweetness is going on, a serial killer (Richard Jenkins) is stalking the town, hanging his victims upside down and draining all their blood into plastic containers, presumably for some new kind of health food smoothie or something. However, as serial killers go, he’s no Jason Voorhees; he’s constantly screwing up his kills, eventually leading to his capture. Does this deadly yet rather stupid maniac have some kind of connection with Abby? And does Abby herself possess a few shocking secrets all her own…ones seeped deeply in vampiric lore? And will Owen still feel the same about his new girlfriend, once he finds out the truth?
Taken on its own, Let Me In is a very well-made film. It’s beautifully shot, lit, paced, and acted, and manages to retain a great deal of what made its forefather work so well. Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Moretz are both masterful in their roles, and despite the fact that their relationship seems a bit rushed compared to how it was developed in Let the Right One In, it still manages to draw you in pretty deeply. The story of Owen and Abby is central to the film’s plot, and for the most part, it has translated well into the remake.
However, things are missing. A wealth of story from the original novel was left out of Let the Right One In, and even more of that story is expunged from the American remake. Supporting players are either ejected or combined into other characters, but my main objection to the cut material was how they handled Abby’s…um…”other little secret.” And I’m NOT talking about her being a vampire.
In the original novel and film, Abby (or “Eli,” as she was known as then) was, in reality, a castrated, androgynous boy (surprise!). This was explicitly stated in the novel, and heavily hinted at in Let the Right One In. But for the remake, Let Me In teases going in that same direction for a bit, only to drop it without any resolution whatsoever. Fine, Americans might find that stuff freaky, but why even bother mentioning it at all, then?
Another weakness of Let Me In, aside from the truncated story, is its’ subtly – or, rather, it’s lack of it. As originally conceived, “Eli” was a conscious decision on the part of author Lindqvist to depart from all the usual pop-culture vampire myths. Other than having to be invited into your home to enter, and looking slightly older when she did her vampire thing, she just looked like a regular kid for the most part. Trust American filmmakers to take that idea and completely lose the point of it by having Abby go all super-demonic in the remake whenever feeding on a victim; glowing eyes, facial disfigurements, a deep gravely voice, and really, really bad-looking herky-jerky CG animation are the order of the day now. Things that were effectively alluded to in the original film now beat you over the head in an attempt to get your attention, and it just comes across as cheesy.
So, judged on its own merits and my own crybaby nit-picking aside, Let Me In is actually a very good movie. But the fact that it was even made at all represents a total waste of money, considering that a nearly-identical yet better version is sitting on shelves in your local video store right this very moment. Maybe you could watch both and compare and contrast with your OCD-ridden friends while waiting for the new Twilight movie or something. That’s an idea!
