Susan Granger’s review of “Let Me In” (Overture Films)
As an avid fan of the Swedish horror film “Let the Right One In,” I was curious how Matt Reeves (“Cloverfield”) would adapt this vampire thriller. I’m delighted to report that he not only keeps the subtle suspense taut but also adds some imaginative sequences involving a local police detective (Elias Koteas) that serve to amp up the tension.
Set now in 1983 in dreary, wintry Los Alamos, New Mexico, the story revolves around a lonely, timid 12 year-old, Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who is mercilessly tortured by the school bully (Dylan Minnette) and his buddies (Jimmy Jax Pinchak, Nicolai Dorian). Filled with adolescent rage, traumatized Owen usually plays by himself in the courtyard outside of the bleak housing complex where he lives with his distracted, soon-to-be-divorced mother (Cara Buono). Until, one evening, he meets lovely, mysterious Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz), who says she’s also 12 “more or less.” She’s just moved into the apartment next door with a creepy older man (Richard Jenkins) whom Owen assumes to be her father. But he isn’t. He’s Abby’s devoted caretaker who’s responsible for brutally acquiring the blood she needs to survive – because elusive Abby is a vampire.
While writer/director Matt Reeves duplicates some of Swedish director Thomas Alfredson’s scenes, shot-by-shot, he also adds some revisions to John Ajvide Lindqvist’s screenplay taken from his novel “Lat den ratte Komma in,” emphasizing the concept of Abby’s eternal need for victims acquired by her endless cycle of dedicated companions.
Pale, androgynous-looking Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Road”) embodies vulnerability, while Chloe Grace Moretz (“Kick-Ass”) exudes an undead wistfulness. And TV fans may recognize Cara Buono as Faye, “Mad Man” Don Draper’s new girl-friend. Reeves’ only misstep comes when he morphs Abby into a savage, CGI insect-like predator that sounds like the possessed girl from “The Exorcist.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Let Me In” is a somber, supernatural, spooky 7. If you’re truly intrigued, I suggest you rent the original, far more powerful “Let the Right One In” (2008) and endure the Swedish subtitles.
