Over the history of cinema, the monster has evolved from a freak that we need to protect our family from to an outcast hurting most from a lack of human connection, a deep need to love and be loved. Look at Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Mummy and Dracula and find that all are love stories at their core. This has become especially true for The Vampire. Soulless, stuck in one age for decades and unable to die, they are sad creatures who must try and connect with the same creature that gives them nourishment. Modern vampires are nearly indistinguishable from mopey teenagers, and Let the Right One In goes even younger.
12-year-old Oskar lives in wintery Stockholm with his divorced mom. His new neighbor, Eli, is the only person his age he connects with, but it turns out she’s been 12 for a very long time. They form an innocent bond, not unlike Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. Clearly Eli is dangerous, but not to Oskar, never to him, which is good because he is relentlessly bullied at school. Subtlety and atmosphere distinguish Let the Right One In, though the film doesn’t shy away when the time comes for all hell to break loose. D.P. Hoyte Van Hoytema gets creative during the film’s intense sequences, building to a beautifully stylized climactic scene.
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