An awfully wonderful vampire story, thanks largely to pushing itself so far beyond the limits that "vampire story" usually implies.
Let the Right One In (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:147
Fresh:143
Rotten:4
Average Rating:8.2/10
Consensus: Let the Right One In reinvigorates the seemingly tired vampire genre by effectively mixing scares with intelligent storytelling.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some bloody violence including disturbing images, brief nudity and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Oct 24, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $1,882,159
Synopsis: Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is a 12-year-old outcast who is frequently picked on by his classmates. He dreams of getting his revenge, but he never stands up to the boys. With the arrival of his new... Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is a 12-year-old outcast who is frequently picked on by his classmates. He dreams of getting his revenge, but he never stands up to the boys. With the arrival of his new next-door neighbor, 12-year-old Eli (Lina Leandersson), Oskar may finally have found a friend, ally, and first love. But Eli is no ordinary girl: she must keep her pale skin out of the sunlight, she can perform inhuman physical feats, and she has thirst for blood. The bodies begin to pile up, but Oskar can't stay away from the girl who has finally given him courage. Based on the novel by John Ajvide Linqvist (who also wrote the script), LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is the best kind of horror film: one that transcends the tropes of the genre to become something new. This is director Tomas Alfredson's first foray into horror, and he doesn't hesitate to include bits of vampire mythology. But his background making comedies and dramas gives the film a surprising depth; the relationship between Oskar and Eli is tentative and sweet, even though their interactions may be surrounded by blood and violence. Composer Johan Soderqvist and the sound department create a fascinating palette of music and sounds that add to the film's perfectly chilly mood, and setting the film in a snowy Swedish suburb gives director of photography Hoyte Van Hoytema a starkly beautiful environment for shooting. Though LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is ostensibly about a pair of children, this is a horror film for adults. There are plenty of scares, but it remains moving and intelligent, a rare feat for the genre. [More]
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist, Peter Carlberg, Ika Nord, Karl-Robert Lindgren, Anders T Peedu, Pale Olofsson
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Screenwriter: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Producer: John Nordling, Carl Molinder
Composer: Johan Soderqvist
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
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Reviews for Let the Right One In
The best fantasy stories excel because they give new perspective to real-life issues through the lens of the supernatural, and the Swedish film uses vampirism to tackle adolescence in all its glorious agony.
John Ajvide Lindqvist's script (from his novel) nails adolescent pain perfectly and is realized by Tomas Alfredson's expert direction.
,,,could even be read as a kind of grim metaphor for marriage in that it explores the thanklessness of constancy and the long-distance loneliness of the impenetrable soul.
It’s a cold, still little film with remarkably beautiful images. It’s actually strangely touching.
Let the Right One In could be summarized as a vampire tween romance, but that cheap and tawdry sum-up does zero justice to the magnificent emotional resonance of this gemlike bloodstone of a film.
It's a sweetly queasy film that suggests the spirit that sustains us, the demons we hide from the world, and the monsters that prey upon us in the dark might all be variations on the same beast.
The beauty of Let the Right One In resides in the way the horror remains grounded in a tragic kind of love.
The film works best when allowing us to intuit that going steady with a vampire, though it raises a few moral issues, still gives Oskar his Best Winter Ever.
Right One is a marvel: an ingenious genre film that manages to terrify and endear in the same instant, deftly erecting one of the most persuasive, haunting film experiences of the year.
Brings the pain in genre fashion. But it's also a kind of Scandinavian gothic -- a love story between 12-year-olds, one of whom has been 12 for a very long time.
"Let the Right One In" is a much scarier vampire movie than the megahit "Twilight," but that's no great shakes. Would you believe, though, that it's also a much better love story?
a stunningly poetic work that will appeal not just to the niche market of horror fans, but to any viewer discerning enough to appreciate the beauty of melancholy, the pain of growing up, and the irresistibility of violence.
A tale that proves there's life in the undead yet, when they fall into the hands of imaginative storytellers.
The Scandinavian moodiness of the first half gives way to a series of jolting set pieces in the second.
Remove the vampire elements, and this is the story of two lonely and desperate kids capable of performing dark deeds without apparent emotion.
I'm so sick of Swedish vampire movies, aren't you? ... If you can stomach just one more, however, "Let the Right One In" is the Swedish vampire movie to see. The film is terrific.
It skillfully combines an art house sensibility with the horror genre and makes the combination absolutely seamless.
Latest News for Let the Right One In
September 07, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis has a plan. "What I've decided is to choose recent films," he explains to RT. "I do think that often people get stuck in always saying the five greatest films of... More...
August 13, 2009:
RT on DVD: Invite Let the Right One In
This week we welcome the arrival of a certified modern classic -- Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In, a chilling and beautiful vampire movie turned coming-of-age tale; and... More...
June 30, 2009:
Matt Reeves Talks Let the Right One In Remake ![]()
Skeptical about the pending American remake of "Let the Right One In"? Director Matt Reeves wants you to know he's tackling the story for all the right reasons. More...
June 28, 2009:
Edinburgh 2009: RT's 10 Must-See Movies
The Edinburgh Film Festival has come to a close and Rotten Tomatoes thought we'd make a traditional look back over all of the films playing at this year's fest and present to... More...
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