The deliberate pace sets us up for some horrific moments, accompanied by terrific special effects.
Let the Right One In (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:146
Fresh:143
Rotten:3
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
A moodily effective thriller that shows that there's life in the undead yet.
A spooky Swedish thriller that manages to break the rules of the genre while holding on to many of the rituals that remain dear to the hearts of vampire fans.
Funny, fear-inducing, with periods of voyeuristic gore and an undercurrent of anxiety and dread, Let the Right One In is up there with the bloodsucking classics.
Let the Right One In could be described as a vampire horror romance, but that seems like too easy a label for this beautiful, unnerving little movie.
Like the best vampire sagas, the film is rife with aching melancholy and existential crises. Its haunting beauty isn't marred, but complemented by strong, disquieting images.
The beauty of Let the Right One In resides in the way the horror remains grounded in a tragic kind of love.
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.
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.
As Oskar and Eli gaze into the seeming mirrors of one another's faces, their mouths smeared with the victim's blood, their eyes soften and they look, at last, close, their fates entwined in ways they can't anticipate.
A beautiful, heartbreaking horror film that transcends its genre to become one of the most memorable and powerful movies of the year.
Bloody and beautiful in equal measure, this is a horror film that is so good that I almost don't want to describe it as such for fear of putting off some viewers who wouldn't dream of spending good money to see such a thing.
Tomas Alfredson's Swedish vampire film is a young love horror piece full of chilly moods and twisted allegiances...
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.
Its portrayal of the relationship between two improbably alike pre-teens is more believable than what we see in many 'realistic' dramas.
There's a commendable amount of originality in Lindqvist's story and even in Alfredson's elegant vision of it...[but] you get the feeling the book supplied a lot of details that didn't make it into the screenplay.
Let the Right One In is not your typical boy meets vampire, boy falls in love with vampire saga.
Let the Right One In strikes a surprising array of notes: scary, sad and hopeful.
A spectacularly moving and elegant movie, and to dismiss it into genre-hood, to mentally stuff it into the horror pigeonhole, is to overlook a remarkable film.
Latest News for Let the Right One In
September 07, 2009:
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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:
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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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