Let the Right One In- The Adventures of VampireGirl and MeekBoy

Watching foreign films makes me feel smart. I hadn't watched one in awhile, and "Let the Right One In" was the just the boost to my movie superiority-ego that I needed. I'll be honest- I had high expectations for this one because I remember the amount of hype it received when it first came out in 2008- and to be completely honest, a foreign movie's gotta be pretty freakin' good for me to even hear about it. You know me, I like my movies American, got-damnit! *crushes a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon*

"Let the Right One In" is a horror movie that's not really a horror movie, if that makes sense. There's scary parts, but you can tell it wasn't made to be a "scary movie". It was made to follow the characters. There's Oskar, the timid Swedish boy with the bad haircut, and Eli, the vamp. The heart of this film is in the relationship these two form throughout the movie, and how they both help each other grow (my personal favorite being Eli's "stop being so lame and meek" advice. I mean really, that kid was MEEK.).

There's flaws here, though, and I'm sure a lot of people would disagree with me on this. I think the director was more concerned about making "Let the Right One In" an art film than making the story dense and fulfilling. He preferred shooting 30 second long stare-scenes to, you know, 30 seconds of explanatory dialogue. And I guess that's really where my one big problem with this film is. No one really explains themselves. They're kept at a distance from us. I'm not saying Oskar and Eli have to be Chatty Cathys, but...how about a little chat here and there? I don't really understand the bond, other than the fact that they had no one else to talk to. And really, is a bond that like special? I don't know...I hover towards "no"....

But that's just my opinion. The last scenes are the best in this one, particularly the pool scene. Come to think of it, I actually preferred the 'horror movie' parts far more than the 'deep, emotionally stirring' parts. Maybe I'm just dead inside. Either way, "Let the Right One In" is an exceptional movie, although it's not without its flaws. There's a lot of stuff that just flew over my head that I didn't realize until a IMDB visit later (*cough* castration? *cough*), but those things aren't necessarily that important to the story.

Let me just put it like this. Whether you think LTROI is perfect or not, there's one thing that's for certain- it's a hell of a lot better than anything Kristin Stewart has been in.

4/5 stars.