ShareThisOf all the vampire movies I've seen, the saddest and creepiest image that gnaws at my skull is of Kirsten Dunst's character, Claudia, in "Interview with the Vampire," damned to live forever as a little girl.
The Swedish drama "Let the Right One In" expounds on the plight of a Claudia-like girl, Eli (Lina Leandersson). The film's horror exists not in grotesque kills, but the misery of having no adulthood to dream about.
Most screen vampires, though suffering from the stigma of being demonic nightwalkers, at least get the pleasure of being seen as mysterious and sexy, never wanting for companionship. Eli, though, is thoroughly, incomprehensibly alone.
Along with a mysterious adult partner, Hakan (Per Ragnar), Eli moves in next door to 12-year-old Oskar (Kare Hedebrant), a timid, friendless lad who is bullied daily and spends his nights fantasizing about retribution.
The lonely souls meet and forge a fast friendship that escalates into something more. Director Tomas Alfredson captures the tender, uneasy courtship of romance at the youngest reasonable age. Hedebrant and especially Leandersson play their roles with brilliant, convincing detail. You can feel the butterflies. As well as the doom.
Alfredson takes great care in establishing his distinct vampire mythology, integrating his rules into the plot rather than hitting the audience over the head with them. Unlike her compadres in "Twilight," animal blood is no option, and Eli must subsist on human blood. She's forbidden from entering a building unless invited to do so, and when Oskar tests the rule, and Eli grudgingly complies, it's a scene of terrible heartbreak nestled inside an inspiring act of devotion.
Oskar doesn't much care about Eli's secret, even as he sees the clues pile up. Everyone's got problems, he figures.
"Let the Right One In" has a bit of shocking violence, but it subsists on character and story rather than scares.
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.
It's no wonder an American remake is already in the works, to be directed by Matt Reeves ("Cloverfield") and to open in 2010. Say what you will about the lack of Hollywood creativity, in this case they've definitely chosen to let the right one in.
3.5 stars out of 4
Rated: R for bloody violence including disturbing images, brief nudity and language.
Family call: Not for young kids.
Language: In Swedish, with subtitles.
Running time: 114 minutes.
(Pvillarreal(at)azstarnet.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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