Hola all. Massawyrm here.
How many film bloggers does it take to change a lightbulb? All of us: one to change it and the rest of us to write about how much better the original was. I’ll admit, when I first heard about the remake of the brilliant LET THE RIGHT ONE IN back around the time it was first premiering at Fantastic Fest, I was a bit pissed. Of course, back then the producers were still thinking about making the kids teenagers and making it a sexier vampire story. Once that changed and they brought on Matt Reeves, I relaxed. But that hasn’t stopped endless complaining about the remake from rearing its ugly head. Not a week goes by that I don’t get an e-mail or a tweet about how wrong this idea is: “There’s no reason for this movie to be remade,” they all cry. “Sure there is,” I always answer. “We’re Americans, the most linguistically isolated, self-contained country in the world.”
Blessed with an overabundance of entertainment available in our language, we have no need to learn another – or to read subtitles – in order to be inundated with something good to watch. Of course, those of us who demand a higher quality of entertainment – especially genre viewing – are forced to turn to subtitled films to satiate our thirst. Just like almost every other country in the world. But we are the minority. As every former video store clerk will tell you (while pulling out fistfuls of their own hair), people “don’t like to read their movies.” They’ll tell you. “If I want to read, I’ll get a book.” So for the two years while we have been able to soak in the luxurious, deliciously wicked story of Oskar and Eli, most everyone else in this country has not. And so someone set out to give one of the best vampire stories of the modern age to those who would instead feast upon the limp, sugary corpse that is the Twilight franchise.
And what Reeves does is magnificent. In his bid to readapt the book from which the original film was drawn, he has borrowed cues from its sibling, but also set about making his own version of the tale. There are differences – some subtle, some drastic – that make this story not only more palatable for mainstream American audiences, but also seek to sharpen some of the original’s edges. The question on the lips of those that have seen this is no longer “is it as good as the original,” but rather “is it better or not?” And that’s a tough question. Reeves does a number of things better. But the original broke ground first. Where will you fall? That really depends.
Reeves is someone few have seen coming. Still considered by most to be nothing more than a shaky camera obsessed J.J. Abrams understudy, the truth is far more unexpected; he is an up and coming genre master. LET ME IN is a visually arresting masterpiece of modern horror; easily the best looking horror film of the modern era. It is as if Kubrick met Spielberg by way of Mark Romanek. Every shot is a painstakingly arranged, slow moving painting, letting the innocent horror of the scene wash over you. Reeves makes a number of bold choices, including a decision to never let the camera see the mother – always keeping her just out of frame or focus to keep her both mysterious and ominous in her own right – keeping us as separated from her as the protagonist Owen is. The film is great choice after great choice, seeded with visual cues and the occasional joke (including a pot pie that will make horror fans squeal with delight.)
The biggest changes that fans will notice is in the performances and personalities of the children. Oskar and Eli find themselves replaced by Owen and Abby – in more than just name. Owen, unlike his counterpart, is not a budding serial killer. He doesn’t collect clippings about murders or anything of the like. Instead, he’s an angry and humiliated little boy who dreams of revenge against the bullies who torment him at school. Here the bullies play a larger part in the story and come across as much darker and scarier than they do in the original; making the climax all the more brutal and disturbingly satisfying. And as Owen is more readily identifiable with than Oskar was, so too does Abby meet him half way by becoming less seductive and creepy and more pitiable. Abby works by making Owen feel like she needs him, as a friend, and that only he can sate her loneliness. It’s clear that Eli and Abby both play the same game, but the styles differ enough to make them somewhat different characters. If fans of the original have problems with the film, it will be in this reinterpretation of the characters.
But the reason I have no qualms with this – especially being a longtime fan in love with the original film – is that this interpretation really works. Reeves dives deep into the horror of Abby’s condition and is unafraid to shy away from it. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN was the first vampire film in a long time to go back to the root of vampiric horror; it’s not supposed to be about courtly romance and super powers – it is about the cursed, damned to walk the earth feeding upon other’s very humanity while losing grip of your own. That’s what this is. It is a horror movie in every way the same as the original, but gorgeous, enthralling and entirely wicked in its own right. It has a number of special quirks all its own – things both removed and added – that make it its own film and arguably a better film than the previous adaptation.
Frankly, I’m thrilled that I live in a world in which both versions of this film exist. Neither invalidate the other. Both are wonderful. And Matt Reeves is officially a genre voice to be reckoned with. This guy is no one’s understudy. He is a highly capable, unique voice who will no doubt dominate the genre scene for the foreseeable future. This is every bit as good an adaptation as Verbinski's THE RING was, and is frankly the best made American horror film in years. Do not let your loyalty to the original dissuade you from taking in the splendor of Reeves version.
Until next time friends,
Massawyrm
Got something for the Wyrm? Mail it here.
