Director: Matt Reeves (Cloverfield)
Screenplay: Matt Reeves, John Ajvide Lindqvist (novel)
Producers: Alexander Yves Brunner, Guy East, Donna Gigliotti, Carl Molinder, John Nordling, Simon Oakes, Nigel Sinclair
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 116 min.

It’s not too surprising that a movie shrouded in so much drama nearly came and went in the blink of an eye. Mind you, the subject matter is such that even without the subtitles, Let Me In was bound to have limited appeal. But the question remains: how does Cloverfield director Matt Reeve’s take on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel and Tomas Alfredson’s film stack up with the universally loved (in these parts particularly) Let the Right One In (review)?

It’s an unfair question, one that won’t do justice to either film and for that reason, the comparisons end right here. Reeves’ film stands superbly on its own as one of the great unseen gems of 2010 and is definitely a contender for one of the better films of the year if not one of the best looking ones. Bringing Australian cinematographer Greig Fraser (Spider, Bright Star) was definitely a good decision and Fraser manages to capture Let Me In in the cold winter of New Mexico so that it looks both frigidly cold and still warm and inviting. Soft lighting (for the most part – except when Abby’s in “vamp mode” which is a nice touch) welcomes us into the little community where things go seriously wrong for Abby before they go right.

The setting and mood is effectively accented by Oscar winner Michael Giacchino’s score which is beautiful, haunting and sometimes downright terrifying. He’s taken a few queues from Elliot Goldenthal’s Interview with a Vampire score and makes it work for this modern vampire tale.

Reeves’ film, as required by the story, lives or dies by the leads and asking children to take on roles this demanding and let’s face it, disturbing, is no easy task but both Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee do a fantastic job of their characters, particularly McPhee who has the same wide eyed look of innocence and hard resolve that Kåre Hedebrant brought to his version of the role. Moretz is also quite good but she’s a bit too pretty and clean and she doesn’t have the supernatural je ne sais quoi that Lina Leandersson did but her performance is good and turns a little distanced and cold towards the latter part of the story, a subtle shift that works to her benefit. Also worth mentioning are Richard Jenkins and Elias Koteas who give good performances in small supporting roles.

My one complaint about Reeves’ film are the effects which feel awkward. Admittedly, that’s the point since Abby isn’t supposed to move like a human when she’s feeding but they’re a little too fake and obviously CGI. Reeves must realize this because he keeps the camera far from the action in these instances and it’s mostly shadows moving which helps alleviate the problem – guess the money went into Abby’s vampire makeup which is effectively creepy.

It certainly shares a few things with Alfredson’s film, a given considering they’re both adapted from the same source material, but Reeves’ Let Me In is an excellent adaptation and yes, a worthy companion to the original and a great example of a re-make that works.

Links:
IMDb profile
Official Website
Flixster Profile for Let Me In