Entering uninvited has consequences.
“Dress warm. It’s gonna get cold.”
My friend wasn’t talking about The Bioscope, although as a venue it has the potential to induce frostbite – even the little gas heater they pushed into the screening room had a tough time warming us up. It was the movie: Låt den Rätte Komma In (Let The Right One In). A beautiful, moody and decidedly snow-filled Swedish horror by director Tomas Alfredson. After a while, the chill settles right into your bones…
12-year-old Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) dreams of taking revenge on the boys who bully him. When Eli (Lina Leandersson) moves into his gloomy apartment building, he finds a new friend – and a new destiny. Eli’s a centuries-old vampire, looked after by an older male familiar, and for Oskar to become close to her means to become close to the brutal murders that soon turn his city upside down.
It’s violent, and it’s brutal. But often it’s not the blood that shocks – it’s the unexpected moments that truly reveal Eli, and the seemingly random acts of bullying visited on Oskar. He’s living in a stark, forbidding world, so it’s no wonder that he can find warmth and comfort in an essentially cruel, unfeeling creature… Except that Eli isn’t just a creature. We’re given the opportunity to get to know about her, and develop sympathy, if not empathy, with her plight.
The comfort of strangers...
One thing you can say about European movies… They bleed atmosphere and style. The landscape this community is stuck in is the perfect backdrop to the bleakness of their lives… I can only imagine how depressed a person can get in such a world…
Let The Right One In is a slow burn of a movie filled with subtle moments and complicated nuances. It keeps you enthralled and ultimately leaves you disturbed and wanting more. Luckily, in my case, there is more: the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist (he’s also responsible for the screenplay of the movie) that the flick is based on. I haven’t read it yet, and it’s next on my list of Crucial Things To Do.
According to a friend the history of Eli and other themes that run through the movie – loneliness, alienation, neglect, bullying, cruelty, being different, being marginalized – are explored in much more detail. Well, duh – it’s the book, after all…
Squeal like a pig...
Not that the movie is shallow or simplistic… You need to keep your eyes open to not miss a single detail. And even so, you often miss crucial bits. I did, but I can’t elaborate lest I spoil it all… Suffice it to say that it will surprise you, and keep you thinking. The movie’s not showing at The Bioscope anymore, but I have it on good authority that you can rent it at The Colony Arms. Do it now before Hollywood decides to remake the Swedish version and casts Jayden Smith as Oskar.
* Lindqvist also wrote the brilliant Handling The Undead: you could call it a zombie book, only, it isn’t… Once again, issues of love, loss, fear and belonging are scrutinized using a fascinating and horrifying plot. It’s awesome. Read it.
Tags: European cinema, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Kare Hedebrant, Let The Right One In, Lina Leandersson, Swedish horror movie, The Bioscope Johannesburg, vampire horror movie