Post by HerBlackWings on Oct 20, 2010 18:10:27 GMT -5
*** I want to preface this by saying that i'm not a writer and I don't write a lot movie reviews. So i'll apologize now for it's lack of solid structure. 
***
I was hoping to write this review for Let Me In without heavily comparing it to the original, Let The Right One In, excessively. The reason, mostly, is that I feel like this remake is a great stand-alone film that warrants a good review without the comparisons. Unfortunately, I started writing and the comparisons starting flying out. So be it.
Anyone who’s seen Let The Right One In (2008) probably loved it; it’s just one of those films. It was creative, had an interesting perspective of the vampire story, and had incredible atmosphere. I loved it. That said, I can say that I felt there was something lacking in there and couldn’t really pinpoint it. It’s hard to say that you love a film but that there was something missing. I think that shows just how great it really was.
I was really disappointed when I learned an American remake was coming, as we have all learned that 99% of them aren’t just worthless, but most are worthy of a good torching. I figured it’d be just like the rest of them: flashy, extra gory for no reason, shitty soundtrack, and bad acting. I was wrong, and I can admit when I’m wrong.
The film stars two very talented young actors. Chloe Moretz plays Abby, our vampire. The only movie I’d seen her in prior was Kick-Ass, and while she was great in the role, it wouldn’t lead you to believe she’s a spectacular little actress…but she is. She was able to portray her character with a maturity that is pretty outstanding for someone her age.
Abby is a mysterious character, not a lot of back story is provided. This leads to the thick atmosphere that makes this film so good, yet it gives us a little more than the original did without ruining that mystery that was so profound in Let The Right One In.
She appears to be about 12 years old, Owen’s age, but you learn that she’s much older. She lives a very isolated life with a male companion that everyone assumes to be her father, although is he is essentially her caretaker. She relies on him to acquire her “meals”.
Kodi Smit-McPhee (also in The Road) is Owen. He shares a common bond of isolation with his friend-to-be, Abby. He lives with his fanatically religious (and seemingly alcoholic) mother as his parents are divorcing. He’s bullied at school and has no friends. He spends his time alone in the courtyard playground at his apartment complex.
For such a young actor, he has two very unique, dramatic roles under his belt. First in The Road (2009) and then Let Me In. He has a quiet sadness that is incredibly believable. While admittedly he was upstaged by Moretz in this film, he deserves credit for his performance.
To describe what is so good about Let Me In, I have to pick on Let The Right One In first. In the original I often felt like I walked into a theater 20 minutes after the movie started. While I loved the vagueness of the story, it was lacking just a little too much. It never elaborated on any aspect of the story or the characters, and to me it made the ending a little too unfulfilling.
On top of the lack of development, I felt it wasn't quite as personal as it should have been. You didn’t get a sense of personal connection between the characters. They were friends, but what did they mean to each other? I just didn’t feel anything.
In the remake there is a poignant relationship between Abby and Owen. You know exactly how much they mean to each other, and they didn’t need to say it to get those emotions across to an audience.
The character development in Let Me In wasn’t that of a typical film. It let you assume and make your guesses before it gave you anything to support your opinion. I think this is the change that the makers of this film wanted to portray in the “Americanized” version. As Americans, we like a solid story. We like to know where the characters came from, where they’re going at the end, and why. I’m guilty of this as much as everyone else. I think Let The Right One In was a little too mysterious or anonymous, if you will, than most Americans care for. So while I typically don’t think American remakes are worth making, this one is valuable because it opened up a beautifully told story for those who might not have watched the original. With the unfortunate influx of bad vampire films (like sparkly ones) it’s important to save such a big part of classic cinema. Vampires can be cliché, they can be done poorly…but c’mon! Where would we be without them?
What I worried about mostly with this remake was that they were going to turn a thriller into a typical American “horror” movie. Movies don’t need tons of gore to be good. One of the reasons that Let The Right One In was so well received was that it really didn’t use any of the cheap tricks and the result was still creepy, a little unsettling.
With the exception of only one or two extra “kill” scenes, Let Me In stayed pretty true to the original. It didn’t have the buckets of blood I expected it to have. It did have some sub-par CGI in those scenes, but I for one can forgive them for that. It accomplished what they wanted it to and I guess that’s all that matters.
Overall I think everyone should see this film. Whether you loved the first or hated it…or even if you never saw it. Everyone involved in this film avoided the massive holes they could have fallen into that would have made this a typical Hollywood remake. With any other cast it would have been a disaster, but these two kids did something that not many child actors do. Act believably.
The “scary kid” theme in horror movies has been overdone so many times that whenever I see a kid in a horror movie trailer, I cringe. Moretz and Smit-MchPhee were anything but cliché. The characters they played were endearing and made you hope they succeeded in the end.
I’d give this movie a 9/10. It scored more points from me based on the fact that it’s a remake which might sound silly since I said I hate remakes, but hear me out…
On its own it would have made a great movie, but the fact that it was such a spectacular example of what a remake SHOULD be earns it more credibility.
The Good:
-Incredible acting by everyone. Couldn’t ask for a better cast.
- Amazing atmosphere. It fit so well that I don’t think there’s room for any improvement.
-An original score that didn’t get in the way of anything. It was memorable, but was always in the background instead of being overbearing.
The Bad:
-Less than perfect CGI.
The Ugly:
I honestly can’t say anything in this film warranted this category.
***I was hoping to write this review for Let Me In without heavily comparing it to the original, Let The Right One In, excessively. The reason, mostly, is that I feel like this remake is a great stand-alone film that warrants a good review without the comparisons. Unfortunately, I started writing and the comparisons starting flying out. So be it.
Anyone who’s seen Let The Right One In (2008) probably loved it; it’s just one of those films. It was creative, had an interesting perspective of the vampire story, and had incredible atmosphere. I loved it. That said, I can say that I felt there was something lacking in there and couldn’t really pinpoint it. It’s hard to say that you love a film but that there was something missing. I think that shows just how great it really was.
I was really disappointed when I learned an American remake was coming, as we have all learned that 99% of them aren’t just worthless, but most are worthy of a good torching. I figured it’d be just like the rest of them: flashy, extra gory for no reason, shitty soundtrack, and bad acting. I was wrong, and I can admit when I’m wrong.
The film stars two very talented young actors. Chloe Moretz plays Abby, our vampire. The only movie I’d seen her in prior was Kick-Ass, and while she was great in the role, it wouldn’t lead you to believe she’s a spectacular little actress…but she is. She was able to portray her character with a maturity that is pretty outstanding for someone her age.
Abby is a mysterious character, not a lot of back story is provided. This leads to the thick atmosphere that makes this film so good, yet it gives us a little more than the original did without ruining that mystery that was so profound in Let The Right One In.
She appears to be about 12 years old, Owen’s age, but you learn that she’s much older. She lives a very isolated life with a male companion that everyone assumes to be her father, although is he is essentially her caretaker. She relies on him to acquire her “meals”.
Kodi Smit-McPhee (also in The Road) is Owen. He shares a common bond of isolation with his friend-to-be, Abby. He lives with his fanatically religious (and seemingly alcoholic) mother as his parents are divorcing. He’s bullied at school and has no friends. He spends his time alone in the courtyard playground at his apartment complex.
For such a young actor, he has two very unique, dramatic roles under his belt. First in The Road (2009) and then Let Me In. He has a quiet sadness that is incredibly believable. While admittedly he was upstaged by Moretz in this film, he deserves credit for his performance.
To describe what is so good about Let Me In, I have to pick on Let The Right One In first. In the original I often felt like I walked into a theater 20 minutes after the movie started. While I loved the vagueness of the story, it was lacking just a little too much. It never elaborated on any aspect of the story or the characters, and to me it made the ending a little too unfulfilling.
On top of the lack of development, I felt it wasn't quite as personal as it should have been. You didn’t get a sense of personal connection between the characters. They were friends, but what did they mean to each other? I just didn’t feel anything.
In the remake there is a poignant relationship between Abby and Owen. You know exactly how much they mean to each other, and they didn’t need to say it to get those emotions across to an audience.
The character development in Let Me In wasn’t that of a typical film. It let you assume and make your guesses before it gave you anything to support your opinion. I think this is the change that the makers of this film wanted to portray in the “Americanized” version. As Americans, we like a solid story. We like to know where the characters came from, where they’re going at the end, and why. I’m guilty of this as much as everyone else. I think Let The Right One In was a little too mysterious or anonymous, if you will, than most Americans care for. So while I typically don’t think American remakes are worth making, this one is valuable because it opened up a beautifully told story for those who might not have watched the original. With the unfortunate influx of bad vampire films (like sparkly ones) it’s important to save such a big part of classic cinema. Vampires can be cliché, they can be done poorly…but c’mon! Where would we be without them?
What I worried about mostly with this remake was that they were going to turn a thriller into a typical American “horror” movie. Movies don’t need tons of gore to be good. One of the reasons that Let The Right One In was so well received was that it really didn’t use any of the cheap tricks and the result was still creepy, a little unsettling.
With the exception of only one or two extra “kill” scenes, Let Me In stayed pretty true to the original. It didn’t have the buckets of blood I expected it to have. It did have some sub-par CGI in those scenes, but I for one can forgive them for that. It accomplished what they wanted it to and I guess that’s all that matters.
Overall I think everyone should see this film. Whether you loved the first or hated it…or even if you never saw it. Everyone involved in this film avoided the massive holes they could have fallen into that would have made this a typical Hollywood remake. With any other cast it would have been a disaster, but these two kids did something that not many child actors do. Act believably.
The “scary kid” theme in horror movies has been overdone so many times that whenever I see a kid in a horror movie trailer, I cringe. Moretz and Smit-MchPhee were anything but cliché. The characters they played were endearing and made you hope they succeeded in the end.
I’d give this movie a 9/10. It scored more points from me based on the fact that it’s a remake which might sound silly since I said I hate remakes, but hear me out…
On its own it would have made a great movie, but the fact that it was such a spectacular example of what a remake SHOULD be earns it more credibility.
The Good:
-Incredible acting by everyone. Couldn’t ask for a better cast.
- Amazing atmosphere. It fit so well that I don’t think there’s room for any improvement.
-An original score that didn’t get in the way of anything. It was memorable, but was always in the background instead of being overbearing.
The Bad:
-Less than perfect CGI.
The Ugly:
I honestly can’t say anything in this film warranted this category.
