‘Let Me In’ Coming Soon To DVD and Blu-Ray
At long last “Let Me In,” the American remake of the Swedish film “Let the Right One In,” is finally hitting store shelves. The big date? February 1, 2011.
“From Matt Reeves – the writer/director of Cloverfield – comes the new vampire classic that critics are calling “chillingly real” (Scott Bowles, USA Today) and “one of the best horror films of the year” (Cinematical). In bleak New Mexico, a lonely, bullied boy, Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee of The Road), forms a unique bond with his mysterious new neighbor, Abby (Chloë Grace Moretz of Kick-Ass). Trapped in the mind and body of a child, however, Abby is forced to hide a horrific secret of bloodthirsty survival. But in a world of both tenderness and terror, how can you invite in the one friend who may unleash the ultimate nightmare?
Based on the Swedish novel, Let the Right One In, “Let Me In is a dark and violent love story, a beautiful piece of cinema and a respectful rendering of my novel for which I am grateful.” (John Ajvide Lindqvist, author).”
The DVD and Blu-ray special features include:
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Matt Reeves
- From the Inside: A Look at the Making of LET ME IN
- The Art of Special Effects, Crash Sequence Step-by-Step
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Writer/Director Matt Reeves
- Trailer Gallery, Poster & Still Gallery
So Dear Readers, will you be rushing to the store to secure your copy of “Let Me In” or are you one of those hardcore fans of the original film that despise this American version?
If you have seen both films, let us know in a comment below which one you prefer. You can even make a list of the pros and cons of each if you want. If you haven’t seen either, you’ll soon have the chance to watch both back to back – which could be interesting.
- Moonlight
Loved both. I was particularly impressed how they remained faithful to the novel yet succeeded at being themselves rather than a copy of anything. Frankly a lot of comments criticizing LMI seemed silly–complaints that scenes from the book were in both film versions, for example. Yet the nuances and choices between the two showed a lot of differences, not least the greater vulnerability of Owen as opposed to Oskar, and the subtle but vital differences between the vampire in Abby rather than the vampire who is Eli.
I saw Let Me In first, then read the novel, then just watched Let The Right One In this past week. I enjoyed them in that order. Let Me In was one of my absolute favorites of 2010. Let The Right One In was a lot less touching, a lot more sluggish, and the soundtrack just killed me. How many scenes of that godawful piano piece with scenes of Oskar lingering over childhood things do we really need? I think it was wise to drop the Lacke/Jocke/Virginia storyline from Let Me In. It didn’t serve Let The Right One In very much since they weren’t very interesting or sympathetic characters and giving them any more screen time to make them so would have just been a distraction.
I loved both actually. the Swedish one a little more cause it found a place in my heart first. I’m getting Let Me In on Blu ray. Already have LTROI
I’ve seen both, and they both get a 5/5 for me, but the original Swedish film is still much better.
Love both films but i connect with Let Me In a bit more so i do think it is the better of the two.
I have not read the original novel yet, but I have seen both films. Love them both (in fact, I’m watching Let the Right One In right now), but I prefer Let Me In, and it’s for reasons that cause most to prefer the original.
Whenever people say Let Me In is a more “Hollywood” version of LTROI, I both agree and disagree. I agree because they’re, well, right, but I disagree with the negative tone in which this is often said.
LMI is more “Hollywood” because it is less subtle and quiet. In LTROI, at the end of the film, when the bully’s brother makes the deal with Oskar, he makes his presence known by simply staring at him. In LMI, the bully’s brother makes his presence known by bursting into the natatorium, chasing Owen down, dragging him across the floor, and throwing him into the pool. Both scenes are effective in their own way, I just prefer the way it happens in LMI because it works as a sort of “shit hits the fan” kind of way. Owen had been in trouble with bullies before, but now it was about to get serious. For Owen, it’s life or death.
The slightly decreased subtlety also works for the characters. In LTROI, it is implied that Hakan was once in the same situation that Oskar is now in. In LMI, it is no longer implied but shown. This is not done just to spoon feed the audience: It is done because it leads to a great character moment for Owen. He realizes the situation he is in and is able to react to it.
That said, while I prefer LMI, both are oustanding films and amongst my recent favorites. I’ve seen LTROI 3 or 4 times, hope to see it many more, and I look forward to seeing LMI many times as well, with my 2nd viewing being February 1st.
i also have seen both versions of this amazing novel, and love both to death, but if i was forced to nit pic on the two, i would have to say LET ME IN caught me at being more real life the LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, here is how, as great as both chloe and lina were in there roles as abby and eli, abby in my veiw had more of the child like quality’s in her persona, from the sadness in her eyes, also from when she was happy when owen showed up on the jungle gym, and the most tender moment for abby was when owen asked her if she would of kept bleeding, and abby said, I KNEW YOU WOULDN’T LET ME, the look on abbys face was that of pure careing and love for another, very touching, so yes, if i HAD to say what one was better, it would most definatly be LET ME IN
Saw LTROI first…almost didn’t bother with LMI. Boy am I glad I changed my mind on that one! LMI ended up being my favorite movie of 2010.
LTROI is one of my favorite vampire movies…LMI is one of my favorite movies PERIOD. The acting is one of the main things I prefer in LMI. Everyone in the cast is stellar and bring a lot of layers to their roles. I’m also very fond of the different little themes that Matt Reeves added to LMI. Can’t catch it all the first time. It rewards multiple viewings….most movies don’t.
In the end, we get two excellent films from this excellent story. They are different enough to allow people with different tastes to enjoy the tale. Some will like LTROI better, some will like LMI better. A very good thing indeed.
“Let Me In” is indeed one of the best horror films of this decade, maybe ever. Part of it is that it is not completely a horror story. Its actually more of a tragic drama than anything else. Chloe Moretz and Kodi-Smit McPhee were amazing as the two leads, and had great screen chemistry. Speaking of the performances, ALL of the actors and actresses involved (yes, including the minor characters) did great. I loved the changes made to the story, too, as they made the film much more visceral, real, and dramatic. On top of that, lighting, sound, cinematography, everything else technical was amazing. All in all, this is my second-favorite film of all time and it changed my life. Because of the quality of the film, and the fact that two child actors can act better than half of Hollywood, I got motivated again to pursue a career in film acting and to stick with it this time in hopes that I can make it. I thank everyone involved in “Let Me In” for inspiring me as such and I hate the “snobs” who dismiss the film without even watching it, just because they are loyal to an inferior film, which I’m about to mention below.
Before I say anything, I just to let you know that I wanted to like “Let the Right One In.” I really did! I normally enjoy foreign films and was looking forward to this. Before watching it I cleared my mind of “Let Me In”‘s awesomeness so I could go in to the original with an objective take.
That said, “Let the Right One In” is one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. Everything I mentioned in “Let Me In” was the opposite in quality to the original. For example, the caretaker in LMI, played brilliantly by Richard Jenkins, was far less transparent as a character then the one in LTROI, who’s version of the caretaker was a hollow character and a bumbling idiot. I saw almost NO emotional connection between Eli and Oskar, and the actor and actress clearly lacked on-screen chemistry and I really couldn’t tell how much acting experience they had. The bullies in LMI were realistic, but scary as hell as antagonists. The bullies in the original had no impact and were too passive to pass off as bullies. That’s all just the acting. I thought there were WAY too many characters in the overall story, which explains my agreement with Matt Reeves’ changes to the story. I couldn’t really keep up with all the different characters and honestly, I couldn’t care about any of their stories. Oskar’s sociopathy seemed way too random to me whereas Owen’s problems were clearly laid out and had logical reasoning behind them, and therefore making Owen’s story more tragic. I won’t comment on the stupid cgi cats other than to say it was the second-worst CGI I’ve seen (the first being Wolverine first seeing the adamantium claws in “X-men Origins: Wolverine”). The lighting was absolutely horrid compared to LMI’s lighting. Where LMI had dark lighting appropriate to the film, LTROI’s lighting was too bright and some scenes I was like “how can anyone NOT see that?”. Music was ok, I guess, though not as memorable as Let Me In’s, and the camerawork was ok for a student project, but not for a more professional film.
All in all, “Let Me In” blows “Let The Right One In” out of the water in my opinion. I never thought a remake would supersede the original but this does. I’m disappointed with LTROI but it doesn’t matter, and I still respect it as the film that led to the creation of “Let Me In”
I really wish the Blu-ray had more extras. Would love an audio commentary from the two young stars. A screenplay/storyboard extra would be nice too. I’m still going to buy it of course. One of my favorite movies of the last year. There were parts where I really started to tear up. There aren’t many horror films that make me cry!