Let The Right One In Remake

It had to happen eventually; any great foreign film, fiercely popular, and deliciously disturbing, is bound to become -wince- an American remake: Let Me In. And no, sorry, but this isn't just a rumor. iMDB lists the film as  'in production', meaning it is currently being made, and there's already a tentative cast listed as well. Why, why, why, does this movie need a remake? All right, I admit, just the other day on Werewolves.com I was saying that remakes didn't bother me because it just means there's more of a good thing to love. But there's no one an American director is going to be able to capture the same atmosphere in the original film, because Americans are puritanical self-loathers, who can't handle sex, let alone androgynous naked vampires rubbing against little boys in bed.

Okay, there's my rant. If you didn't see Let the Right One In, then you should. It's set a Swedish winter, almost every scene is at night, and everything is bleak and frozen; as it should be. Vampires are cold and dark, so let the atmosphere echo the subject. Everyone in the film is exceptionally beautiful; also an exclusively Swedish trait; the children are all like porcelain dolls, and the film is essentially about children anyway. Oscar is the protagonist; a young boy, constantly abused at school, meets the new vampire in the neighbourhood. Eli just moved in next door with her male guardian, a pedophile, posing as her father, whose job descriptions includes hunting for Eli, protecting her in daylight, and taking the fall for her if need be.

Eventually, Eli and Oscar meet, and become friends, but it isn't long before Eli reveals herself, --meanwhile, her guardian gets caught, and she kills him in the hospital. Eli tries hunting on her own but cannot get by without a guardian; the townspeople nearby are getting suspicious, and soon, everything begins to collapse. At the end of the movie, ask yourself whether the "happy ending" is really all that happy. No, I won't tell you what happens. The remake is due to come out sometime in 2010, and though I'll be complaining and cranky, I'll probably end up seeing it. If you're a fan of Let the Right One In, then you absolutely cannot do without issue #84 of Rue Morgue; the cover art is exceptional, and there's exclusive information on the film, and its director, Tomas Alfredson.

If you're more interested in the real story, --well, sort of real, read the novel, by John Ajvide Lindqvist. In the book version, Eli isn't actually a girl; though it's never actually stated that Eli is a boy, either. Technically, Eli is neither, as an androgynous vampire. The book deals more graphically in the darker side of humanity, such as bullying, drugs, pedophilia, prostitution and murder. More interesting trivia, you say? Well, the title of the book was inspired by the song Let the Right One Slip In, by Morrissey, from the Viva Hate album, but also by the vampire dogma; a vampire must be invited inside.

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