•
Rating:
Matt Reeves' film made many frown: a horror remake of the Swedish "Let the Right One In" by Tomas Alfredson, furthermore adapted from a book by John Ajvide Lindqvist. In short, the expectations were those of a predictable mishmash: if we add to this that the film tells the story of a "vampire" girl, you'll understand that initially, all doubts were more than justified.
I also had a strange idea about "Let Me In" (this is the title of the remake, which arrived in Italy with the dreadful "Blood Story"). I expected the usual exaggerated film where various kids butcher and pour liters and liters of blood. Not that this is an alien factor to Let Me In, but limiting it to the kiddie and simplistic horror label would be a mistake.
"Let Me In" appeared in American theaters back in 2010 and this year it has reached Italy as well. It tells the story of Owen (Kodi Smit McPhee) and Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz), the former is a marginalized boy, with problems at school and home, the latter a mysterious figure who moves into the same building where Owen lives. After initial hesitations, the two establish a friendship that gradually goes beyond, becoming "love." This is the first element that pleasantly surprised me about Reeves' film: a love story, the youthful approach of two kids with the opposite sex. An emotional bond described by precise direction, never excessive and especially well orchestrated between soft moments and proper horror explosions.
Another important merit of Reeves, already the filmmaker of the debated "Cloverfield," is his choice to entrust the film to a pair of very young actors without being accompanied by other equally important characters. They are the ones who single handedly carry the entire movie, displaying quite a personality. But above all, what makes "Let Me In" an interesting film is its being a horror while not being just that: we are presented with what is essentially a love story, entirely played out on glances, smiles, and fears with the constant musical element in the background. Precisely the soundtrack by Oscar winner Michael Giacchino ("Up") helps create a tense and "palpable" atmosphere throughout the film, without neglecting an underlying melancholy that's easily traceable.
Matt Reeves' film still has the clichés that a horror lover, but more generally a cinema lover, would prefer not to see, like the overly emphasized relationship between Owen and school bullies, yet here we must not forget that everything is faithfully taken from Lindqvist's novel. However, "Let Me In" possesses a strength that is not just gore (at least three noteworthy scenes), but particularly has a unique impact, flexible, which makes it "real" more than other similar stories, rendering it all too realistic thanks to a bond brought to the big screen excellently by two very young actors. An atypical horror, that while seeming in various parts too "constructed," manages to also move and unsettle...
Rating: 3 and a half.
Loading comments slowly
