LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Joeface

is this getting a general release

if not where can i go to see it

Illkillya

Don't know where you are based, but it will be showing in the Kino in Cork in May.

Joeface

Aye , know Kino

old reliable for abstract films

Thanks

In limerick , so cork aint too far and use to live there

duckysauce

saw it last night excellent film

Joeface

cant wait to see it

Empire and Total film heaped praise on it .



suffered that emo vampire ****e the other night , and no my GF didnt want to see it either , but one must watch the ****e to have real approval of the good .

quarryman

Anyone know where this is showing in Dublin?

quarryman

got it, its in cinworld, the IFI, lighthouse and screen.

johnny_ultimate

Its the most beautifully filmed horror film to hit screens in a long time. Hopefully it will do well over here like it did in America - a film that really deserves to be seen in a cinema.

monkeyfudge

I think it's hugely over rated.

The performances of the two main actors are great and there is wonderful atmosphere over all. But there are so many stupid plot points in it that make the whole affair seem a bit silly and detract from the overall feel of the film.

It also gives Leon a run for it's money in the paedo's choice awards.

Numina

IFI are screening it from today to the 30th of April. You can be sure I'm going to see it.

Macker1

Some good bits in it but overrated. Watched it at home on Blueray and have to say the sound effects whilst subtle in most parts were great at certain points.

Necronomicon

I loved it. I was thinking of going to see it tonight, but does anyone know if the theatrical release is the proper subbed version or the bastardised one?

bnt

Necronomicon wrote: »

I loved it. I was thinking of going to see it tonight, but does anyone know if the theatrical release is the proper subbed version or the bastardised one?

When I saw it at the IFI last week, I saw no reason to complain about the subtitles. In any case, as I understand it, the complaints are about the first DVD/BR release, not the theatrical release (though I'm not certain).

Driver 8

Rather enjoyed it, I have to say

Necronomicon

bnt wrote: »

When I saw it at the IFI last week, I saw no reason to complain about the subtitles. In any case, as I understand it, the complaints are about the first DVD/BR release, not the theatrical release (though I'm not certain).

Yep, just back from it and it was the proper one. I was waiting for

when they meet for the first time on the jungle-gym,

because that was the only screen shot I remember seeing of the ruined version.

Eirebear

Just back from seeing it (after having tickets but missing it at both the edinburgh and glasgow festivals) and even though i waited a year for it, it took me by surprise.

The trailers gave off a far more gory, faster paced feel for the film than what actually happened.

Thats not a complaint however, as i thought it was an intelligent, beautiful yet dark and disturbing take on the vampire genre.

one thing i dont get though..

was there any need for the shot of her seemingly deformed genitalia?

*Simone*

Just saw it there. I thought the little albino kid was fantastic! But overall it wasn't amazing like I'd heard from the reviews. A little too far fetched to really get into. But some beautiful scenes and very sweet moments between the two kids. Definetly worth a look though.

Woger

Eirebear wrote: »

Just back from seeing it (after having tickets but missing it at both the edinburgh and glasgow festivals) and even though i waited a year for it, it took me by surprise.

The trailers gave off a far more gory, faster paced feel for the film than what actually happened.

Thats not a complaint however, as i thought it was an intelligent, beautiful yet dark and disturbing take on the vampire genre.

one thing i dont get though..

was there any need for the shot of her seemingly deformed genitalia?

..

"She" is not a she

If you liked the film get the book, the film too out a god bit of the book and the book is much darker.

Eirebear

Woger wrote: »

..

"She" is not a she

If you liked the film get the book, the film too out a god bit of the book and the book is much darker.

mmm, that was my only real thought on it, but i just wasnt sure.

Cheers!

krudler

I really must watch this again I saw it on dvd a few months ago and I thought it was one of the dullest movies I'd seen in years, but everyone is heaping praise on it like theres no tomorrow, doesnt seem like the movie I watched..

Joeface

Got to see it at the weekend , good movie ,

up there with a lot of european movies i have seen over the last 2 years , Pans Lab and the orphange ...really think they should leave the remake of this (UK i believe is doing it ) alone for at least 5-6years or they will cock it up .


rating 7.5-8/10

Kiith

Gonna go to see this tonight. Better be good.

quarryman

And if not?

ChumpStain

I went to see it a couple of nights ago and I was really impressed, the 2 kid actors were brilliant and there was some really well staged scenes like

the pool scene

and it was a different take on the vampire genre which is good to see with ****e like Twilight out there.

Kiith

quarryman wrote: »

And if not?

Eh, i'll come on here and give out about it?

fitz

*Simone* wrote: »

...some beautiful scenes and very sweet moments between the two kids.

I don't get how people can think this, it glosses over the whole point of

Eli's motivations/intentions - she's knowingly seducing and manipulating Oskar into being her replacement for Haken, preying on his innocence in much the same manner as a child molestor

, which is what makes the whole thing so horrific. I can't get my head around how people can watch this movie and call it a love story, or say it's touching...totally missing the point.

nix

I thought my friend was crazy when he said

it looked like she had a sex change scar on the aul beaver, it was a quick shot and my eyesight sucks so i didnt see it too well. Do they explain anything more about this in the book? Why she changed sex?

Or even why she requires the help of Haken and the boy? Throughout the film i thought she wasn't your usual super strength vampire and needed someone to do the killing. But then her display in the pool at the end totally put an end to that theory, chopping arms and heads off pretty swiftly

Eirebear

fitz wrote: »

I don't get how people can think this, it glosses over the whole point of

Eli's motivations/intentions - she's knowingly seducing and manipulating Oskar into being her replacement for Haken, preying on his innocence in much the same manner as a child molestor

, which is what makes the whole thing so horrific. I can't get my head around how people can watch this movie and call it a love story, or say it's touching...totally missing the point.

Yes, its horrific.

But that doesnt take away from the fact that they DO actually care for eachother to a certain extent. This for me was shown in how much Haken cared for Eli. He had stuck with her as far as i could tell since he was Oskar's age, and was willing to give his life to protect her. Surely no greater sign of love?

Kiith

Well, I saw it last night, and i thought it was great. So no bitching from me.

Woger

fitz wrote: »

I don't get how people can think this, it glosses over the whole point of

Eli's motivations/intentions - she's knowingly seducing and manipulating Oskar into being her replacement for Haken, preying on his innocence in much the same manner as a child molestor

, which is what makes the whole thing so horrific. I can't get my head around how people can watch this movie and call it a love story, or say it's touching...totally missing the point.

I don't think it's that straight forward. Eli became a vampire as a child and deep down wishes she wasn't and wants to be normal where Oskar fantasises about being a murderer. They are both outcasts in their own way. But overall the end is tragic.
I'd advise getting the book, it goes into detail about Eli's past and the dodgy scar.

*Simone*

fitz wrote: »

I don't get how people can think this, it glosses over the whole point of

Eli's motivations/intentions - she's knowingly seducing and manipulating Oskar into being her replacement for Haken, preying on his innocence in much the same manner as a child molestor

, which is what makes the whole thing so horrific. I can't get my head around how people can watch this movie and call it a love story, or say it's touching...totally missing the point.

Well I havent read the book so I'm not sure if this side of her is more implied there, but I didn't get that impression at all.

Eli was going to leave so as not to cause Oskar any more trouble (and because her killing sprees were getting a little out of control and she was likely to get caught).

I found the relationship between the two really sweet, especially when

she gets into bed with him.

It was all very innocent, but sweet. And I really didn't see the sinister side you're implying!

quarryman

The

Cat

Scene. Almost forgot about this part. Did anyone else find the scene where all the

cats attack the woman (I forget her name)

a bit ridiculous? It looked crap and I think most people in the cinema laughed at this ruining the atmosphere a bit.

*Simone*

quarryman wrote: »

The

Cat

Scene. Almost forgot about this part. Did anyone else find the scene where all the

cats attack the woman (I forget her name)

a bit ridiculous? It looked crap and I think most people in the cinema laughed at this ruining the atmosphere a bit.

Yeah that scene wasn't the best. But hey that's low-budget special effects for u! And I didn't get why her husband was so weird either?

johnny_ultimate

quarryman wrote: »

The

Cat

Scene. Almost forgot about this part. Did anyone else find the scene where all the

cats attack the woman (I forget her name)

a bit ridiculous? It looked crap and I think most people in the cinema laughed at this ruining the atmosphere a bit.

Yeah that scene definitely should have been left out, the effects artists just couldn't handle it convincingly enough. The

pool

scene though is endearingly cheap, and the clever camera angle obscures any dodgy effects that may be going on. But then again, they were clearly trying to be blackly comic there. With the

cats

you can't be sure if the laughs were intentional - and I'd say not.

fitz

*Simone* wrote: »

Well I havent read the book so I'm not sure if this side of her is more implied there, but I didn't get that impression at all.

Eli was going to leave so as not to cause Oskar any more trouble (and because her killing sprees were getting a little out of control and she was likely to get caught).

I found the relationship between the two really sweet, especially when

she gets into bed with him.

It was all very innocent, but sweet. And I really didn't see the sinister side you're implying!

I haven't read the book either, but I thought it was pretty clear

Eli was manipulating Oskar from the start. Everything she did was calculated, from the eating, to the bit where she comes in and starts bleeding rather than explaining it...she provokes the responses she wants from Oskar, and even encourages him to stand up for himself, not (imo) for his own sake, but because she's grooming him. And she never left. If she had left, Oskar would have died at the end. She was watching, waiting for the opportunity to do something for Oskar that would push him past his reservations about being part of her life/world. I believe in the book, Haken is brought on by her when he's an adult, but the implication is there in the movie that Haken was someone who Eli "befriended" when he was a child also and that by the end, Oskar has become his replacement. The ease with which she discarded Haken foreshadows what will happen with Oskar. It's clear that he loved her, but I don't think you can say she's portrayed as seeing Haken as anything other than a servant. The implication is there that she's preyed upon his feelings for her, and that she's doing the same with Oskar. Certainly, it's not spelled out, but I thought that was the chilling part about the whole story. I was actually expecting the touching, innocent quasi-love story from it before I saw it, but from very early in the movie, I just couldn't see it that way.

Joeface

Exactly Fitz .......... thats what is so good about it .

Illkillya

Yes I think fitz has said it well. That's what makes it clever and chilling. Remember that the girl is very very old and anything but innocent.

goodolegill

the film is the most over rated film since there will be blood - its a touching story and focuses on isolation within your community and the bond of two such people but the plot holes come on

1. her father was seemed very amateurish
2. Where are the cops in the film and why does everything go unreported
3. the escalation of violence

Handsome Bob

monkeyfudge wrote: »

I think it's hugely over rated.

The performances of the two main actors are great and there is wonderful atmosphere over all. But there are so many stupid plot points in it that make the whole affair seem a bit silly and detract from the overall feel of the film.

It also gives Leon a run for it's money in the paedo's choice awards.

I can agree with this and I'm sure of what scene you are referring to; all I can say about it is that I felt like I was made a paedophillic pervert against my will.:pac:

As for the film, saw it last night and thoroughingly enjoyed it. I went into further depth in Film Reviews.:)

Amalgam

The book deals with the lack of genitals.. A boy vampire with the parts shoved through a hole in a table.. then removed by a fellow nutball Vampire. I thought they might have had 'that scene' in the film to give the idea of a greater influence (not just physical), but Fitz has blown that idea out of the water.. with a good overview of a very sordid and manipulative film.

Virginia quickly twigged to the total futility of her forced lifestyle and took the noble way out. You munch on the film afterwards in your mind and the veneer of Ikea like whiteness, that stillness, vanishes. A creature that (seemingly) resents what it is, but keeps going, at the expense of anything and everything around it, anything but innocent.

Parts were filmed, flashbacks.. that tried to inject some of Eli's past into the present, but they ended on the cutting room floor. There are, apparently, extra scenes included on the Swedish Blueray\DVD. I have no idea what those extra scenes might be.

It has to be mentioned that only that region DVD has the original theatrical subs. The cheeky humour in the film is sadly stripped from the US DVD.

I forgot to add, the film might not be something you want to revisit, but the music is, composed by Johan Söderqvist, conducted and orchestrated by Hans Ek and performed by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra.

silverwater

"the film is the most over rated film since there will be blood"
Strongly disagree.
They're both brilliant.

But we're not getting into an argument here.

One thing that is very interesting though, is that the remake has already been taken on by JJ Abrams of Lost.
I have a feeling that the

pool

scene, which worked well in its simplicity, will be turned into a wild, wild scene now...

ChumpStain

Not JJ Abrams, I can't stand him. The most overrated(by himself mostly) director, creator, "visonary" working in Hollywood today. Besides the

cat scene

the key word for this film is subtlety! I can't see him bringing that in abundance.

Fysh

Saw this last night and muchly enjoyed it. The black humour present through a lot of the film worked quite well, and a few shots were really interestingly framed, like

when Eli feeds on Jocke under the bridge

.

It is curious to see how the story approaches its subject matter - as fitz has mentioned, what at first glance appears to be a very sweet story of two outcasts finding happiness through their bond is not actually as innocent at all - Oskar has fantasies about murder and violence that are restrained only by his timidity, rather than any notion that they're wrong. Eli is at least partly manipulating Oskar and may well have done the same with Hakan before him (Hakan's bumbling inneficiency at procuring blood for Eli suggests that he shares Oskar's tendency of living in a world of his own whenever he can get away with it).

That being said, I don't think the relationship between the two is exclusively grim. It's important to remember that Oskar's murderous fantasies stem from the bullying he endures at school and that in the period where he thinks this has ended, he appears a lot more confident and happy in himself. Similarly, Eli appears to temporarily age when she's stressed, and this seemed to coincide with those times when she was feeding or struggling with her nature as a vampire; rather than outrightly evil I would've said she was simply too weak to face ending her existence. I'm in two minds as to whether the scene where she walked into the room without being invited in was pure manipulation or trying to prove to Oskar that she wasn't lying to him; possibly a mixture of the two.

The only real downside to the film was the two moments where the effects let it down - that being the already-discussed cat scene, and the point where Hakan throws Jocke's frozen body in the water. Unfortunately it was too obvious that the body thrown in the water was actually a mannequin, chiefly down to the look of the hands. If only they'd thought to put gloves on him. On the other hand, the effects from when Hakan pours bleach or whatever it was on his face were excellent, and looked if anything better than the Harvey Dent effects in The Dark Knight.

tailgunner

Illkillya wrote: »

Yes I think fitz has said it well. That's what makes it clever and chilling. Remember that the girl is very very old and anything but innocent.

No she's not, she's 12!

Seriously though, I can't accept the argument for Eli's ulterior motivations. Hypothetically, if you were a rather frail-looking 12 year old vampire who couldn't really handle having to slaughter people yourself, I think the last person you would pick to do your dirty work is a rather frail-looking 12 year old non-vampire.

I accept that it's not an entirely innocent relationship - both parties are clearly very messed up, but that's what makes it touching I think. Despite the horrific backdrop to the film (violence, murder, addiction, paedophilia, the odd vampire), it's still, at least partly, a believable love story.

Anyway, I loved it. Really a unique film.

Amalgam

tailgunner wrote: »

No she's not, she's 12!

As Eli states in the film, she's been twelve for a long time.

All the nick nacks and belongings are from another age, throw in a Fabergé egg to finally nail the point home..

tailgunner

Amalgam wrote: »

As Eli states in the film, she's been twelve for a long time.

All the nick nacks and belongings are from another age, throw in a Fabergé egg to finally nail the point home..

Well it's quite clear that she's existed for hundreds of years, yes, but she hasn't actually aged. I think the whole idea is that she is a child trapped in this horrible existance, and the story revolves around what this existance is like. That's what makes the film chilling for me - that a child would have to deal with things that most adults couldn't handle.

fitz

I don't accept that tbh. Just because she hasn't physically aged doesn't mean she isn't adult. This is even alluded to with the shot of

an old woman version of Eli

. Imo, it's pretty clear the filmaker intended Eli not to be seen as a child.

Tusky

Just saw this tonight. Can someone who has read the book clear something up.

I thought the relationship between the boy and the vampire was really sweet and innocent. But after reading this thread, It looks like other people have a different view. In the book, is she merely grooming him to gather blood for her ?

see the quote from an interview by the book/screenplays writer below. He refers to Oskars 'rescue'. If hes being manipulated you would hardly refer to it as a rescue

The Northlander: It feels like a lot in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is from you personally, have you taken a lot from your own childhood?

JAL: Yeah I have, partially. What I say at the end of the book, that everything in it is true, just that it happened in another way, it’s exactly like that. That things of a similar meaning, and a life that was kind of like Oskar’s, was mine. And I probably longed for the same type of rescue as he gets

EDIT: (Ive just read on in the interview)

The Northlander: ...and what occured to me was that this whole thing with Håkan, Håkan’s background and everything, it was removed even in the first version.

JAL: Very early on, yeah.

The Northlander: My first thought back then was, that you don’t know anything about him. It could be, that he’s been with Eli since he was very little.

JAL: ...and that’s almost implied in the film. The movie ends so that you almost believe that Oskar becomes a new Håkan.

The Northlander: Yeah so that was intended?

JAL: I think that Tomas deliberately left that open. But I know a lot of people recieve it as now Eli has gotten herself a new helper that’s going to follow [her]. That is NOT my version of the end. I’ve written a short epilogue to the epilogue, that is like my version which will come out in a few years. But it’s just 5-6 pages. Until then, Tomas version will reign. It’s a really good ending to the movie. It’s perfect. But it’s a different version from mine. It’s in the book a little bit, Eli picks up Håkan from the gutter when he’s grown up and filthy already.

*Simone*

Well then it sounds like he wanted it to be portrayed as something more innocent, but most people are taking it as something more sinister.

I saw the sweet side myself

fitz

I don't think so...he's saying that while the book portrays it in that way (more of the innocent love element), the director of the film has presented a more sinister interpretation of his source material.

Tbh, I find it a far more interesting and frightening story the way the movie has presented it than the innocent love story option. Good call by the director to push go the more sinister route imo.

TerrorFirmer

A good movie but there's a lot glossed over by the movie - which is usually acceptable in an adaption - but here it doesn't work entirely well, because it references elements that it then fails to later address, and jumps to conclusions and scenarios without explaining how it arrived there. For example if you hadn't read the book, the scene in which he sees Eli undressing is more confusing then definitive. A lot of the violence and bloodshed is also left out in the movie, which i think might have helped further build up the duality of the whole situation, but not a huge loss and what's in there is done to very good effect. And I fail to see how anyone could state she's only 12 and a child, it even made implicit reference in the movie to an aged being trapped eternally in a young body when 'she' was momentarily incredibly aged.

Still a good movie though.