Let the Right One In

Originally the title of this Swedish film was to be “Don’t Let the Wrong One In But Do Let the Right One In if you are Absolutely Sure”. Unfortunately the Swedish word for absolutely when translated into English sounds suspiciously like Granny’s elderly buttcrack, so they settled on the shorter title. No matter, though, because this practically unknown study of  a pubescent vampire totally kicks ass. Gone are the Hollywood trappings of vampire lore with holy water, crucifixes, extended fangs, bats, and special contact lenses. What we are left with is the notion that vampirism is not of the supernatural realm, but is actually a disease that is transmitted through the bite of an infected individual. Still, though, when one is “turned” he or in this case she, ceases to age in body image, although the mind continues to develop. Imagine what it must be like to have a chronological age of 200, with the wisdom gained by living so long, yet be trapped in a body arrested in the physical development of a young girl, just as the sex hormones are about to go into overdrive. Thus we are introduced to Eli, the not undead vampire who lives with an older man in kind of a Dracula/Renfield relationship. This guy takes care of the details of ordinary life like renting an apartment and ripping the throats out of passersby so that Eli can feed from a plastic bucket rather than staying up past her bedtime to hunt for victims in the neighborhood. Oskar, the 12 year old boy who lives next door, forms an unlikely friendship with Eli as both see themselves as outcasts in Swedish society. Oskar slowly comes to know of Eli’s true nature, but doesn’t fear her. She teaches him to stand up for himself against the local bullies who ceaslessly taunt him. And Oskar teaches Eli how to communicate with Morse Code (dot-dot-dash-dot-dot). The only thing about Eli that horrifies Oskar is her smattering of pubic hair which he glimpses along with the viewers of the movie. (Wonder how that got past the censors?) The overall pace of the movie is somewhat languid, but interspersed with moments of stark violence that serve to remind us that children are not always what they seem to be. The DVD has dubbed in English that is at times distracting due to its odd delivery, but over all the movie is fascinating.