movie thoughts: Let The Right One In (2008)

[orangerful]

Let The Right One In

See that box art to my left here?  Looks spooky, huh?  Scary even? 

Yeah, well, the movie you're imagining from the box art and the random images you saw online?  It doesn't exist.  Instead, you have this movie, the most arranging-matches Vampire movie ever. 

And it does not make me want to visit Sweden any time soon.  The children are pasty, it's always covered in snow, and the adults are just fugly.  And no one seems too shocked when a child jumps on someone and drinks their blood. 

I don't know, I was expecting a lot more from this movie.  The actress that played the vampire had a very unique face, but I kept waiting for more story, more plot, more vampires!  Especially when we saw her eyes changes in the light, and even her face change when feeding...but no, these teases did not lead anywhere and, in the end, the movie was a bit of a let down.  It felt like it wanted to have some deeper meaning about life, death, killing for survival vs hurting for fun...but I never felt like it all came together. 

I know the rumor is that an American film studio has picked this up.  Something tells me it will bear little resemblance to this quiet, awkward film. 

Originally posted on orangerful.vox.com

Comments

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have to say the marketing for this film was all wrong. Does the book make it any more interesting? Amy and I were arguing over what we saw during the crotch-shot, and neither of us picked up on that. We also assumed the dad was gay. What's the point of having an art film if you don't go into this stuff?? The bullies were just cliche and nasty, but perhaps that was to make us not feel so bad when they were brutally ripped apart (off screen). Blah...I was expecting at least a GOTCHA moment, but nothing.

The scene with the cats was cool...

[bittertwee.livejournal.com]

I didn't read the book, I just read about it on the imdb reviews, so that's the only reason I know what the crotch-shot meant. And that's funny that you both thought dad was gay too. In the clip of an interview I saw, the filmmaker said he didn't understand why so many people read that into that scene, and I'm like, well, let's see, the kid and dad are having fun at dad's house, and then suddenly a hunky male friend walks in like he's really familiar with the place and everyone starts acting all uncomfortable and nervous. And the kid's looking back and forth between the two like he sort of understands but not really. Does that cover it?

ps. oh and I'm 1/4 Swedish. We may be pasty, but we brought you ABBA!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Was it just me or did they live in the same universe as Napoleon Dynamite? Why was it all so 80s???

I don't know any ABBA, except for Dancing Queen's chorus...

[bittertwee.livejournal.com]

whaa-a-what?? Not familiar with ABBA? You're kidding, right? Oh my my my my my, we'll have to do something about that..

I was confused about when the movie took place too, but I believe it was supposed to take place in the 80s. The offhand references to Russia (or probably they said the Soviet Union?) were apparently referring to some event that took place in the 80s that Swedes would have been familiar with.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the whole movie I was a bit confused, but at the very end he had some Smurfs on his desk and I was like "I don't care how out of touch I think Sweden might be, there's no way Smurfs are still that popular with children in 2009...this must be the 80s!"

LOL, I'm still studying my B&S CD! I don't know if I should try to cram Abba on my iPod too!