Review: Let Me In

Grade: A

In the early 1980s in Los Alamos, New Mexico lives a boy, Owen, who is the constant victim of bullies at his school. He therefore keeps to himself for the most part until one day, a mysterious girl, Abby, moves in next door with her guardian. At first the girl tells him they cannot be friends, but this soon changes. Their friendship grows quickly and becomes something a little more. However, at one point Owen learns that Abby is not all that she appears to be, Abby is a vampire. Owen is scared at first but gets over it and they become even closer. One day though, her caretaker dies and she must make the decision to leave in order to survive.

This is a remake of a Scandinavian movie called Let the Right One In, which was a brilliant movie. This Americanized version is actually really good and holds up to the original. As a warning, to anyone that is going to see this because they think it is a horror movie, it is not. In fact the whole vampire aspect of the movie is all background. The main story focuses on the relationship between Owen and Abby and it is a beautiful thing at times. Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) did a great job adapting the screenplay and directing this movie. The writing and the dialogue is just great and all the camera work is excellent.

Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) plays the young boy Owen. He did a great job with this role and shows promise for a strong career later in life. He did a great job showing the torments that Owen lives with because he is bullied everyday and to such a high degree too. Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, (500) Days of Summer) plays the young vampire, Abby. Moretz is absolutely amazing. She is only 13 and is already promising to be one of the best actresses of our generation. She was perfect in this role and I cannot wait to see her in more. The movie also features Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas and others.

This movie was just amazing. If you like movies with great story and plot and a dash of vampires, this one’s for you. One great thing about the vampire in this movie, she doesn’t sparkle. It also has a bit of vampire lore in it that hasn’t been in movies or writing for a very long time, and is the reason for the title of the movie.

Great quote: “I’m 12… more or less.”