Take Two: Let Me In (2010)

Let Me In (2010)

Rated: R

Starring: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Director: Matt Reeves

Chris’ Take:

Let me first start off by saying that I have regrettably not seen the original Swedish version, Let the Right One In, that this film is based on. I have heard great things about it, but haven’t been able to see it yet. When I saw that this version was coming out, I was cautious because it seemed like a quick turnaround for a remake, but from what I have heard this film follows very closely to the original.

Let Me In is the story of Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a gruesomely bullied middle school boy, who meets a mysterious new neighbor, Abby (Chloe Moretz), and someone he assumes is her father (Richard Jenkins). She provides much needed companionship for him and even begins to give him strength to face his fears. Owen soon finds out that Abby is a blood-depraved vampire and that the person he thought was her father is her protector; hunting and killing people to provide Abby with the blood she needs to survive. When Abby’s protector dies the police begin to ask questions and Owen is caught in between helping the police or protecting his new found friend.

This film exceeded my expectations, since there have been so many terrible remakes in the recent past. After so many cheesy vampire shows and movies that overdo the sex appeal and mortality of vampires, this one focuses on the truly disturbing details and implications of vampires, and does not disappoint those who have the patience to sit through a slower vampire movie.

The cinematography is very interesting, choosing to leave many details out of focus and therefore up to the imagination of the viewer. Also, an interesting aspect was that Owen’s mother was not clearly seen throughout the entire film, which symbolized how she was almost absent in his life, except when she called him for dinner, which is when she was shown the most clearly.

Moretz and Smit-McPhee carried the movie on their very capable young shoulders with superb performances by both. Moretz has played some very different roles for an actor of her age, and may need therapy when she grows up, but shows some tremendous promise in almost every film she is in. The characters progressed in such a way that it was easy to see how Owen makes the decisions he does, which is very crucial in making this film believable. Richard Jenkins played a great character as well (as always), being able to let his neurotic tendencies show through.

The pace of the film may be a draw back for some, but I thought it was just right. Matt Reeves, the director and writer, spaced out moments of sharp intensity with just the right amount of character development and story. Those looking for an in-your-face gore fest with prolonged action scenes will not find it here. But for those willing to wait 15 minutes  for very satisfying moments of disturbing pay off, this is a film for you.

This is one of the darkest films I have seen in a while and I thought it was very well done and well directed by Matt Reeves. Unfortunately, it failed to succeed in the box office, which means that films like this will be less and less likely to be made. It is so depressing that terrible movies are, more often than not, rewarded monetarily for being enamel shells of cinematic nothing.

• Characters: A
• Cinematography: A
• Direction: A-
• Performances: A
• Plot: A-
• Overall: A

Pac’s Take:

In most instances when Chris and I do a “Take Two” we generally either both like or dislike the film.  In most instances when I watch a critically acclaimed horror movie I do not leave the end credits disappointed.  This is not most instances.  I did not like Let Me In.

I have seen some of Let the Right One In, but couldn’t get through it because I just couldn’t enjoy the film (I thought this was because of the subtitles, I didn’t really like High Tension either).  That being said, I was optimistic to see this movie because of its strong cast, critical acclaim, and lack of a language barrier.  However, had I not been in the theater I don’t think I would have made it through this movie either.  Chris is not off the mark when he says this is not the typical vampire movie, it does explore a different perspective on the creatures of the night and it doesn’t shy away from the violence and animatistic nature of the original folklore.  I find this fact redeeming, but not enough to make this movie enjoyable for me. 

It was clearly a decision of the filmmakers to do so, but I thought this film was shot way too tight (to a point that it actually gave me a headache).  A lot of the shots were over the shoulder or in the face of the actors, there were not very many establishing shots, and more camera time was spent on Chloe Moretz’s feet than most people’s faces.  I felt suffocated the entire movie, and while I understand that this was a deliberate choice (I want to reiterate that I’m acknowledging this), I hated it.

The plot was a little slow in my opinion and relied too much on the dialogue between the two main characters.  Every once in a while we’d see some action but not enough to recover from the time in between (except for the end, that was awesome).  Additionally, for any movie to be satisfying for the viewer, they have to care in some form for the characters.  I didn’t care about any of the characters in this movie and the only emotion I really felt for any of them was uncomfortable and at times disgust.  I actually was more disturbed by the actions of the boy, Owen, than I was the vampire, Abby, and if she hadn’t appeared in this film it could have easily become Michael Myers’s origin story.  Again, I get that they were trying to establish that the boy was a little off, or else why would he act this way toward Abby, but it still kept me from being interested in what was on-screen.   

This isn’t the first horror movie I didn’t like on first viewing, and maybe upon further viewings I’ll grow to enjoy this movie (though I won’t be watching it again anytime soon).  It did have good performances and I thought the plot of the film was very original (or the plot of its source rather) but I felt that the execution was poor.

Here are my overall scores:

• Characters: C
  Cinematography: D-
  Direction: C-
  Performances: B
  Plot: A-
  Overall: C-

TOTAL TAKE TWO GRADE: B