Fantastic Fest

If a story is truly interesting, it can only be more interesting to see different versions of it. That's my first line of defense against the many people who get very worked up over the thought of an American remake of the Swedish film Let The Right One In.

Kodi Smit-McPhee plays Owen in Let Me In, a kid who could really use some smart guidance. He's a sharp kid, but the usual anxieties that strike moments before puberty are amplified by separated parents and sadistic bullies. He finds a friend in a new neighbor, Chloe G. Moretz, who, just his luck, turns out to be an ageless vampire who will soon be in the market for a new human/henchman to help her stay alive.

Matt Reeves, whose first-person monster movie Cloverfield crackled with energy, knows where to put the camera. The snowy vistas and moon print wallpaper are gorgeously shot, and there are wonderful little touches involving camera placement, framing, and focus. Although there aren't too many jump scares, I was reminded of the way John Carpenter shot Halloween while watching many scenes.

But Let Me In couldn't be more different from Halloween or Cloverfield. It is a somber, heartfelt film that is ripe for picking apart and open to a dozen different interpretations. Is it about loss of innocence? About acceptance? The lure of evil? Deception? Friendship conquering loneliness? Let Me In is a genre film - it's about little girl vampires - but it is definitely heavy. It is the type of film that invites you to scrutinize each little prop (what is the significance of the Now & Later?) and actually earns that scrutiny.

Reeves' film gorges itself on tone. The perfect 1980s needle drops ("Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" isn't chosen by accident) and the muted, maturely underplayed intimate moments between Moretz and McPhee really sing. Most of the action scenes are fantastic, including a POV car crash that is one of the best sequences of the year. There are some moments of computer generated action, however, that didn't work at all for me. If they were meant to be startling, yes, they were. . .but not in a good way.

Reeves' version has a little more pop than the Swedish version, and fewer characters, but I can't really say which I prefer. It is such a fascinating little story, however, that I'm definitely glad we have multiple versions to choose from.

Below are some thoughts I had just a short while after the screening.