Tags:
Film: Let Me In
Year: 2010
Director: Matt Reeves
Writer: Matt Reeves and John Ajvide Lindqvist
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz and Richard Jenkins
Review:
This film begins with an ambulance being given a police escort to the hospital. The man in it we learn has horrible burns from acid. He is intensive care and a policeman is there, he is played by Elias Koteas. He gets a phone call and leaves the man. While he is on the phone, the man falls out of the window to his death.
We go back two weeks prior and we meet a young boy, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee. He is bullied and weird. He plays in his room where he wears a mask and wields a knife, using the same phrase he is bullied with. His mother and father are going through a divorce and he lives with her. We see that he also has a telescope that he uses to spy on his neighbors. While he does this, he catches a glimpse of a father, played by Richard Jenkins, and his daughter, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, moving in. They end up being his neighbor.
Smit-McPhee immediately takes a liking to Moretz, but she tells them they can’t be friends. She has a secret that we learn, which is she is a vampire. Jenkins goes out and gets blood for her. Slowly though Smit-McPhee and Moretz become friends, against the wishes of Jenkins. He is getting sloppy on bringing her blood and she begins to go out hunting herself.
We see who the man in the ambulance is, as it is Jenkins after he gets into a car crash. With Moretz all alone now, what will she do? They become closer and Smit-McPhee learns what she is, but he being an outcast too is not bothered by it. Will he be able to learn from her to stand up to the bullies that torment him?
This film is okay, but it is really weird. I like Moretz as an actress, even more so that she has been doing it from a young age which is impressive. The thing about this film is that they are both awkward and outcasts in different ways. Smit-McPhee has no friends and is singled out by the bullies. Moretz is a monster that can’t get close to anyone, being a monster and immortal creature. It is a great story, but the awkwardness of it can almost be unbearable. That is something that actually adds to the film, since growing up can be very hard and similar to this for many people.
The rest of the cast is good and seeing Moretz attack is different for a vampire film. They use some of the mythology behind vampires and some are kept out, but that isn’t a big issue.
If you like vampire films, I would give this one a viewing. It is different and that is definitely something I liked about it. The acting is good, as well as the story; there was just something about it that didn’t make me love it. I really don’t know what it is, but I would still say it is worth a viewing, if you are into this type of film. Also, this is actually a remake and I have heard that one is much better. I have not gotten around to seeing it yet, but I wanted you to keep that in mind while reading this.
My Rating: 6 out of 10