Let Me In Review

Let Me In is a fine remake of the Swedish now-classic Let the Right One In.  While it isn't quite as effective as that film, it certainly operates on the same wavelength, hitting many of the same high notes, and adding a few of its own, as well.

The film's greatest success lies in the casting of the two young stars.  Chloe Grace Moretz is a Hollywood It-Girl, most recently due to her great turns in (500) Days of Summer and Kick-Ass, for which she deserves an Oscar nomination.  Moretz is in great form here, too, getting to play a lower-key role.  She's a haunted individual, plagued by rules that she wants to break, and does.  She's sinister, but there's a sense of youth that makes it hard not to fall for her mysterious Abby, who of course is actually a vampire.

Kodi Smit-McPhee shows tremendous growth from his inconsistent performance in last year's adaptation of The Road.  Smit-McPhee is flawless; the range of emotional he exhibits simply with the widening of his eyes is astounding, and his chemistry with Moretz is simple and believable.  He at times channels James Stewart in Rear Window; he lives vicariously through others until Abby comes along and leads him out of innocence.

It's this innocence that really marks the film as different from other horror films.  Scenes of Owen and Abby at the arcade, buying candy, and exploring the basement of their apartment complex give brief respite from the gorier moments--the key word being "brief."  The film's deliberate pacing guarantees that horror is never far away, normally a single edit away from the quieter, sweeter moments.

Director Matt Reeves, best known for shaky-cam monster-fest Cloverfield, ups the action quota ever so slightly, but still respects the lower key of the original film.  While the special effects here aren't as satisfying as those in Cloverfield (Abby's vampiric movements are a little too jerky for my taste), he confidently grasps the necessary emotion of each scene, often to terrifying effect, and much-aided by Oscar winner Michael Giacchino's plaintive, almost hypnotic score.

Greig Fraser captures the film beautifully, using focus to breath-taking effect in the opening scenes and framing certain shots in static, but almost incomprehensibly complex ways (his use of a television's reflection is especially noteworthy).  He understands the power of a still camera in the midst of chaos, as shown in the breath-taking car chase, one of the film's highlights.

In the coming weeks, the theaters will be full of the typical horror fare: boobs, blood, and bloody boobs.  Thankfully, this Halloween season, at least, there's a more elegant alternative that will make your skin crawl and your heart pound not only because of the horror, but because of the beauty.