‘Let The Right One In’ is a Swedish film directed by Tomas Alfredson, starring Kare Hedebrant (as Oskar) and Lina Leandersson (as Eli). Eli is a vampire; she needs to avoid sunlight and can only survive by drinking blood. She cannot consume anything else but blood. Oskar is a boy who is often picked on by other boys in the same class. The 115 minutes of runtime shows how two outcasts of society/school fight for their survival, both physically and emotionally.

This film is horrifying, but not in the sense of heavy usage of sound effects and sudden appearances of monsters. It is the underlying messages that are scary. We see how people change to adapt and to fight when driven to the extreme. Eli’s caretaker sacrifices himself to protect Eli, Eli kills for survival and Oskar turns bad to protect himself. We also see other ugly sides of human nature in the film – people who witness a murder remaining silent so as to avoid the trouble of being a witness and people who only dare to pick on the weak.

The film is also presented in a cold and chilly mood. All locations and costumes are either white or some other dull colour, making white the dominant colour throughout the film. The mise-en-scene speaks for the character’s emotions. White can also symbolize simplicity, which blends in well with the young characters. They have but a simple wish – to survive in peace.

There is one very minor scene that left a huge impact on me which is the scene with Eli’s caretaker eating an apple. When this scene was first shown, it did not mean anything. It was only until the part where we come to learn that vampires cannot consume any other thing except blood, that we then find out that the so-called ‘father’ of Eli is a human, and not a vampire, thus allowing to suspect that he is not the father of Eli. I felt that the usage of one little action to drop such a huge hint was done beautifully.

The final killing scene was very unique. Instead of seeing the actual killing, we only get to see the outcome, which took place below the surface of the swimming pool. We see broken limps and heads dropping into the swimming pool while Oskar remains ignorant to everything. Action fanatics are sure to complain. I personally felt that this was better, as I believe it creates a stronger impact than to choreograph an entire fighting sequence. Showing a fighting sequence at the end might make it too commercial and thus lose appeal.

The film ends abruptly, with Oskar travelling somewhere in the train with a huge box with Eli inside hiding from the sunlight. Eli cannot be seen, but when they communicate using Morse code, (they use this code to communicate many times in the film), it is made known that Eli is in the box. The ending of the film leaves the audience pondering. I personally feel that Oskar had now taken over the role of Eli’s caretaker. Yes, I feel that ‘the end’ was somewhere in the beginning of the film. Eli will not grow old, physically, but Oskar will. And one day Oskar might go out killing people to help Eli like what her previous caretaker did. I believe that the film is trying to show the endless and helplessness of Eli’s eternal struggle, which depicts a part of our own reality, where some people, like Eli, do everything they can just to survive.

All in all, if you are looking to have a good scream from horror movies that create terror through sudden appearances of supernatural beings, don’t bother seeing this one because it isn’t your everyday horror film. This film scares people through the harsh truth of human nature, which sends chills down your spine, leaving you feeling disturbed. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Reviewed by Wee Kiat