Let Me In (2010)

RATING:	80%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.movieseer.com/)

HAMMER HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE

Gorier than the original it remakes - for no dramatic benefit - this is probably the best of all Hollywood attempts at remaking quality non-US films. This is a distilling of the essence of the first film that lacks the full implications of that better work.

The lowering of the subtlety bar and the poorer performances and characterizations are substituted with an excess of style. This makes the story somewhat less atmospheric but not less emotionally involving. The odd choice of using very shallow photography is a novel means of filling the screen with objects not clearly seen. Rather than present the audience with the fear that something shocking will suddenly appear off camera, we are presented with this right to our faces but not clearly delineated in all the murk. This gives us a greater sense of being in a suffocating trap from which we cannot rise.

This is a film about puppy love rather than friendship, yet tries hard to be more of a remake of ET than Let the Right One In. A good love story with red, beating heart and better than Twilight by a mile.

Copyright © 2011 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.