I break for vampires and apparently so does everyone else these days. This is a good and bad thing. Good: I am more comfortable admitting that I prefer reading Anne Rice to Ayn Rand. Bad: New wave vampirism is seriously lacking. Solution: Let the Right One In, the book and the movie.

Recommended to me by our Swedish friends, Let the Right On In is in the simplest terms, a love story between two children (one of them is a vampire the other is not) in 1980s Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. While the story’s main characters are 12 years old, nothing about the book is juvenile or even PG-13. (I should clarify that nothing pornographic happens between the kiddies.)

Writer John Ajvide Lindqvist’s interpretation of vampire lore is by far the most interesting of contemporary versions (They sparkle in the sunlight? Really? Bullshit.). His writing style is easy to follow and also cryptic, using the power of allusion like a pro, while the storyline remains genuine and intriguing. He is also a really big Morrissey fan, loosely borrowing the book’s title from the song “Let the Right One Slip In.”

While director Tomas Alfredson’s version nearly omitted 2/3rds of the original details, the movie is still incredible, probably the best I’ve seen in recent years. The cinematography is infallible, dialogue is nearly and befittingly nonexistent, and the horrific things they did feature are freakishly subtle which is all the more frightening. I wish I lived in a film still:

You can watch it instantly on Netflix!

I should mention, additionally, that I thought the movie was really special, but I don’t know if I would have been so enamored if I hadn’t have read the book. Therefore, I recommend you first read the book and then watch the movie. But if you’re a really busy person, watch the movie, done, the end. I just might be sad that you missed out on a really good read, but I can forgive you.

-Lya Edwards

5 Responses to ““Let the Right One In,” You Won’t Regret It”

1. hypotheek Says:
   August 12th, 2010 at 9:42 am

   Hoeveel kan ik lenen? (hypotheek). Wat worden mijn maandlasten? (hypotheek) … Hoeveel hypotheek heb ik nodig? Hoe hoog is de boete die ik nu zou moeten
2. lenen Says:
   August 14th, 2010 at 11:22 am

   Lenen zonder BKR toetsing gaat vandaag heel gemakkelijk. Binnen een paar uur geld lenen zonder BKR toetsing doet u hier, lees snel verder
3. lenen zonder bkr toetsing Says:
   August 15th, 2010 at 1:07 pm

   Over de voor- en nadelen van het afsluiten van een lening zonder BKR-toetsing.
4. migraine Says:
   September 5th, 2010 at 2:10 pm

   Hoewel migraine op elke leeftijd voor het eerst kan optreden, begint dit type hoofdpijn meestal tussen de tien en veertig jaar. Bij de meeste mensen treedt
5. migraine Says:
   September 6th, 2010 at 2:05 am

   Migraine is hoofdpijn die in aanvallen komt. De hoofdpijn komt plotseling op, soms midden in de nacht zodat u er wakker van wordt. De pijn zit meestal aan

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