Let Me In- Give it a chance

I’m of the belief Americans have a literacy problem. Why else would they feel such a strong desire to remake every decent foreign film known to man?

Subtitled films simply don’t do well in the good ole’ U.S. of A. While I refuse to believe cashing in isn’t at least part of the reason such films get made, I also like to believe it has to do with a desire to have English speaking viewers experience something they might otherwise miss.

Most recently, I’m talking about Let Me In, a Hollywood retelling of the recent Swedish masterpiece Let the Right One In, which is in turn based on the beautifully written John Ajvidi Linquist novel.

When it comes to vampires as of late, I like to think I’ve pretty much had my fill. Let the Right One In, though, is a unique tale of gritty young love, mystery and terror that reminds everyone these pointy-toothed night crawlers are to be feared rather than fawned over. In short, they don’t sparkle.

I fell in love with the Swedish film, which had a stay in U.S. indie theaters of about two weeks, and quickly moved on to the novel, which also held my attention in a death grip until I slammed into the final page.

When I heard there would be an American remake of the film, my first reaction was to scoff, moan and otherwise bellyache. I may have even kicked a small child. Now that the trailer for the film has been released, I find myself singing a different tune. Maybe it’s hypocritical of me, but it looks like all the pieces are in place to do the project right and I for one am warming to the idea.

Though the trailer is only two minutes long, I’ve seen enough to make me believe director Matt Reeves has a genuine appreciation for the source material and aimed to craft a film just as beautifully put together and disturbingly romantic as the original. He also seems to have focused on aspects of the story skipped over in the original film, so fans of the Swedish version should have something new to hold their attention.

Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee appear to be perfect for their leading roles (especially Smit-McPhee) and, judging from what’s shown here, the story’s hard edge looks to be intact.

In short, get stoked, horror fans. We might have the first decent film within the genre to come along in quite a while and, so help me, it’s a remake.