I will admit to having reservations about the American re-make of Let the Right One In, called Let Me In. I mean, if you ever saw the 2008 Swedish film (based on the 2004 best-selling book "Låt den rätte komma in" by John Ajvide Lindqvist), the last thing on your mind is "you know, that movie could use more action and explosions."
I bought the Bluray of Let Me In, mostly out of my curiosity about the re-make and because it came with a bonus Dark Horse comic and I was surprised to see that the American film was co-produced by Hammer films (they were best known for these voluptuous gothy 60s and 70s horror films). What's interesting about the new film, since I just watched the special features, was that, at any given point, did they even mention the 2008 film... as if they want to distant their film as a remake. They only cited the book as a guide, however having seen both, the way things are shot and buildings and such... I would say that the filmmaker must have seen (and have been influenced) by the Swedish film version. In particular, the final pool scene.
The main differences between Let Me In and Let the Right One In, is the changing of the names. They are changed to Owens and Abby, from Oskar and Eli, which makes a little sense since American audiences would never buy that someone would be called "Oskar" in the States... however, would you just want to change it to American-esque, Oscar and Ellie ?
The first act of Let Me In also made a lot more sense to me, as far as storytelling goes. How and why the father pours acid on his face felt more reasonable vs the originally Swedish screenplay (which was also written by Lindqvist). It also seems to take more chances as far as showing off digital effects (the vampire Abby, for instance) and interesting camera vision (the car rollover), in comparison to the Swedish version, which felt really "static" and drawn out (there are very few cuts and edits in the Swedish movie).
As for the music, I felt that the Swedish version seems to have a very 70s feel to it, maybe it's just the clothes and hair that people wore. In Let Me In, the time period is made a little clearer, especially during the record scene, Owens puts on "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" by Greg Kihn Band - who you may already know as the band that did the "Jeopardy" song. The same scene in the Swedish movie, the music was a song called "Kvar i min bil", provided by Per Gessle (the guy in Roxette).
You can get "The Breakup Song" from Kihnsolidation: The Best of Greg Kihn, Let Me In was released on Bluray on February 1st.
I bought the Bluray of Let Me In, mostly out of my curiosity about the re-make and because it came with a bonus Dark Horse comic and I was surprised to see that the American film was co-produced by Hammer films (they were best known for these voluptuous gothy 60s and 70s horror films). What's interesting about the new film, since I just watched the special features, was that, at any given point, did they even mention the 2008 film... as if they want to distant their film as a remake. They only cited the book as a guide, however having seen both, the way things are shot and buildings and such... I would say that the filmmaker must have seen (and have been influenced) by the Swedish film version. In particular, the final pool scene.
The main differences between Let Me In and Let the Right One In, is the changing of the names. They are changed to Owens and Abby, from Oskar and Eli, which makes a little sense since American audiences would never buy that someone would be called "Oskar" in the States... however, would you just want to change it to American-esque, Oscar and Ellie ?
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LET ME IN (2010) |
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008) |
As for the music, I felt that the Swedish version seems to have a very 70s feel to it, maybe it's just the clothes and hair that people wore. In Let Me In, the time period is made a little clearer, especially during the record scene, Owens puts on "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" by Greg Kihn Band - who you may already know as the band that did the "Jeopardy" song. The same scene in the Swedish movie, the music was a song called "Kvar i min bil", provided by Per Gessle (the guy in Roxette).
You can get "The Breakup Song" from Kihnsolidation: The Best of Greg Kihn, Let Me In was released on Bluray on February 1st.
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