The Movie Critic in me.

Let the Right One In (2008 / Sweden) v Let Me In (2010 USA)

Both of these films have merit. Usually a remake is a chance to add amend or fix problems that may have existed in an original work. Often they are shoddy ill-thought out fiascos, losing any content that made them what they were or were about, moving a film set in one country to another might be a red flag.

However in this case, in my opinion, that’s not the case.

The American version uses plot devices that make it more a thriller. It also addresses a couple of the questions about the relationship between Eli/Abby and ‘the father’ It also replaces the irate neighbor with an irritating cop, and frankly neither the neighbor or the cop angle works out well.

I did watch them in the wrong order, the Swedish one today  (in Swedish and with Subtitles) , the American one last week, But I’m not sure that it would really change much about what I think.

Underlying the vampire story though is the fact that ‘the father’ and ‘Oskar/Owen’ are Serial Killers. Sure a 12 year old child might not actually be a Serial Killer but it’s clear that they are different children, and that like Eli/Abby they are different for a reason. One needs the other.

A couple of things that I couldn’t quite get though. If Eli/Abby is indeed old old, then the plot assumes that emotional growth and knowledge somehow stops when you become a Vampire. There was little or no wisdom in the character, no worldliness.

The other was that in the Swedish film Eli shows off some treasures and has money. It’s obvious about the money but not the treasures. The American version skips this bit.  It just left a hanging question

The american one also had a stronger emphasis on the bullying, but less on the relationship with his father.  That’s not to say that the Swedish version isn’t good, it is, but it falls a little short of “great” or “fantastic”.

Of course I have a pdubyah-o-meter that I can crack out that uses some arbitrary stars out of some arbitrary number.

For the Original version of this film I’d say 7 1/2 out of 10, the remake would be 8 1/2 out of 10.