copyright © Jedo Dre 2011

I question the author's understanding of bullies. Without spoiling too much, this movie is built in a way that shows a misunderstanding, either because the writer was bullied as a kid and learned nothing from it or because the writer was not bullied and learned about bullies from some other movie.


Other than that, the film is quite good but it is important not to go into it expecting a run-of-the-mill horror movie.


This film deals in subtlety. Arguably, it may not even be a horror movie in the modern sense of the word. Modern horror movies try to gross you out, create strong tension and throw jump scares at you. There are no jump scares here. The macabre content is well distributed over the length of the film and when the gore comes, which does not happen often, the movie does not shove it in your face like so many horror movies do. The content comes naturally and casually.


This style has to do with the fact that this movie is more of a drama in a horror coating rather than a horror film. It is about the relationship between the main characters, and that relationship is very touching and believable. The level at which the two young actors operate is quite impressive for their age.


Rather than "scary", a much better word for this film would be "creepy". There are various sexual undertones; the casualness and calmness with which the violence is introduced is in itself unsettling; the psychopathic signs in the character of the protagonist are disturbing. You get your share of delicate psychological content.


The movie is a fairly slow burn and camera shots tend to hang for a while centered on people's faces with a narrow depth of field, up close and personal. When special effects are used, they are of mixed quality. There are a few really fake looking CGI cats in this film. Thankfully the effects are not overused.


This film feels like a fresh take on a vampire story. It lacks the Hollywood's over-saturated pomp and feels far more natural with the focus being on the relationships. It has psychological depth and comes off as both creepy and charming.

Let the Right One In (Swedish version)