THE RIGHT ONE IS IN

THE BOOK

(Låt den rätte komma in)
(eng.: Let the right one in) 2004
by John Ajvide Lindqvist


Låt den rätte komma in is a vampire fiction novel by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. The title refers to the Morrissey song "Let the Right One Slip In", and the element of vampire folklore which says that vampires cannot enter a house unless invited. It takes place in Blackeberg, a working class suburb of Stockholm, in the early 1980s. The book focuses on the darker side of humanity, dealing with issues such as existential anxiety, bullying, pedophilia and murder. It was a bestseller in the author's home country of Sweden and was translated into several languages, including English. A Swedish-language film by the same name, directed by Tomas Alfredson, was released in 2008 to widespread critical acclaim. An English-language film adaptation, directed by Matt Reeves, was released on October 1, 2010, titled Let Me In.
The American version is called Let Me In because the publishers believed that the original title was too long. They first suggested the title be changed to Let Her In, but Lindqvist suggested Let Me In instead.

THE FILM
(Låt den rätte komma in)
(eng.: Let the right one in) 2008

Oskar, a bullied 12-year old, dreams of revenge. He falls in love with Eli, a peculiar girl. She can't stand the sun or food and to come into a room she needs to be invited. Eli gives Oskar the strength to hit back but when he realizes that Eli needs to drink other people's blood to live he's faced with a choice. How much can love forgive?

Alfredson, unfamiliar with the horror and vampire conventions, decided to tone down many elements of the novel and focus primarily on the relationship between the two main characters. Selecting the lead actors involved a year-long process with open castings held all over Sweden. In the end, then 11-year-olds Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson were chosen for the leading roles. They were subsequently commended by both Alfredson and film reviewers for their performances. The novel presents Eli as an androgynous boy, castrated centuries before by a sadistic vampire nobleman. The film handles the issue of Eli's gender more ambiguously: a brief scene in which Eli changes into a dress offers a glimpse of a suggestive scar but no explicit elaboration. When Oskar asks Eli to be his girlfriend, Eli tries to tell Oskar "I'm not a girl". Lindqvist had insisted on writing the screenplay himself. Alfredson, who had no familiarity with the vampire and horror genres, initially expressed skepticism at having the original author do the adaptation, but was very satisfied with the end result.
> In the film's final scene (on a train), Oskar and Eli use Morse code to communicate. They are tapping out the letters P-U-S-S, which is Swedish for "small kiss".<
The film received widespread international critical acclaim and won numerous awards, including the "Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature" at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival and the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation's 2008 Méliès d'Or (Golden Méliès) for the "Best European Fantastic Feature Film", as well as four Guldbagge Awards from the Swedish Film Institute.

Director: Tomas Alfredson
Writter: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
Running Time: 114min
Country: Sweden
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZJUgsZ56vQ

Rating: 9/10

THE REMAKE
(Let me in) 2010

Interest in producing an English version of Let the Right One In began in 2007 shortly before it was released to audiences. In 2008, Hammer Films acquired the rights for the English adaptation and initially offered Tomas Alfredson, the director of the Swedish film, the opportunity to direct, which he declined. Matt Reeves was then signed to direct and write the screenplay. Reeves made several changes for the English version such as altering the setting from Stockholm to New Mexico and renaming the lead characters. The film's producers stated that their intent was to keep the plot similar to the original, yet make it more accessible to a wider audience.
The film received highly positive reviews from critics, becoming one of the best critically reviewed films of 2010. Many critics noted it as a rare Hollywood remake which stayed true to the original film from which it was based, while some criticized it for being too similar to the Swedish film in light of Reeves promoting the film as being a new take on the original novel. Chloë Moretz won several awards for her performance with critics praising the on-screen chemistry with her co-star, Kodi Smit-McPhee. An official comic book miniseries prequel titled Let Me In: Crossroadswas released after the film which establishes the back-story of Abby and ends where the theatrical film begins.

Director: Matt Reeves
Writter: Matt Reeves, Story: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Elias Koteas, Richard Jenkins
Running Time: 116min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reRRAEVHq8E

Rating: 7/10

BLOOD LUST

NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE (1979)

Jonathan Harker is sent away to Count Dracula's castle to sell him a house in Virna, where he lives. But Count Dracula is a vampire, an undead ghoule living of men's blood. Inspired by a photograph of Lucy Harker, Jonathan's wife, Dracula moves to Virna, bringing with him death and plague... An unusually contemplative version of Dracula, in which the vampire bears the cross of not being able to get old and die...

Film's original German title is Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht ("Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night"). It was conceived as a stylistic remake of the 1922 German Dracula adaptation, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens.The film also marks the second of five collaborations between director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski, immediately followed by 1979's Woyzeck. The movie was shot simultaneously in German and English. An almost completely unrelated sequel, Vampire in Venice, was released in 1988 by director Augusto Caminito, with only Klaus Kinski returning to reprise his loosely connected role.

Director: Werner Herzog
Writter: Werner Herzog, Bram Stoker (novel)
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz
Running Time: 107min
Country: West Germany, France
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeYpGsEdEZU

Rating: 9.5/10

MARTIN (1977)

Martin (John Amplas) sedates women with a syringe full of narcotics and then slices their wrists with a razor blade so he can drink their blood. Martin, who comes to live with his granduncle and cousin in the dying town of Braddock, Pennsylvania, has romantic monochrome visions of vampiric seductions and torch-lit mobs, but it is impossible to tell how seriously he takes them. Martin's granduncle, the superstitious old Tada Cuda, has reluctantly agreed to give Martin room and board as he is the closest living relative. Cuda is very much a Lithuanian Catholic who treats Martin like an Old World vampire and tries unsuccessfully to repel Martin with strings of garlic bulbs around the home and a crucifix...

The original cut of the film ran nearly 2 hours 45 minutes. Romero has confirmed that there is no known existing copy of this legendary cut at a recent screening of the film in New York City. Tom Savini also did the stunts (and special makeup effects) in the film. George A. Romero originally wanted the entire film to be in black and white, but the producers didn't want to risk this experiment and insisted that the majority of the film be in color. Much like Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Martin was edited for the European market, under the title of Wampyr. This version is only available in an Italian dubbed version. This version's score was performed by the band Goblin.

Director: George A. Romero
Writter: George A. Romero
Starring: John Amplas, Elyane Nadeau, Tom Savini
Running Time: 95min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SwXSiGpCxc&feature=related

Rating: 8/10


THIRST (2009)

Sang-hyun, a priest working for a hospital, selflessly volunteers for a secret vaccine development project intended to eradicate a deadly virus. However, the virus eventually takes over the priest. He nearly dies, but makes a miraculous recovery by an accidental transfusion of vampire blood. He realizes his sole reason for living: the pleasures of the flesh...

Film is loosely based on the novel Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola. It is the first mainstream Korean film to feature full-frontal adult male nudity (but not the first-ever commercially-released South Korean film to do so) The film won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Director: Park Chan-wook
Writter: Park Chan-wook, Jeong Seo-Kyeong
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin, Shin Ha-kyun
Running Time: 133 min, S. Korea: 145 min (director's cut), Canada: 148 min (Blu-ray)
Country: South Korea
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksHBkbERaJI

Rating: 8/10

LATEST OBSSESSIONS (1)

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008)

(Swedish: Låt den rätte komma in)

Oskar is a 12-year-old-boy who is being bullied at school. He lives with his mother, who is loving and with whom he initially seems to have a good connection. His father is an alcoholic who lives out in the countryside. Oskar seems intelligent, has morbid interests including crime and forensics and keeps a scrap book filled with newspaper cuttings about murders. He befriends who he thinks is a new girl who moved in next door - Eli. Eli lives with an older man Håkan, a former teacher who was fired and became a homeless vagrant when he was discovered to be a paedophile. Eli is revealed to be a vampire, but the two children develop a close relationship and Eli helps Oskar fight back against his tormentors. Throughout the book their relationship gradually becomes closer and they reveal more of themselves and in particular Eli's lengthy history.

Håkan serves Eli, whom he loves, by procuring blood from the living, fighting against his conscience and choosing victims who he can physically trap, but who are not too young. Eli gives him money for doing this, though Håkan makes it clear he would do it for nothing if Eli allowed them to be physically intimate. Eli keeps the money in several boxes, along with a variety of different puzzles. These, apart from a few items of clothing and food, are all that fill the apartment. After several failures to acquire enough blood for Eli, Håkan offers to go out one last time if they can spend the night together. With the caveat that he may only touch Eli, they agree, but it is stipulated that Håkan must get the blood first.

Håkan's attempt to get blood from the last victim fails, and he disfigures himself on purpose with acid to avoid the police tracing Eli through him. When Eli finds Håkan in the hospital, he offers his own blood and is drunk dry while sitting on the window ledge. A guard interrupts them and Eli fails to kill him (so that he will not end up becoming a vampire such as Eli) before Håkan throws himself out of the window, bursting upon the ground below. The fall kills him, but he is later resurrected as a vampire himself, though one that is mindless and seeks only to find Eli. Eli is trapped briefly in a basement, but manages to escape. Håkan is later beaten to death. Meanwhile Lacke suspects a child is responsible for the murder of his best friend, Jocke (whom Eli murdered for blood before snapping his neck). Later, he sees Eli as a small, shapeless creature who lunges from the trees at his sometimes girlfriend, Virginia. Eli attempts to drink her blood, but is interrupted by Lacke's interference. Virginia succumbs to vampirism, but does not realize her "infection" until after she attempts to prolong her life by drinking her own blood and avoiding the sun, which turns her skin into boils upon exposure. In the hospital Virginia deliberately exposes herself to daylight and bursts into flames...

Let Me In (2010). An English language film adaptation is scheduled to be released on October 1, 2010. The main characters names have been changed to Owen and Abby in order to make the film more American.

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Producer: Carl Molinder, John Nordling

Writter: John Ajvide Lindqvist

Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar

Running Time: 114min

Rating: 9/10

REC (2007)

REC follows a television reporter, Ángela Vidal, and her cameraman, Pablo, who cover the night shift in one of Barcelona's local fire stations for the fictional documentary television series While You're Asleep. The firehouse receives a call about a woman who is trapped in her apartment. When they arrive, Ángela and Pablo film the police breaking down the door. The woman becomes extraordinarily aggressive and bites one of the policemen. Meanwhile, the terrified residents gather in the entrance hall and look on as the police and military seal off the building. A firefighter who remained in the old woman's apartment is bitten and plummets through the stairwell to the lobby floor. The camera crew, remaining police officer and the second firefighter go up again and are attacked. The officer shoots the old woman. The camera crew remains trapped inside the building with the residents and continue recording in spite of police pressure. Ángela interviews a little girl named Jennifer who lives in the building. Jennifer is ill with what her mother claims is tonsillitis. She says her dog, Max, is at the veterinarian because he appeared to be sick as well.

A health inspector wearing a hazmat suit arrives and attempts to treat the injured, who become suddenly and fiercely violent despite their critical injuries. The health inspector explains that the time frame in which the disease takes effect varies by blood type. The health inspector also reveals that sometime during the previous day, a dog with the illness was taken to the veterinarian; the dog became violent and attacked and killed other pets at the clinic. The dog was euthanized, and was traced back to the apartment building. Jennifer, the girl who owned the dog, then suddenly attacks her mother. The inspector tells the distraught residents that this unknown but virulent disease is infecting people, causing them to turn into bloodthirsty savages. More and more people in the building become infected, and Ángela and Pablo are forced to fight them off. Eventually they learn that there is a key to a door in the apartment building workshop, which leads to an exit via the sewer system. However, the key is located on the third floor in the manager's apartment.

Director: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza

Producer:  Julio Fernández

Writter:  Jaume Balagueró, Luis A. Berdejo, Paco Plaza

Starring: Manuela Velasco, Javier Botet, Manuel Bronchud, Martha Carbonell, Claudia Font, Vicente Gil

Running Time: 75min.

Rating: 8/10

MARTYRS (2008)

The film begins with a young girl, Lucie, as she escapes from a disused abattoir where she has been imprisoned and physically abused for a lengthy period of time. She is then placed in an orphanage, where she is befriended by a young girl named Anna. Anna soon discovers that Lucie is constantly being attacked by a ghoulish "creature."

Fifteen years later, Lucie bursts into a seemingly normal family's home and kills them all, claiming that the two adults of the family were the ones responsible for her childhood trauma. She is periodically attacked by the "creature."

Lucie calls Anna, who comes to the house to help her bury the bodies. Anna discovers the mother is still alive and tries to help her escape, but is discovered by Lucie who kills the woman. Having realized her vengeance, the "creature" - in actuality, a psychological manifestation of Lucie's guilt over not being able to save another girl who was also imprisoned and tortured with her all those years ago - drives Lucie to kill herself. As Anna is cleaning up the house, she discovers a secret underground chamber and imprisoned within is a horribly tortured woman. While Anna attempts to care for her, strangers arrive and shoot the woman dead.

Director: Pascal Laugier

Writter: Pascal Laugier

Starring: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï

Running Time: 100min.

Rating: 8.5/10