5 days off. Not going anywhere special. What's a girl to do? Having missed a few movies over the past year, I decided to head into the video rental store and find something interesting and new. As I wandered the aisles, I realized that I had seen most of the current offerings. Funny, because it seems like I've spent less time at the movie theater these past six months, but typical, because I'm so used to being the person who's seen everything.
The movie I knew I was going to rent was Doubt. Of course, it was all checked out. All the Best Picture nods I'd seen in the theater, so nothing new there. The onslaught of horror and gore movies was prevalent in the aisles, and I was going nowhere near those. They stay with me, so I stay away from them. I pick up a documentary on Hunter S. Thompson (which I rented and still have yet to watch) and then out of the corner of my eye, I spy a spooky cover with the words, "Best vampire movie ever" splashed across the front. OK. What is this? The cover looks way too scary for my taste. But the synopsis sounds original. And interesting. A child vampire and the boy she moves next door to. A foreign film, Swedish, but with a sounding review from Guillermo del Torro. That seals the deal for me. Everyone loves Pan's Labyrinth, but I am partial to the Devil's Backbone and if he says it's worth the time, then I should make the time. Thankfully, I had 5 days worth. So Let the Right One In comes home with me.
If you know me, then you know I don't do most horror flicks. I just can't. I love suspense and creepy, but slasher gore and disturbing images haunt me like nothing else. So I called Scott, the biggest vampire fan I know, and tell him he's coming over to watch it with me. This movie is great. Of course, my dvd remote is broken, so I can't turn the dubbing off, which just kills me, but even with that handicap, the movie sucks you in and makes you part of its world. Oskar is a 12 year old boy who is bullied constantly at school. He has taken to fantasizing about revenge, collecting newspaper articles about violent attacks and carrying a knife in his jacket. One day a girl his age moves in next door. Eli only shows up at night, looking very pale and a bit odd. Although she should be the real threat, Oskar finds her appealing and begins to befriend her. As their friendship grows, Eli teaches Oskar to stand up for himself and fight back. Oskar teaches Eli about friendship. There is killing and blood (she is a vampire afterall) but this is more of a love story than anything else.
One of the things I believe is that people are brought into our lives for a reason. Oskar and Eli are not whole as individuals, yet as they grow and open themselves to each other, they find that they can become complete, or at least better versions of themselves. Disclosure to horror fans: This is NOT a horror movie. You will most likely think it is lame. There is nothing disgusting about this movie, except perhaps the bully's behavior; even the necessity of killing for survival does not shed a negative light on Eli (in my opinion). So give it a shot. I promise it won't disappoint.
1 comment:
The cover alone says, "Too creepy."
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