Chances are, I could be a bit biased about this film. I did watch it on Halloween, so I was definately in a mood for spooky thrills, and it also stars my new hero Chloe Moretz - the super cool Hit Girl from KickAss.
Owen is a skinny shy boy, slightly smothered by his fragile mother during his parents divorce. He spends his evenings alone, sat on a climbing frame and scoffing sweets. Naturally, he is a target for bullies at school. One evening he spies a man and his daughter Abby moving in to their apartment block. The girl is pale and beautiful, the man a little sinister. Both are anti-social, mysterious and only seem to leave their flat after nightfall. Their arrival also coincides with a spate of violent ritual-style killings.... hmm. All the clues point to something so obvious that everyone overlooks it - vampires.
This is a remake of the Swedish film "Let The Right One In", based on a novel of the same name. World cinema remakes are usually very annoying - people that are too lazy to read subtitles shouldn't get to watch amazing films, and studios should be investing money into exciting new films instead. At least here, the writer has added his own take to the story - the origins and nature of Abby's mysterious guardian are very different, chunks of her past are missing. Matt Reeves, who also directed Cloverfield, seems to have mastered the balance of what to show the audience and what to hint at off screen, with ominous fleeting glimpses. The cinematography is stunning and horror has claimed back vampires from the ridiculous tweeness of Twilight - vampires don't avoid daylight because the sunshine makes them glitter and sparkle, they avoid it because otherwise THEY BURN TO DEATH. Just the way it should be.
8.5/10
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