Movie Stuff: Yet Another Lame American Remake

The 2008 movie poster

Why oh why do American filmmakers insist on doing remakes of already amazing movies? Let Me In is yet another sad example of a perfectly wonderful movie getting the bastardised American remake treatment.


Let Me In is based on Let the Right One In, a 2008 Swedish movie based on John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel of the same name. The book itself is an awesomely original horror story (and well worth a read) and the resulting film perfectly blends the themes of horror, love and friendship. 


Set in Stockholm in 1982, the movie tells the story of Oskar, an introverted, constantly bullied 12 year old boy who strikes up a friendship with his unusual new neighbour, the (supposedly) 12 year old Eli. As it turns out, Eli is a vampire and she's hungry.

The novel

What I love about the movie is how it doesn't romanticise vampires or make blood sucking look sexy- it makes it look creepy. The multiple story lines blend together seamlessly and the relationship that develops between Oskar and Eli throughout is completely touching and so much sweeter than Twilight could ever hope to achieve. The morse code scenes between the two children are absolutely beautiful. The story perfectly blends horror and innocence together to make for an unforgettable movie experience. The characterisation is perfect and the children playing the roles of Oskar and Eli are both flawless and give astonishing performances for their young ages. The cold, wintry setting of Sweden's winter lends both beauty and a sense of foreboding to the atmosphere of the film as well. Let the Right One In is guaranteed to stay with you for a long time after you've seen it (in a good way!).

Oskar and Eli

I just don't understand why on earth anyone would want to remake such an already perfect film. There is absolutely no way that the original can be improved upon. From watching the trailers for Let Me In, the movie looks pretty bad. Like a bland, unimaginative and inferior copy of the original. Basically, everything is too generic American looking and the story seems to have lost its heart. They've taken a unique little indie movie and turned it into a typical, boring, big budget flick. Ugh. Whatever happened to being original and coming up with new story ideas? I don't like the child actors they've chosen either- they don't fit the characters properly. Is it just that some American movie producers and viewers don't like to read subtitles? Come on, it isn't hard to read subtitles and watch a film at the same time people!


Luckily for us Aussies though, Let the Right One In is being shown on SBS One at 10pm on Saturday, October 9. So treat yourself by watching the totally rad original on TV and avoiding the disappointment of the dodgy remake showing at the cinemas!

-RANT COMPLETE-


btw: I'd love to hear other people's thoughts about movie remakes. Do you hate them? Love them? Or just don't really care?