Let The Right One In

Aroview: Sending many critics into raptures as a vampire flick to finally get excited about, this frost-bitten Swedish entry mixes social realism with Gothic folklore and confidently takes its place in the pantheon of the genre's finest.

The albino-like waif Hedebrant has an almost-iconic presence as a bullied, isolated pre-teen who finds solace (and a soul-mate) in the 12-year-old girl-next-door (Leandersson), the mortal manifestation of a 200-year-old vampire. The other formidable partnership is the direction and cinematography, with artfully mounted set-pieces that are shot to take full advantage of the eerie snow-bound suburban locale, and preserve the intent of screenwriter John Ajvide Lindqvist's own novel. While not without black humour, this succeeds in chilling right down to the bone.

NZ International Film Festival 2008

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