THEY LET THE WRONG ONE IN
- By Devin Faraci
- Published 09/25/2008
- News
A little bit of hype is a dangerous thing. I had been hearing a lot of hype about Let The Right One In, a Swedish vampire film (a description that barely scratches the surface of this beautiful, layered, amazing film), for months now, and I finally saw it yesterday here at Fantastic Fest... and it lived up to every bit of that hype. If you don't see this movie quite close to the top of my ten best at the end of the year, a cinematic miracle happened and another masterpiece was released between now and December 31st.Yes, a masterpiece. The movie is visually gorgeous, moving, filled with wonderful performances (from kids!) and doesn't reinvent vampires so much as refresh them. This is a film that should, without a doubt, be competing for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. It is that good.
But it's not in English, so of course it's being remade. And now we know who is remaking it: Matt Reeves, director of Cloverfield.
Look, I don't want to get into a debate about the quality of Cloverfield. I don't want to get into a thing about the virtues or lack thereof of remakes. I simply want to say that whoever thought Matt Reeves was the right director for this heart warming and heart breaking story of two 12 year olds who fall in love is either a visionary genius able to see levels of talent in the guy that no one else can see or a complete asshole. If Reeves shocks me and pulls off a film that is - literally - even half as good as the original, I'll be stunned. Blown away.
But I doubt that happens. The big rumor is that the remake will have the 12 year olds be teens, a decision that I believe truly ruins the entire story in a major way, and one that proves the ignorance of those behind the scenes.
There is nothing to be gained by remaking this film. A remake will not improve upon the original. You can't add to the story by making it take place in America, or throwing in more 'action' scenes. A rock n' roll soundtrack will not raise Let The Right One In to a new level. There are very few levels to which this film can be raised, as it's just that good.
Matt Reeves, please walk away from this project. Please don't say 'They were going to make it anyway, so at least they should have someone who loves the original making it.' Walk away and save yourself. And to my readers: please don't support this remake. Support the original vision. Do it not for the movie, but for yourself as a movie lover. Films like this come along so rarely. Why does Hollywood feel the need to shit on them?
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Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by alfie)
I was so worried when I saw the title of your post. I am very glad you loved this film. Its my favorite of the year.
How good is that scene in the pool? Holy shit - I love this film.
Comment #2 (Posted by an unknown user)
devin your film suggestions are usually spot on, although sometimes i question your reasoning in your articles. You started a paragraph stating you didnt want to argue matt reeves artistic ability or the validity of remakes, but you end up doing just that. I personally have nor problems with remakes, it doesnt erase EVERY copy of the origianl off the face of the earth and matt reeves has a good enough visual sense (and balls; how many other mainstream movies, like cloverfield, have all of the main characters die nowadays)...generally, there shouldn't be any grumbling about remakes, only to sing praises about the original
Comment #3 (Posted by Beageal)
Toronto people -- this will be the first film of the upcoming Toronto After Dark festival. It plays October 17. I just bought my ticket on Devin's recommendation.
Comment #4 (Posted by Buddyroo)
Glad you liked it but I´m both angry and disappointed that the Swedish nomination jury just recently did choose another feature film for the Oscar nomination. It´s a misconduct.
Comment #5 (Posted by Farley)
This film is also playing at the Vancouver International Film Festival, on right now. I'm not big on vampire films (or horror at all really) but I'm now considering seeing this one. I just have to find somewhere to squeeze it in with my other 11 films. Will a film fan who's not into horror enjoy it?
Comment #6 (Posted by Buffaluffasaurus)
It's a good film to be sure (perhaps not as great as Devin suggests, but still), but I do think it could stand a cultural reinterpretation from a genuinely interesting filmmaker. Is Matt Reeves it? Probably not, but Cloverfield sure was an interesting, culturally-aware concept, regardless of what you think of the execution and marketing.
Let's just cast Megan Fox and one of the guys from Gossip Girl and be done with it.
Comment #7 (Posted by an unknown user)
A big Swedish tabloid held a chat session with the author, John Ajvide Lindqvist (http://www.aftonbladet.se/kultur/article3401613.ab).
Some of the questions are about the movie, and the remake. I’ll try to translate some of these for you.
About the movie:
Q: How does it feel to get one of your books made into a movie?
JAL: The first time Tomas Alfredsson showed me eight minutes from the movie, I started to cry as I thought it was so damn beautiful. It has continued that way. I have seen the movie seven times and look forward to seeing it a couple of times more.
Q: I’m delighted to have read a lot of positive reviews from the US about the film version of the “Let the right one in” in the last couple of days. Will your books also be released there, or have they already been released?
JAL: Yes, the first have been released with the title “Let me in” as they thought the title “Let the right one in” was too long. The second book is also on its way, “Handling the Undead”. But it is actually in Australia that the books have done the best, for some reason.
Q: Are you nervous about the Swedish movie premiere and how much influence did you have on the movie?
JAL: I'm not nervous because I think the movie is a masterpiece. I had the impact that I wrote the script and consulted a bit with Tomas Alfredson regarding the editing. Otherwise, it is completely his work (+ all the others who worked with it of course. I just want to mention Hoyt van Hoytema, Sweden's best cinematographer.)
About the remake:
Q: “Let the right one in” will apparently be made into a movie in the US, what can you tell us about that?
JAL: They will not be basing it on the Swedish movie, but on the book. They will be writing a new script. And make a completely different and probably more conventional horror movie.
Q: Matt Reeves, will according to various sources be directing the English movie. He made Cloverfield, in my view one of the most refreshing monster movies in a long while. What are your thoughts about him as a director (as the director of your material), and have you met him?
JAL: I have no idea whether it is going to be in this way. I have not met the man, but I agree with you; Cloverfield felt a bit new. If it’s going to be him, I think it is good.
Q: Do you have any role in the production of the upcoming English movie?
JAL: No.
Comment #8 (Posted by remangled)
funny, i posted almost exactly the same thing recently on my remake blog...couldn't agree more!
http://remangled.blogspot.com/2008/10/weve-let-wrong-one-in.html
Comment #9 (Posted by Scott)
Devin, you're absolutely right. this film has an incredible and unique quality which would be so difficult to recreate--and for what purpose? john lindqvist has already poured himself into the original; what could be gained from a less perfect rendition?
on a related note, i feel the same way about the remake of "Shall We Dance", the wonderfully nuanced Japanese film that was savaged by richard gere and jennifer lopez in the American remake.
