Let Me In (2010)

Plot: 12-year-old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is neglected by his divorcing parents and is constantly harassed by bullies. He befriends Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz), a young girl who has moved into the apartment next door. Owen eventually learns the truth about Abby- she's a vampire. Chaos soon ensues as Owen tries to handle the bullies and protect Abby.

Review: I'm a fan of vampire films and literature so I was hoping that I wouldn't be let down by this. This film completely passed my expectations.

This is a remake of the 2008 Sweden film. Both of these films are adaptations of a  novel. I haven't read the novel and watched the original film which this is based on, so I can't compare this film to the original film and the remake. I'm looking it as an entirely separate entity altogether.

Firstly, what I like about the film's plot is that it feels like real life. Many horror films I've seen, it feels like the characters lives have been exaggerated. Here, we have a young boy who is going through a rough time in his life. His parents are getting divorced, he's being bullied and just trying to survive it all. In all of this, we're introduced to a vampire child. It's not what you would expect, but I like it because it's fresh and feels unique. And the film doesn't sugarcoat what Owen is going through. We see the ugly side of what he's going through, when most films would have other characters say what he's going through. We witness it and makes it much more gripping.

Kodi Smith-McPhee and Chloe Grace Moretz's acting in this is fantastic. The chemistry between the two lead actors is unbelievable. They both have such maturity and chemistry on-screen that surpasses their teenage years. The way they click on-screen shows and I'm amazed that such young actors could have chemistry that actors twice their age hope to have with their co-stars.

Kodi Smith-McPhee's ability to portray his pain, frustration and determination to escape from his life in a simple facial expression is outstanding to me.

Chloe Grace Moretz is in my opinion one of the better child actors working today. She's a great actress and is brilliant in this. What I admire about how she portrays Abby is that even though Abby is an immortal, she's still a vulnerable child at heart who wants to find some sort of connection with humanity since that connection was taken away from her.

You kind of forget that this is supposed to be a vampire film. It doesn't feel like a vampire film. Owen's destructive home life and school life take up a good portion of the film's plot. And I think that adds a human element to a horror film. That pre-adolescent life can be hell. Even when we find out that Abby is a vampire, it's kind of like an afterthought because there's so much else going on.

This is one the better vampire movies I've seen in a long time that I think any horror film fan will appreciate.

Rating: 4.5/5