Let the Right One In: Opinions

[adam352]

So... i watched this recently (horribly dubbed) and i didn't think a huge amount of it, there were some intriguing moments, but overall i wasn't a fan.

Recently however, i have heard some damn good things about it, some saying it is the greatest vampire film they have ever seen.

So I ask the escapist, is it that good? Was i just switched off when watching it? And, most importantly, what did you think?

 

[XJ-0461]

Maybe it's because it was dubbed that you didn't enjoy it. I watched it with subtitles and thought it was pretty good.

Your opinion of it also might have depended on what you expected before you saw it. I knew hardly anything about it before I saw it, and found it to be an impressively shot, highly atmospheric film, with some truly horrific scenes in it. Yet if you expected it to be much more violent than it actually was, or a much grittier tale than it was, you may have been disappointed by it's more fairytale-like nature.

Or you just didn't like it. Not everyone enjoys every film; I'm not a particular fan of The Godfather. Maybe Let the Right One In just wasn't your particular cup of tea.

 

[Necator15]

I actually (Accidentally) watched the dub with the subtitles on. They didn't do too well with the dub. Try watching it with subtitles, not only does it make a hell of a lot more sense, it will be good.

Incidentally, I was watching it with a friend who was seeing it for the first time, and she said if it hadn't been for the subtitles she thinks she would've hated the movie. The dubs were almost obnoxiously bad.

That could be why you didn't like it. Or as XJ said above me, maybe you just didn't like it.

I have to say though, that scene where...

Spoiler

Eli's first caretaker dumps the (I'm assuming nitric) acid on his face was just astounding. It was an odd moment of revelation of just how fucked in the head that guy was.

 

[Julianking93]

It is my favorite vampire movie of all time.

No question.

Why the hell did you watch it dubbed?

 

[Sonofadiddly]

Yeah, subtitles are always the way to go.

I thought the movie was pretty fantastic. I liked the quietness and the subtlety, and especially liked that they were able to pull those qualities off while still having a good amount of horrible violence. I am appalled that they're making an American version called "Let Me In." I'm willing to bet money that it will suck balls.

 

[Girl With One Eye]

I didn't watch it dubbed and I really liked this film. Better than certain other unnamed vampire movies...

 

[XJ-0461]

Also, is anyone else boycotting the remake?

While I probably will end up seeing it, a lot of the changes they've made seem very odd. I don't see the need to set in in New Mexico, for example, especially when the snow gave the original a very distinct look and feel. Also, I think there's going to be a lot more in-your-face gore and jump scares than the original.

 

[the rye]

i loved let the right one in, and the romance was very moving and felt actually real between the characters. Also you should have NEVER watched a dub, subs are always better.

 

[adam352]

Maybe it's because it was dubbed that you didn't enjoy it. I watched it with subtitles and thought it was pretty good.

Your opinion of it also might have depended on what you expected before you saw it. I knew hardly anything about it before I saw it, and found it to be an impressively shot, highly atmospheric film, with some truly horrific scenes in it. Yet if you expected it to be much more violent than it actually was, or a much grittier tale than it was, you may have been disappointed by it's more fairytale-like nature.

Or you just didn't like it. Not everyone enjoys every film; I'm not a particular fan of The Godfather. Maybe Let the Right One In just wasn't your particular cup of tea.

I actually had never heard of it before i saw it, it was memorable, and the violence created a stark contrast but i found a lot of the scenes that included characters other than the main two very disconcerting, and this ruined the atmosphere for me

 

[Cody211282]

Never seen it, I'm just going to wait for them to make an American version of it.

 

[Klumpfot]

It seems very alien to me that a Swedish film would be dubbed outside of Sweden. Also, I imagine that the absolutely fantastic acting of Eli (the vampire girl) is half-lost when dubbed. Her voice is one of the defining characteristics of the character.

As for the remake, I do not have high hopes. Though the vampire is to be played by Chloe Moretz, who is probably best known for playing Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass. I think her performance in said movie was terrific, but the trailer for 'Let Me In' doesn't look good to me.

Staying on topic though, I think that the movie is great. Of the recent vampire movies, I would say that it is, by far, the best, though I suppose I should see Thirst before making a statement like that.
On a side note, I think some things about the movie are going to be lost to the foreign moviegoers. Mostly in the way the movie portrays the culture of the time (early 80's).

Edit: In the remake, do you think they are going to downplay the rather disturbing relationship between Eli and the man she lives with?

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Also, is anyone else boycotting the remake?

From the small bit I garnered about the film, it seems this is an American remake of a Swedish film.

So I'm just going to assume the same rule that applies to Britcoms: If Americans remake it, it will be awful.

While I probably will end up seeing it, a lot of the changes they've made seem very odd. I don't see the need to set in in New Mexico, for example, especially when the snow gave the original a very distinct look and feel. Also, I think there's going to be a lot more in-your-face gore and jump scares than the original.

This statement seems enough to assume that. Plus it's directed by Matt Reeves, who I was never fond of.

 

[Cynical skeptic]

The "international" version that was strewn about the internets a year or two before the US release has significant differences. Live action dubbing is always terrible even if they don't butcher the script.

Also, this [http://iconsoffright.com/news/2009/03/let_the_wrong_subtitles_in_to.html]

 

[David DeMoss]

Considering the greatest vampire film of all time was made a full fifty years ago, it's categorically impossible for Let the Right One In to occupy that same space in my personal pantheon.

Nevertheless, I'd still call it the best vampire of the last twenty years, good in that unsettling, creeping-rot-below-the-surface-of-normal-everyday-society kind of way, which is the most I've come to expect out of horror films. At the same time, it avoiding all those navel-gazing, Ann Rice, woe-is-me, tropes that have thrown an anchor chain around the necks of most vampire fiction. And, yes, the dubbing screwed it for you, because that's what dubbing does. That's, in fact, all it does.

 

[TheIr0nMike]

I love it. I preferred watching subtitled though. But that's just me in general.