Kevin's Watch

Posted: **Sun Oct 03, 2010 5:26 am**

Saw a special showing on Thursday night. Here is my review:

zahirblue.blogspot.com/2010/10/let-me-in-review.html

Now that I've seen it, my feelings are a blend of "impressed" "thrilled" and "disturbed." Impressed because this is a movie that captures the ruthless yet tender heart of the book at least as well as the first film. Yes, at least as well. "Thrilled" because this was not only a good retelling of the novel into a new medium, but in some ways a startlingly original version. "Disturbed" because this film actually creeped me out in ways the Swedish motion picture did not....

...Much will be made of the question--Does Abby care? Is she pursuing a ruthless agenda of recruiting another caretaker as her previous one begins to fail? Or as one relationship disintegrates, does she happen upon someone about whom she can genuinely feel affection, even love? Methinks the answer to that question says most about the person giving the answer. Let Me In keeps any possible final answer on that question ambiguous...

Posted: **Sun Oct 03, 2010 1:28 pm**

Nice review Zahir. Very well written. Looking forward to the movie and seeing how it compares to the Swedish version.

Posted: **Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:19 am**

Saw this last night, freaking unbelievable. No sparkly, non-goring vampires in this movie. It's unrelentingly violent, but still tells the story well, and maintains the accepted vampire rules.

One of the best films I've seen in a while.

Posted: **Tue Feb 08, 2011 3:39 pm**

I saw this last week as well.

I'm not certain it's better than the original; I think they're both good (but unfortunately not great) movies.

I will admit, however, that Abby is freaky as hell.

Oh, and it's nice to finally have a vampire movie where the vampires are evil again... I'm tired of all the angsty metro goth crybabies masquerading as vampires.

Posted: **Tue Feb 08, 2011 3:55 pm**

I adore both films, and am glad they aren't identical.

Interestingly, the film goes with two "rules" that are simply not part of legend or folklore at all. Very few vampire myth refers to someone all-but-instantly dying by the bite of a vampire. And in legend, vampires are not harmed by the sun at all. That was an invention for movies. Dracula walks around in the sun. So does Carmilla, Varney, Lord Ruthven, etc. Vampires burning up in the sun? Made up for the movie Nosferatu (and to some extent for the play version of Dracula).

But it bears repeating--classical vampires do NOT burn in the sun.

Oh, and werewolves aren't killed by silver bullets either.

Posted: **Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:12 pm**

Rigel wrote:I'm tired of all the angsty metro goth crybabies masquerading as vampires.

I second this.

To this date, I still blame Anne Rice for that subculture.

Posted: **Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:06 am**

Anne Rice's weren't bad, because at least they still had depth.

Posted: **Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:14 pm**

I agree--she's a talented author.

However, she really jump-started the whole vampire subculture and it has now grown into what it is. In their defense, though, I will note that vampires are not needlessly violent like the lycans might be.

Posted: **Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:32 pm**

Hashi Lebwohl wrote:I agree--she's a talented author.

However, she really jump-started the whole vampire subculture and it has now grown into what it is. In their defense, though, I will note that vampires are not needlessly violent like the lycans might be.

I agree. I like my vampires bloody and cocky, not moody and melancholy. Other than a cop-out at the end, I think that Near Dark is one of the better vampire films out there, with Let Me In right there with it.

I'll say this too, with the exception of some of the '80s baggage it carries (like why the Hell does Corey Haim have a poster of a shirtless Rob Lowe in his bedroom?), The Lost Boys stands up surprisingly well.

Posted: **Sun Feb 13, 2011 12:00 am**

Cail wrote: I'll say this too, with the exception of some of the '80s baggage it carries (like why the Hell does Corey Haim have a poster of a shirtless Rob Lowe in his bedroom?), The Lost Boys stands up surprisingly well.

I've still never seen that one, but I keep hearing how good it is. I'll have to move that up my queue...