Let The Right One In

This isn't your usual vampire film. In one sense it's more about adolescence and friendship than vampires, as both protagonists are 12 years old. Of course, one has been that age for a long time. Eli's a very old soul trapped in a young body, and while at first glance she looks the same age as Oskar, she periodically seems much, much older. There's another complicating factor. Eli repeated tells Oskar that she's not a girl, a statement that could work on several levels, and a brief, enigmatic shot raises all kinds of implication sin the viewer's mind (note also how Eli's voice changes in different circumstances) Where Oskar has white blonde hair and small eyes, Eli has dark unruly locks and unnervingly large eyes, yet deep down they are worringly similar. Oskar harbors murderous thoughts of revenge against the bullies who make his life a misery and the first encounter with Eli occurs while he is repeatedly stabbing a tree, imagining it is one of his tormentors. You're never totally certain about Eli's motives in befriending Oskar and that only adds to the growing sense of unease. She doesn't appear to want to hurt him, even sending him away at one key point, but also initially tells him that she can't be his friend.
The cinematography and sound design are stunning. There are moments of great beauty alongside the horror, and the snowbound town is used to great effect. There's one ill-advised scene featuring CGI cats (the idea's great but not the execution) but otherwise the setpieces are both stylish and memorable: Eli demonstrating exactly what happens when a vampire enters a home uninvited; the climactic swimming pool sequence which manages to be shocking but not explicit. The sound helps no end. Eli's gutteral and feral growls as the blood craving grows are far more unsettling than the attacks themselves, and in a scene reminiscent of Cronos, she laps spilt blood from the floor. The adult world drifts in and out, the lack of concrete detail actually making everything doubly intriguing: Oskar's divorced parents; the group of friends who gather at the local cafe; and most of all, Hakan, who kills (or tries to) young boys to get blood for Eli. Whole backstories open up to the imagination, which is why the film lingers in the memory. There's so much to ponder, so many questions hinted at and never fully answered - not least the ending. For once, I can't wait to read the novel.