Let Me In

Many films fall into one of two categories; the kind that you never get tired of watching and the kind you only ever see once. Funny thing about these two categories is that great film can be either. There are plenty of superb films that I only need to see once as well as ones that I watch all the time.

In this spectrum of don't watch/watch again and good/bad, Let Me In seems to fall right into the middle. A decent film, but nothing amazing. Yet somehow I find my self having no problem watching this film two days in a row.
Let Me In is the hushed and melancholy story of two children, Owen and Abby, and the strange and forbidden romance that develops between the two despite the fact Abby is quite literally a monster.

Based on the film Let the Right One In, it takes place in the 1980s in a small town in the dead of winter. Owen is a downtrodden and bullied little boy both, tortured by the school bully almost as much by his parents impending divorce. With his father absent entirely throughout the film, Owen is left to rely upon his borderline negligent mother.

Then late one night, he sees from his bedroom window a pair of new neighbors move in; an old man and his little girl. Over the course of the next two weeks Owen develops a strong friendship with the enigmatic and plainly speaking Abby, a quiet and calm little girl with a penchant for walk around in the snow without shoes or warm clothes.

Even as their friendship begins to blossom into something more, the town is plagued by ritualistic murders and disappearances that point to the odd new neighbors. Soon Owen finds that he must tread lightly, for there is much more to Abby than meets the eye and the stakes get higher when the law comes to investigate.

The performances no the parts of Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee, who play Abby and Owen respectively, are pretty impressive considering that they take up about 80% of the screen time by themselves. Both carry the film fairly well but the best job is definitely Moretz, who last dazzled audiences with her infamous portrayal of Hitgirl in KickAss. She plays Abby calm and unflinching, with an almost predatory curiosity that serves the character extremely well considering her true nature.

The film was not a blockbuster and was unfortunately pigeonholed into horror even though it was much more complex than a simple horror flick. As a result it was generally overshadowed by other films like the most recent Saw and Paranormal Activity 2 out around the same time. You can tell from her performance in Let Me In and in Kick Ass that Chloe Moretz is a name you will see many more times and very soon.