Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In, also known as Let Me In, is a 2004 vampire fiction novel by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. The story centers on the relationship between a 12-year-old boy, Oskar, and a centuries-old vampire child, Eli. It takes place in Blackeberg, a working class suburb of Stockholm, in the early 1980s.

The book was a bestseller in the author's home country of Sweden and was translated into Danish, German, Dutch, Russian, English and Chinese in 2007 and Finnish in 2008. It has also been translated into Italian, Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian, and Norwegian. In 2008, the Swedish film Let the Right One In was released, and it is based on the novel. The film was praised by both critics and fans alike, and was a huge success^.

In the film, ‘Let the Right One In’, music is used very effectively. Slow, scary and spine-chilling is one of the factors the music brings to the film and audience. Also the music creates a tense atmosphere – you don’t know what’s going to happen next.

Camera work, like sound, is used again, very well. The cameras main focus is on the two main characters of the movie Oskar and Eli. Both of these characters are children and therefore I think this is why the camera is sometimes slightly blurred and from a long shot. The director is trying to create idea that it is from a childs perspective. This perspective being that a child may not understand the happenings in the film so they have a blurred vision and the long shot makes them seem distant and makes it show that children do not really pay much attention to their surroundings and what is happening.

                                                            

The main characters in the film, Eli and Oskar have many similaries but many differences too. These differences include Eli being a female and a vampire. Her appearance is quite different to Oskars too because she has black hair and Oskar’s hair is very blonde, almost white. Similarities include both children being outsiders, Oskar gets bullied at school and we never see him with anybody that could be his friend. This relates to Eli, you never see her with anyone that could be her friend.