Let The Right One In (2008) (Blu Ray) - 10/10

It's hard to know where to begin with Let the Right One In as I think a lot of people either won't see this because it's subtitled or don't get how emotionally complex the story is which is a shame b/c this is one of the best movies i've seen in a while and a classic for the vampire genre. The details on this Blu Ray are terrific and along with the classical score really emphasize this cold, dark atmosphere of Sweden where we are thrown into the lives of two young children who are both more than they appear. Oskar is a shy, picked on kid who kind of lives in his own world yet shows a deep ominous desire for revenge against the bullies who constantly torment him at school. His counterpart is Eli, the mysterious fragile girl that moves in next door who over the course of time we start to realize is actually an old vampire who must drink blood on a daily basis in order to keep her strength. As their relationship and curiousty towards eachother slowly grows into a loving friendship, I was constantly intrigued by their sublte desire for eachother and underlying motives where each of these characters stand to to benefit from one another. Even though Eli has an older man who we find out kills random teenagers and drains their blood, we never know if he is a past lover who has been doing this for a while or just another recent tool for Eli's survival. His akward and unsuccessful blood collecting leads to eventual capture, yet we never once question his loyalty of killing himself to protect her secret when we clearly see his fear of her. For me, it's the slow buildup of music that accompanies these very quick and intense scenes of violence where we slowly see the changes of each of the characters towards their outside world that make it so intense. It's exciting to read about these underlying themes of morality where Eli essentially molds Oskar to hit back at the bullies and accept her murderous desire to the point where we are ambiguous as to whether it's truly love that binds them or is she maniupating him to become her next killer. In the end, we're treated to a terrific and gory conclusion that is shown off screen making us visualize this terror Eli unleashes to save Oskar and their eventual future where it starts all over again. This movie is just amazing, the atmosphere and realistic relationship of dealing with a child vampire who can only connect with someone who looks like her really is a moral study of corruption hidden as a vampire love story. I can't wait to watch this movie again.