Hollywood is notorious for taking great foreign films and remaking them into absolute garbage. Most recently, Steve Carrell held together a washed up script in a very unfunny Dinner for Schmucks. When it comes to horror flicks, Hollywood’s bastardizing of classic films just cant be beat. Take a movie we will be watching the last night of Sunday SHOCK Theater, The Vanishing. Hollywood took this suspenseful and terrifying classic and did the impossible: they made it boring. So when I first heard that an American version of Let the Right One In (A widely popular Robot Panic Summer Film Festival entry. Thanks Mitch!) was in production, I feared the worst. Even the summer trailers for this film portrayed it as a scary blood-and-guts vampire movie and not the deeply complex story that everyone loved. But then my wife called me over lunch on Friday and asked if we could see Let Me In.  She had never seen the original, so with the hope that I might get some scary movie cuddle action, I agreed. The end result of our date night was something I never expected. No, we didn’t make out like teenagers, although that would have been just as surprising, I found an American studio taking great care with an amazing story and producing a remake that is actually really well done.     

Let Me In tells the story of a lonely boy named Owen. His Mom and Dad are getting a divorce, and if that were not enough of a blow to his self esteem, he is constantly picked on by a bunch of bullies. So Owen spends his day eating candy and spying on his neighbors through a telescope in his room. Then one day, an old man and his daughter move in to the next door apartment. The little girl’s name is Abby and there is something quite strange about her. She walks around barefoot in the snow and she proclaims that her and Owen can’t be friends. We soon realize that Abby is a vampire and her father goes out at night killing people so she won’t have to. Strangely enough, Owen and Abby develop a deep friendship, one that is threatened as authorities begin to close in on her and her father. 

It’s rare that we get a smart horror film the likes of Let the Right One In. For what eventually happens to this unique young couple is the basis for what I believe to be one of the best vampire stories of our time. It is ironic, somewhat tragic, and very thought provoking. Normally, Hollywood producers would take a premise of such a this and add in their own ideas and change the story so the American audience would buy it. Apparently we are all too dumb to appreciate something smart like Let the Right One In. But in this case, the right studio got a hold of the rights to the story and treated it with a great deal of love. That studio would be Hammer Studios, well known for the classic vampire movies of the 1960s and 70s. Hammer has a lot of interest in a narrative such as this, and treating this vampire story right was a top priority. Happily, the story remains mostly untouched, and leaves you with the same feeling of thoughtful irony that the original had. I will admit, much of what we see on screen resembles the Swedish classic. The jungle gym where Owen and Abby chat is the same, the lighting of the apartment complex has that same eerie feel to it, and even the actor who plays Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) reminds you of his Swedish counterpart. 

One of the cool things about the original was its sparse dialogue and how Director Thomas Alfredson used facial expressions and body language to tell the story of the developing love story. While these conventions are not abandoned in this remake, Matt Reeves uses a lot more dialogue between Owen and Abby to help explain how each of them is feeling. I was afraid that something like that would happen, but pleasantly surprised at how awkward the dialogue was and how that help convey the awkwardness of the relationship. Trust that the script feels just as sparse, but adds just enough to make things a bit more interesting. 

Perhaps the best part of the entire film is Chloë Moretz’s (aka “Hit Girl”) portrayal of Abby. In the original, we get a clear sense that Abby cares for Owen, but has some ulterior motives. In this version, we see the same thing, but we get a greater sense that Abby has deep and genuine feelings for Owen. This added greater sense of the character for me and heightened the enjoyment factor for the film. Chloë uses her entire body to personify Abby and tell us how she is feeling. Her every movement is deliberate, and every smile both seductive and heartwarming. It is a performance I will not soon forget and I can’t wait to see more from her in the future. 

Now not everything in the film is perfect. The reveal of who Abby is and what she is ultimately trying to do comes way too early in the film. I, for one, appreciate that “ah ha” moment in the original where all the pieces came falling into place. That being said, this movie was incredibly well done and worth a look from both fans of the first film and newcomers to the story. As a fan of the original, I picked up on subtle nuances I had missed in my first viewing and greatly appreciated a unique approach to the story telling. As a Hammer fan, I could spot their use of tightly-framed shots that masterfully created suspense. Honestly, the remake solidified my appreciation for this wonderful narrative and how it ranks up there as one of the best vampire stories of all time. My wife thoroughly enjoyed the film and said it wasn’t what she was expecting. I had to agree; a good remake wasn’t quite what I was expecting either.

Rating = 4 Buckets-O-Popcorn

Alright, so this one is a TV series and not a movie. But that just means there’s more of it to enjoy.

Vampires are big business these days, for some fucked up reason. And believe me, before True Blood began, I felt the vampire schtick was the worst of all the horror genres. It just hadn’t been done right in so long. From the half a million takes on Dracula to the god-awful Twilight vampire/tween craze, it was just so played out. But then HBO got their hands on the Sookie Stackhouse novels and it all changed for me.

True Blood excels in just about every category. Every episode has buckets of blood, gory kills, hot naked chicks, and over-the-top plots. The show not only has vampires, but demons, werewolves, shape shifters, and other supernatural elements.

If you’re new to the show, the gimmick is simple: Japanese scientists have invented a synthetic blood, and as a result, the vampires that have been living in secret all these years are now able to “come out”, so to speak. After all, they no longer have to feed on humans and animals, so they should no longer be feared, right? Yeah…

The show takes place in a tiny town in Louisiana, where there’s a lot more crazy shit going on than just vampires. The star of the show is a character named Sookie Stackhouse, a young waitress who is able to read minds and who soon falls in love with a newly-outed vampire. As the episodes go on, complications arise and soon everyone in town is dealing with some sort of supernatural phenomenon.

True Blood’s third season just finished up, and the first two are already available on DVD. The show is nothing but campy, bloody fun and I highly recommend checking it out.

Moichendising!

Yogurt said it best. The key to success is merchandising. T-Shirts, toys, posters, games. Whatever sort of crap you can toss at rabid fans. If I’ve learned anything from George Lucas it’s that even if your movie sucks (Episode I), you can still make a killing off merchandising.

One of my favorite shows on television is HBO’s True Blood. It’s rare that I find a show that interests both my wife and me, but this one hit the jackpot. Now, I must first mention that I find 99% of vampire stories to be…well…for lack of a better term: gay. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) But seriously, just take Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire. Those two were one take away from full-on penetration and their abysmal spin on Anne Rice’s novel made me walk out of the theater questioning my sexuality. And don’t get me started on Twilight. I haven’t even seen the movies, but the trailers alone give me an uncomfortable tingling feeling in my anus.

But I digress.

Suffice it to say that True Blood kicks ass. Every episode contains buckets of blood, oodles of boobs, and a few laughs mixed in for good measure. Each week, my wife and I sit down to watch the crazy story of a small Louisiana town as the citizens cope with vampires, shape-shifters, and all sorts of other crazy beings.

For the uninitiated, the premise of the show is when Japanese scientists create a synthetic blood capable of replacing real, human blood, the vampires who have been living hidden among us for centuries “come out”, so to speak. They make their presence known, now that they don’t have to hunt humans as prey. True Blood becomes a bottled beverage, sold in different varieties (Type O Positive, Type A Negative, etc.), and vampire bars pop up all over the country. Of course, some vampires still seek the thrill of the hunt, but that’s a different story. We’re here to talk about the beverage based on the TV show.

(more…)

Nevermind the orange leaves outside your window. Here at Robot Panic it’s still the dog days of summer. And what better to close out the oft-delayed Summer Film Festival than with the widely acclaimed 2008 Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In, just in time for SHOCKtober! (We’re all about synergy here).

In today’s pop culture society, the stock of vampires in fiction has been greatly devalued. Nowadays, the mythical figures are more 90210 than Nosferatu, more glitter than ghoulish. But last year, Swedish director Tomas Alfredson struck back with his adaptation of the 2004 John Ajvide Lindqvist novel Let the Right One In about a bullied twelve year-old boy who befriends a 200 year-old vampire. But romance and a return to the darker vampire narratives of old are not mutually exclusive. Ultimately, Let the Right One In is still a romantic film, but it doesn’t sacrifice narrative or tone for cheap emotional exploitation. The film currently holds a 98% freshness rating on Rottentomatoes.com, and it isn’t one to miss.

As is the case with all but one of this year’s picks, Let the Right One In is available for online streaming via Netflix Watch Instantly. It’s worth noting that the version on Netflix includes the preferred theatrical subtitles, as opposed to the controversial re-translated DVD subtitles. Also, the week eleven pick, Park Chan-Wook’s Oldboy, was just recently added to the list of films available for streaming. So if you missed out on that one when we discussed it, be sure to go back and check it out.

As always, spoilers follow in the comments below.

I sold the idea of this movie to Hilden and Moe by saying, “Hey, you wanna go see a Swedish vampire flick?” Of course they said yes. But by the time we came out of the Riverview (best theater in town, by the way), we realized that Let the Right One In is more than merely a Swedish vampire flick, it’s a surprisingly deep and compelling story about a bullied kid named Oskar and the relationship he develops with the mysterious new girl in his apartment building. Most vampire movies tend to be blood-fests consisting of gory kills and dramatic plot points about the high cost of immortality. And while LTROI does contain those themes, the way in which they are presented, and the performances of the brilliant child actors brings this movie to the top of the genre.

As mentioned, the story centers on a twelve year-old kid named Oskar who must face a bully named Conny, and his cohorts, each day at school. And each night, Oskar fantasizes about exacting revenge upon his aggressors, but knows that he lacks the courage to act. A girl named Eli moves next door to Oskar in his apartment building, and he slowly, over the course of several evenings, develops a relationship with her until the ultimate realization that she is a vampire. It’s the development of this relationship, its effect on Oskar and his confidence, and Oskar’s coping with the fact that Eli must murder to survive that makes this movie so special. Lina Leandersson is simply brilliant in the role of Eli, a being who is much older than her twelve year-old body suggests. But if great acting doesn’t do it for you and you just like your vampire movies bloody, there are some great kills here as well.

In a year that’s seen an odd resurgence of vampires (True Blood, Twilight, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans), it’s a shame that Let the Right One In will probably be the most overlooked. It’s easily the most original take on the genre in years and the movie most worthy of your cash. If it’s not playing near you, the DVD and BluRay releases are right around the corner on March 10th, and I really can’t recommend this movie enough.

If you need more convincing, a great review of this film was posted at Ain’t it Cool News here. Give it a read.