Final Paper-Let the Right One In

Society today is irrevocably in love with these mythical blood sucking vampires. Myself being one of these huge fans, I was very intrigued by the film; Let the Right One In, by Thomas Alfredson. The film was brilliantly realistic and kept the audience on the edge of their seats! Alfredson has brought such a unique film to the horror genre and has given vampires a new look.
Thomas Alfredson did a wonderful job in making this film so realistic. Being a vampire fan and having seen numerous vampire films, this specific film made me fall in love with vampires even more then before! Most of the vampire films I have seen are always drenched in gore, which is not a bad thing, and the directors make the vampires look very cheesy and typical with the whole pale skin, fangs, and extreme beauty look. However, Alfredson made his main character, Eli the vampire, look like a real life vampire. The interesting part of this movie was the fact the Eli was in fact a little girl; she was only 12 years old. Never have I seen a vampire movie where the main vampire is a young girl, they are usually adults and very sexual. Alfredson took a different approach and made the vampire a young girl. She was no typical vampire; she had a very exceptional look. Her hair was always tussled and in her face, her skin was very pale and smooth, she had dark circles under her eyes, and always had a blank expression on her
face. Eli was always quiet yet pleasant. Alfredson took a different angle when showing the attacks of her unfortunate victims. Instead of making blood squirt from every which angle during the attack, it was more settle. She would pounce on the victim and suck his blood discretely, in my opinion. He showed enough blood to make it considered a grotesque horror film, and enough to make your own blood boil under your skin. Alfredson focused on the mystery behind what Eli was, instead of the typical vampire feeding frenzy approach. Thomas Alfredson contributed a phenomenal film to the horror genre.
These days, we are all obsessed with the alluring vampire scene. Ever since the release of the fabulous movie Twilight, society has been head over heels for vampires! Why? Perhaps because we know they are so unreal and nonexistent. Everyone likes to believe in something they know is not real, it keeps your imagination alive, and leaves room for your mind to wander in a magical realm. Vampires are seen as tough, powerful, beautiful, strong, intelligent and most of all mystical creatures. These are all qualities people; women in particular, like to fantasize about. Who wouldn’t want a man or a woman with these qualities? That is why when society sees a vampire movie, you come out drooling; and I tend to find myself in despair over the fact that I will never have a vampire friend! You always want some thing you can’t have. The human eye is naturally drawn to anything withholding beauty, which is exactly what vampires are; perfectly beautiful. Vampires will continue to be a trend until someone can invent a new fascinating and desirable creature.
In a review, I stumbled across something very interesting that not a lot of people are aware of. The title of this movie, Let the Right One In, was inspired by the song titled, Let the Right One Slip In, by former singer of The Smiths, Morrissey. Not having any idea that this movie title came from Morrissey’s song is so interesting because I am a big fan of Morrissey! From looking up the song lyrics, there is a particular verse in the song that inspired Alfredson to make this movie.
“Let the right one slip in/ And when at last it does/ I’d say you were within your rights to bite/ The right one and say,/ What kept you so long?” (Morrissey)
This is a powerful verse and it is easy to see how it fits perfect for Alfredson’s film. I feel like it is addressing the fact that loneliness sometimes takes over your life, and letting the “right one in” they will set you free. This is perfectly associated with the theme of the movie because the other main character, Oskar, is a lonely young boy who is constantly being bullied by other kids at school. He is dealing with this torture at school and in turn meets Eli, his new vampire friend. The whole movie is related to this song verse because Oskar is the one who is letting the right one in. He befriended Eli and she ends up saving his life in the end, and he also gains her as his girlfriend. By letting her in his life they both benefited. She was no longer alone, considering her father had died, and now Oskar was no longer alone either. They both let each other “slip in” and now there is no telling if they will ever separate. Eli taught him how to defend himself and stand up to his bullies, both learning a lot from one another.
In The Daily Telegraph review I found something else pertaining to Morrissey that I had not known. A quote that surprisingly affiliates Morrissey to the two characters; Oskar and the stunning vampire, Eli.
“Fittingly so, for the former Smiths front man has long been a friend indeed for these who feel lonely, tentative and in need.” (Sandhu)
From this quote, it is my understanding that Morrissey himself perhaps had been very lonely throughout his life and that is why he resorted to his music. For most his other songs they tend to be about the burden of the past and home life, dramatic relationships and loneliness. The way the director related Oskar and Eli to the way Morrissey felt in his lyrics was very moving. It seems as if Morrissey is very understanding when being accompanied by ever lasting loneliness because he himself has been through a lot, which is why this verse of the song relates to Oskar and Eli so well. Alfredson did a lot of research in finding the perfect title for his film, and then building a thrilling horror film from it.

Works Cited:
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/LET-THE-RIGHT-ONE-SLIP-IN-lyrics-Morrissey/52FCF188E5D63E3E482568AB003913A3

Sandhu, Sukhdev. Newspaper ‘The Daily Telegraph’. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/sukhdevsandhu/5131859/Let-The-Right-One-In-review.html 09 April 2009.