Phil tells me I’m weird but I have a pet peeve about movies randomly set in the ’60s or ’70s. I mean, I don’t mind it if that particular time period is integral to the plot but if the story could work in modern times then why the hell set it in the past? WHY? It’s so pointless! What is this goddamn obsession with the ’60s/’70s? It’s so obviously a result of screenwriters and/or directors being infatuated with the decades in which they grew up and so they set their stories during those times. But they need to stop being so self-indulgent and update their fucking work! (I don’t mind other decades because the market is not so saturated with movies about other time periods).

Ok, so all that to say it bothered me that “Let the Right One In” was set in the ’70s. Especially because the movie had a very distinct feel to it, a nice style resulting from being Swedish and being set in winter. The lamo decade was not necessary. But it was still a good movie. I mean can you really go wrong with Swedish vampires?

I don’t want to give anything away but this is an excellent addition to the vampire genre. As far as the vampire lore goes, there is nothing revolutionary, which is good; just subtly fresh takes on the old myths. Other aspects of the story were also subtle and things were often left to the viewer’s interpretation. It was slow paced but that wasn’t a problem for me. People who scare easily might disagree with me but I didn’t view this film as a horror movie. In fact it is a character piece that revolves around the relationship between the two protagonists, one of whom just happens to be a vampire. Not that there aren’t any good scenes of bloody vampire action, because there certainly are. In the end I was left wanting more, which makes “Let the Right One In” a success.

[rating:40]