Before I had even seen "Let the Right One In," the remake was already on its way. After watching the original, I couldn't fathom why another one was necessary. Still, I had to watch the American version once it came out and I guess it was okay. So far it's made about twelve million dollars domestically, just about matching how much the Swedish version made worldwide two years ago. The potential for profit is enough reason for a remake I guess.
There's something that just doesn't quite come together in Let Me In. Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Grace Moretz are both good as the leads, but they're not better than the originals. If anything, most of Smit-McPhee's appeal can be attributed to his incredibly wide set eyes, and while I do like Moretz, she's a little too pretty to play Abby.
What I absolutely hate about this Hollywood version is the sound effects. Typical of horror films that try to sonically convince you that you're afraid, Let Me In builds tension in all the wrong ways. The original didn't have any of this (as I recall), and it was a lot more powerful without the audio build up to big reveals. While this wasn't a bad movie by any standard, just knowing there's a far superior version out there, readily available for Netflix, makes it barely passable. Read the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist, it should be more worthy of your time.
