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Now Showing: Let the Right One In (2008)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, depicting a Transylvanian count who sucks blood, possesses minds, transforms into a bat, and terrorizes London, has utterly permeated society and entertainment in the intervening 123 years since it was first published. To this day, Stoker’s vision, and his titular vampire, dominate the way we tell stories about the creatures of the night. From the earliest days of film, movies such as Nosferatu and Bella Lugosi’s Dracula have set the visual agenda for how vampires should be portrayed and what audiences expect from movies with bloodsuckers at their center.
Over the years, vampires have undergone a somewhat surprising evolution. While Stoker’s character was truly terrifying to Victorian minds—hunting at night, consuming the blood of virgins, and plaguing innocents with his unbridled sexuality—vampires now are more often than not portrayed as either insipidly romantic and angsty (think Twilight or Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or as laughably inept or anachronistic (look no further than the excellent What We Do in the Shadows). Consequently, it is refreshing to encounter Let the Right One In, a vampire story that is genuinely chilling with an original take on the genre.
This 2008 Swedish film from director Tomas Alfredson and screenwriter and novelist Ajvide turns the traditional vampire tropes on their ear. Gone are the black capes, animal transformation and glottal accents. No more is the main character either a victim of the vampire or—as is most often the case—a vampire slayer. Rather, Alfredson and Ajvide seek to answer a simple question: What is life like for someone who was turned into a vampire at age 12? They tease the answer out over a taught 114 minutes with new revelations drip, drip, dripping like blood in the snow.
The story centers on two twelve year olds, Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), who is bullied relentlessly by bigger boys at school, and Eli (Lina Leandersson), a strange girl (or so it seems), who only appears at night and lives with a nameless caretaker in the same apartment complex. The entire film takes place in a stark, icily utilitarian suburb of Stockholm during the 1980s. The adults of the town are either depressed, unengaged, or at their wits end, keeping it together during the long, dark winter through a combination of aquavit and depression. Oskar is continually abused by several boys in his class but is unable to fight back, although we soon see him fantasizing about what he would do to them with a knife. We also quickly learn about Eli and her caretaker’s relationship, and a string of unsolved child-murders in neighboring suburbs.
Yet Let the Right One In avoids the temptation to revel in gore or to create a “hero” to save the town. Rather, it keeps the focus on Oskar and Eli and the trials and tribulations that they suffer. Eli—trapped in an undying yet sexless body—is unable to fully experience in the charms of childhood or the full freedom of adulthood. Oskar, whose parents are divorced and is functionally a latchkey kid as his mother works long hours, longs for feelings of empowerment, love and revenge. While we know from the very start that Eli is a predator of sorts and Oskar quite likely is a psychopath, or at least has tendencies that point in that direction, they quickly become the beating heart and soul of the movie. The audience wants them to succeed, despite the abhorrent circumstances of the story. Part of the trick is in Alfredson and Ajvide’s ability to reveal the nihilism and malignancy present within the souls of most of the townspeople and school children.
Those seeking a gory horror flick or a Hollywood scream fest replete with jump scares and chase scenes may not be satisfied. Yet if you’re in the mood for something dark and terrible, Let the Right One In may be perfect. The harsh beauty of the cinematography and the brooding sadness at its core will linger, and it’s impossible to shake a sense of pity for Oskar and Eli, even as they reveal their true propensity for evil. It is a horror movie that makes you think and reflect long after the lights have gone up and the screen has gone dark.
Let the Right One In is streaming on Hulu.
Now Showing: Poltergeist (1982)
“They’re here.” Two simple words that define one of the classic horror movies of the past 50 years. Poltergeist, written and produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper, was a smash hit when it was released and has remained a perennial favorite ever since. It’s a giant twist on the haunted house horror film because, for one thing, the house in question is brand new, and for another, the gateway to the great beyond is a two-way street.
Like many of Spielberg’s movies, Poltergeist is at its best when portraying a stereotypical family in an American suburb. The action centers on the Freelings—mom, dad, and three kids ages five to 16, plus a golden retriever. When the story begins, the big question is whether they should get a pool in the back yard. Yet as soon as six year old Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) starts communicating with the “TV people” through the late night static on the television set, things go to hell quick. Carol Anne gets sucked into the TV, a tree tries to eat another child, and soon the entire house is possessed. The parents, Steve and Diane (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams respectively), are at a loss for what to do and after some panicky combat with the forces from beyond the veil, they call in some paranormal experts from a university and eventually must rely on Tangina, a psychic medium (Zelda Rubinstein), to get the girl back and shut the gates of hell.
It’s hard to understate the impact of Poltergeist on pop culture. It is the origin point for countless jokes about building developments on burial grounds, demons in the static, and the peculiarities of ghost hunters and paranormal investigators. Yet set aside preconceptions about the movie and watch it with fresh eyes, and what you’ll find is a genuinely creepy, suspenseful horror movie. Yes, it’s Hollywood to the hilt and Spielberg at his most commercial, but the combination works thanks to a tight script, standout performances—particularly by O’Rourke and Rubinstein—and inspired special effects. Most importantly, the movie’s three children are on point. A wooden performance from a child actor can doom even the best written film, but Spielberg has long been known to have a particular facility in casting and directing children, and that skill is on full display here. (Interestingly, Poltergeist and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial were both released in the same year. The fact that Spielberg chose to direct one and not the other reveals which he thought was the stronger material. He was probably right, too, but don’t let that sour you on the ghost story.)
There’s also a certain fun to catching a glimpse of the world in 1982, from the linoleum to TV remotes, biographies of Ronald Reagan and Star Wars toys and posters on every surface. (Spielberg and George Lucas’ friendship is evident from the ample cross-promotion of Star Wars merch to the fact that the special effects were rendered by none other than Lucas’ own Industrial Lights and Magic.) The true genius of Poltergeist, however, is in the way it pays off tiny details planted early on in the film. There are no idle props or throwaway lines. Everything in this house of horrors is connected, even if it’s not apparent how for a while. It also manages some genuinely scary moments, although most adults will find that they have no trouble turning off the lights at the end (children, however, may get a good fright going).
Of course, Poltergeist is more pop than art, a fix for the sweet tooth, best consumed with lots of Halloween candy and a sugary drink. That’s not a bad thing. Horror can come from within or without, and human beings must reconcile with their fears—laughable or not—one way or another. And who hasn’t heard their house creak in the night or witnessed something fall clattering to the floor without it being touched. Are we so sure of our surroundings, really? Can we trust the ground that we live upon? When a storm rages and the power goes out, all bets are off.
Poltergeist is streaming on Netflix.
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Sir Sean Connery has passed away. The Times has a wonderful obituary on him. I’ll be covering my favorite Connery picture next week, but in the mean time, watch him in his most iconic role as James Bond in Dr. No.