Comments on: Let The Right One In.

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 23:13:14 +0000

Trirunner: there is a 5-page sequel that’s part of a collection of short stories. Its release date is January 3rd…

By: Trirunner

Trirunner — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:31:00 +0000

After seeing the movie about 2 weeks ago, i decided to get the book. And to tell you guys the truth i did not expect Hakan to be like that, i thought he was just like Oskar but found out in the book that he was not.
Also while reading, towards the end i thought they had typoes but it ended up that Eli was Elias, which i would’ve prefered to leave Eli as a girl.
Wish there was more to read, i would like to know what happens after Oskar gets help from Eli

By: metermouse

metermouse — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 22:44:38 +0000

You have provided a very thoughtful interpretation of the movie. I was actually hoping that the Hakan pedolphile relationship would have been explained more (as well as the Eli/Elias matter).

You point out that if Hakan were to have been blatantly outed as a pedophile it would’ve destroyed the symmetry between him and Oskar. But I believe that was the point of his character. Eli did not meet him when he was young. He was in a pathetic sort of state. Eli choses him in the book, after witnessing his torment over his uncontrollable pedophilia. I believe she is trying to help him, while at the same time getting help from him; an outcast finding company in an outcast. But she appears to show real and true concern for Hakan, but his character is unhelpable.

The downside is that while he adores Eli, his desires for her body rule his every thought, and he eventually literally turns into a monster.

When she meets Oskar, its as if she has met a less flawed outcast. She also feels sorry for Oskar, but it blossoms into a more balanced relationship.

I understand this would have been hard to add into the film, I do think it is a fuller story, and adds a great deal of depth to Eli’s character. Even so, still love the film.

By: Let This Feminist Vampire In : Ms Magazine Blog

Let This Feminist Vampire In : Ms Magazine Blog — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:35:38 +0000

[...] representations (although ones not as graphic, nor as queer as the original novel, as discussed here), reviews such as those in The New York Times and at MovieFone offer no gender analysis–an [...]

By: sooboo

sooboo — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 04:09:03 +0000

I’ve seen the movie a couple of times but have not read the book. I assumed that Hakan had maybe met Eli the same way that Oskar did and he didn’t want Oskar involved with them in order to save him a similiar fate. But it looks like Hakan sees Oskar as a competitor for Eli’s companionship. Either way it’s creepy as hell. Thanks for the info on this intriguing movie.

By: John

John — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:41:54 +0000

“Kurt” – what you mean some American instead of Somebody…….you are correct the original was great but don’t blame “Americans” for one thing, it could have been any body!

By: Kurt

Kurt — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:01:43 +0000

Glad to see someone else who loves (or has even seen) this movie! I thought it was amazing. I hear some American is probably going to screw it up now in a remake.

By: Nastja

Nastja — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:29:23 +0000

I agree with mamamojo, for clarity read the book. I read it last night and am already reading it again to see if there was anything I missed. Just a few things I wanted to add. I haven’t seen the movie yet and am debating whether or not I want to now that I know it deviates so much.

The castration of Eli is something that really should have been part of the story, though the pig thing is a little extreme. It adds a lot to the character and contributes to the dark theme of the story.

Hakan being a pedophile to me was a /very/ important detail. Anything less builds sympathy for him, and he is supposed to be a monster– even becoming one physically. And his attempted rape of Eli makes you hate him even more. He is supposed to be a bad person. You are supposed to hate him.

Towards the end of the book, there is a kiss in which Oskar sees himself through Eli’s eyes, and I believe the words the author used were “seen with love,” which combined with Eli offering to make him like him pretty much spells out that there /is/ love between them. The impression I got was that Eli was not entirely a monster, though I do concede that he may have been emotionally manipulative.

All in all, the movie seems to deviate from the book in some extreme ways, I’m not sure how I feel about it… I’ll probably still watch it, but I’m not sure. The book was excellent, though, a must read for anyone who has seen the film.

By: mamamojo

mamamojo — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:37:55 +0000

PS – Eli IS NOT A GIRL! Long story short, large chunks of the novel were cut significantly to make this film, including the rather detailed backstory on Eli, an the Eastern European peasant, nee ELIAS being castrated as a child and turned into a vampire by a sadistic vampire nobleman. READ THE BOOK if you want clarity on some of the other ambiguous parts of the movie. Also, the old guy met Eli when he was an old guy already. Hakan was a pedophile janitor who was fired from his school job and stayed with Eli because he is forever a child. From the book, it appears that he was always an inept killer (after began killing for Eli. He wasn’t a murderer before). Watch the film again for the dialogue and visual clues about Eli/Elias.

By: mamamojo

mamamojo — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:31:53 +0000

No folks, the dad & his friend – a neighbor, are not gay. Keep in mind this is a Swedish film, not American, and this is adapted from a novel that is a lot less ambiguous and more direct than the fim. According to the author (who is Swedish) and the filmmaker, it is common in Sweden for neighbors and friends to visit each other specifically in search of alcohol. The dad does have an alcohol addiction.

http://fox-tractorfacts.blogspot.com/2008/11/let-right-one-in-did-eli-manipulate.html