[6]

Matt Reeves, the director of Cloverfield, makes the second stab at John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel about a twelve-year-old boy who unwittingly befriends a vampire girl. (A Swedish film version, Let the Right One In, was released in 2008.) The remake bends the material more toward an American sensibility, and as a result the American version is of course faster-paced, less nuanced, and far less suspenseful, but features solid performances from young stars Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz, as well as Richard Jenkins. Taken on its own merit, Let Me In far exceeds most Hollywood horror offerings of the last several years, but it’s far less chilling and affecting than the Swedish original.