My Thoughts On Star Trek Into Darkness (Huge Spoilers Ahead)
First off, Star Trek Into Darkness is not as good as it's preceding film, but it's still an…See More
The Spill Movie Community
If it's crap ... We'll tell you
Follow Spill!
Latest Activity
Slender Dan posted a status"Still can't see that twig, Zoe Saldana, playing Gamora. Horrible choice."
FalseFace posted a status"Got my first HD TV yesterday and a free modded Wii. DL'ing Metroid Prime Trilogy and Resident Evil 4 RIGHT NOW."
Satoshi posted a status"I wonder if I did something? I'm getting strange Emails from an SNS called Fuckbook."
CelticPredator posted a discussionOogieloves and the Great Balloon Murder Mystery- Parody Trailer
I figured I'd share this little video I made after watching The Oogieloves for the first time.…See More
The Phenomenal One posted a blog postMovie Spoilers Episode 60
In episode 60 we go over more Iron Man 3 (Really people still?) The Great Gatsby (Still?), Drew…See More
Photos
Music
Let The Right One In Review
What's shot in a blue filter, gothic, riddled with teen angst, and filled with good-looking vampires?
Certainly not this film, good sir!
I recently found this movie online and I must say, it is probably one of the best vampire movies of all time.
"But, Poops!", you're probably wondering, "how does such a romance/ horror, Swedish, English-subtitled movie such as this pull off such a feat?" I'll tell you how; it has sympathetic characters. It is one of those rare films where you actually sympathize AND empathize with a blood-sucking monster. The story is pretty simple; tormented, lonely boy named Oskar meets another just-as-lonely girl named Eli and a bond is built. She just so happens to be a vampire . Seems simple enough, right?
...Right, but what's most captivating about this movie is that how well it handles its material. Now, personally, I've never read the book let alone heard that the film was based off a book. That doesn't hinder its entertainment value. The characters are troubled, each having their own ideals and morals that justify their actions. Also, these kids actually look like real kids! They aren't supermodel good-looking nor are they ugly. They look like any mundane, ordinary child you'd see at the local park. This helps the viewer to sympathize with both the main characters. (Oh, the fact that these kids can act, it only adds to the believability). More importantly, they both have terrible and shitty lives but they find comfort within each other's company. This may sound sappy but watching how the film is told helps makes this feels natural and fluid even though one of them is a blood sucking, centuries-old monster.
Not to mention, this movie is superbly filmed. The narrative flows smoothly; giving the audience just enough for them to piece together what's going on in each scene but not spoon feeding the viewer. The pacing may seem slow to some but it only helps build in the development of the characters. Each scene is captivating and each will hold your attention. Hell, in the beginning alone, already someone is hung upside down and drained of blood! Now, that's my kind of movie! The only time I looked away was when Megavideo stopped at the 72 minute mark and I had to refresh the video. A testament to how well this movie was shot was when near the end. [SPOILER] The main characters have to split and there's a brief lull in the movie to show the boy moping; I couldn't help but feel bad for him... When I can feel sorry for a murderous 12 year old boy from seeing him moping over a girl that goes about town feeding on the blood of the innocent at night; that is master film-making in my eyes.
Also, this part in the movie almost convinced me a real vampire was exposed to light just to get this shot.
I cannot stop praising this film but unfortunately, my arthritis is kicking in and I have to stop before my fingers fall off but my point is this; this movie is phenomenal beyond all praise. There were almost no flaws I found with this picture.The only thing I had a problem with is the same problem with all things dealing with vampires; why do you have to invite them to do anything? Does becoming a vampire come with the side effect of becoming extremely polite? I don't get it. Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet, you owe it to yourself as a human being to track this film down *coughherecough* and watch it till your heart's content.
On a scale of 5, this film is obviously a 5. Go see it. Go see it now.
(Additional note: I believe this film has one of the best endings of any film I think I have ever seen.)
Certainly not this film, good sir!
I recently found this movie online and I must say, it is probably one of the best vampire movies of all time.
"But, Poops!", you're probably wondering, "how does such a romance/ horror, Swedish, English-subtitled movie such as this pull off such a feat?" I'll tell you how; it has sympathetic characters. It is one of those rare films where you actually sympathize AND empathize with a blood-sucking monster. The story is pretty simple; tormented, lonely boy named Oskar meets another just-as-lonely girl named Eli and a bond is built. She just so happens to be a vampire . Seems simple enough, right?
...Right, but what's most captivating about this movie is that how well it handles its material. Now, personally, I've never read the book let alone heard that the film was based off a book. That doesn't hinder its entertainment value. The characters are troubled, each having their own ideals and morals that justify their actions. Also, these kids actually look like real kids! They aren't supermodel good-looking nor are they ugly. They look like any mundane, ordinary child you'd see at the local park. This helps the viewer to sympathize with both the main characters. (Oh, the fact that these kids can act, it only adds to the believability). More importantly, they both have terrible and shitty lives but they find comfort within each other's company. This may sound sappy but watching how the film is told helps makes this feels natural and fluid even though one of them is a blood sucking, centuries-old monster.
Not to mention, this movie is superbly filmed. The narrative flows smoothly; giving the audience just enough for them to piece together what's going on in each scene but not spoon feeding the viewer. The pacing may seem slow to some but it only helps build in the development of the characters. Each scene is captivating and each will hold your attention. Hell, in the beginning alone, already someone is hung upside down and drained of blood! Now, that's my kind of movie! The only time I looked away was when Megavideo stopped at the 72 minute mark and I had to refresh the video. A testament to how well this movie was shot was when near the end. [SPOILER] The main characters have to split and there's a brief lull in the movie to show the boy moping; I couldn't help but feel bad for him... When I can feel sorry for a murderous 12 year old boy from seeing him moping over a girl that goes about town feeding on the blood of the innocent at night; that is master film-making in my eyes.
Also, this part in the movie almost convinced me a real vampire was exposed to light just to get this shot.
I cannot stop praising this film but unfortunately, my arthritis is kicking in and I have to stop before my fingers fall off but my point is this; this movie is phenomenal beyond all praise. There were almost no flaws I found with this picture.The only thing I had a problem with is the same problem with all things dealing with vampires; why do you have to invite them to do anything? Does becoming a vampire come with the side effect of becoming extremely polite? I don't get it. Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet, you owe it to yourself as a human being to track this film down *coughherecough* and watch it till your heart's content.
On a scale of 5, this film is obviously a 5. Go see it. Go see it now.
(Additional note: I believe this film has one of the best endings of any film I think I have ever seen.)
Views: 19
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Mike on -
Completely agreed, duder. 9/10 material. I'm really glad it's being well received by other people too. How cool was that part at the pool? If anything, actually, that was the cheesiest part of the whole movie, and it was still great. I just don't know why you mentioned twice that the kids were not good looking. As opposed to what child actors who would be considered good-looking? Or do you just want to make sure no one calls you a pedophile? In any case nice review.
-
Permalink Reply by PoopaPapaPalpatine on -
"...The only thing that I'm accused of is sexually assaulting five teenagers."
-
Permalink Reply by PoopaPapaPalpatine on
-
Myself...
It's something from Saturday Night Live...ah, forget it.
-
Permalink Reply by Mike on
-
i see i see. i apologize for my lack of knowledge of an obscure reference.
-
Permalink Reply by BladeTheMetalHead on -
If it has vampires in it, i'm watching it!
-
Permalink Reply by Dr. Detfink on -
Oh I loved this movie. The kids did such an amazing job of capturing that naive nature that very young children have when they are still forming their personality. Oskar isn't your traditional Hollywood cliche': My mother sees a shrink, my dad doesn't care about me. No, rather you see that his home life isn't fucked up but his parents are just too busy with their own lives to pay attention with what's going on in his. There's no tone with his dad turning out to be gay. His mom is being nothing more than a mom.
There are so many sweet moments. Like I loved it when Eli after killing off her caretaker (who is a pedophile in the book) goes to Oskar's room and asks him not to turn his head. It's such a innocent moment of two people needing each other.
Again, what a great film...
-
Permalink Reply by Mike on
-
Think about her relationship with Oskar. Then think about how she doesn't age. Then think about her relationship to her caretaker. Then think about how the movie ended. See a pattern? I'm not sure if he's your traditional pedophile.
-
Permalink Reply by Dr. Detfink on
-
I was thinking that too but keep in mind, the director didn't make him a pedophile. He said he wanted to stay away from that. So I enjoy this ambiguous interpretation.
In the Swedish version, I don't buy that Oskar was this disturbed serial killer in the making. That's Hollywood's horrible foreshadowing making your mind worthlessly cynical. I just thought like most kids who get their ass beat pretend they have role reversal with their attackers. It's like most rape victims don't become rapist killers (though maybe they should).
That's the refreshing part of the film is they didn't go all Rob Zombie's Mike Myers where Oskar would have been living in a camper, his mom a stripper, his dad a mean drunk, etc...
The kid had issues but it didn't feel so dumped on.
-
Permalink Reply by Pretty in Plague on -
This movie looks freaking amazing, and I'd love to see it! And it's nice to see a vampire movie that doesn't... well... ruin the concept of vampires. I'm likin' the look of this film too.
-
Permalink Reply by Rhea on -
We just saw this film tonight. It ripped me.
Your review is exactly right. I do not like horror films in general (except the Universal films of the early 1930s and "Psycho"), but this film is beautifully shot and directed. You made a great point about the young actors. I did enjoy seeing children and adolescents who looked and behaved in an age-appropriate manner. They were not more clever than the adults around them, which is an annoying standard in American film and television. Not that the adults were geniuses, mind you. All the characters were very average, which made the horror of a murderous monster child in their midst even more disturbing.
I also appreciated that the film did not spoon-feed the audience every detail of Eli's background. There was no brilliant criminologist or paranormal anthropologist who comes into town to give exposition. So many elements tease the audience's imagination, and so engages us fully. We become invested in the characters, and we are easily able to connect those last few dots to completely understand Eli and Oskar, and the shadow world they will now walk together.
So many elements are fascinating and worth much discussion, but I will comment on the "polite" issue. My thought is that inviting the vampire in is an act of free will, that "forbidden fruit" trope of Christianity. Somehow, it makes us more comfortable, makes us feel safer to think that evil can be avoided by staying inside where we belong.
Oskar let Eli in, but it is Oskar who is "the right one". Before he met Eli, his isolation from his peers, his tenderness, and his fascination with murder made him her ideal candidate.
-
Permalink Reply by Geomancer1970 on -
Just to second the emotion of unashamed love for the gruesome triumph of this movie. It shows how seductive evil can be when it offers a means of transcending the standard, boring ordinary life. Oddly enough, it's Oskar's journey from disaffected kid of divorce getting picked on by the neighborhood bully and his droogs to... watch the movie to find out. Eli as the vampire is a revelation, as played by the young actress. She's by turns feral, tender, poignant and mischievous. There's several scenes that just blew my mind with how they were staged and shot, but most importantly, they moved the plot along and set the mood brilliantly. No gimmicks, just a seductive mixture of showing some but getting us to fill in the blanks ourselves.
The trouble I had wasn't with Eli, but her older familiar. There's a scene of him packing his murder kit like a traveling salesman, jerrycan with funnel to catch the blood, sharp knife, cheap slicker to keep the blood off of him, rope to hang the victim. He isn't exactly whistling, but for him, it's another day at the office, finding, isolating, and killing victims so she doesn't have to. Banality of evil anyone? Later on, we realize he does it out of love for Eli, no matter how much it morally shreds him. It's one of many vignettes that make the film worthwhile that it gets an unqualified Full Price from me.
© 2013 Created by The Spill Crew.
