Reel Blu - Let Me In
Director:
Welcome to accessreel.com’s first Blu-Ray Review, to co-inside with this new feature we will also be giving a few copies of the LET ME IN Blu-Ray away to some lucky readers, check out the review below for more information.
Let Me In
Theatrical Release 14th October 2010 – Blu Ray & DVD Release 23th February 2011
Let Me In Movie Review – Phil Jeng Kane
Allow me to begin this piece with the following disclaimer. I am aware that this movie is the American remake of the beloved Swedish original – LET THE RIGHT ONE IN directed by Tomas Alfredson in 2008. However, as I haven’t yet seen the original, I have no preconceptions to cloud my judgement. I will do a comparison of the two soon, but as far as this review is concerned; LET ME IN is an entity unto itself.
12 year-old Owen lives in a small block of cheap apartments. His parents are going through divorce proceedings. His mother is distant and preoccupied, his father is almost wholly absent from his life apart from the occasional telephone call. Owen is almost entirely on his own. So when new neighbours move in, he is fascinated to see one of them is a dishevelled girl, who looks to be his age. From their first meeting, she makes it clear that she is very different from other children.
Owen’s life is bleak. He is also being bullied at school. Consequently he spends much of his time alone in a kind of self-protective dream. He is drawn towards the girl next door because she seems even more disconnected from school and family life than he is.
Although LET ME IN has the elements of a horror story, with a number of slayings and a body count, it probably isn’t the sort of movie that hardcore horror fans would seek out. The death and gore are a necessary part of the movie’s structure, but it relies more on the suspense generated by its mysteries. The audience is left to ponder as Owen does: What is happening with the new family next door? Who are they? What is their secret?
At its bloody heart, LET ME IN is a blighted love story in a frozen landscape. We discover the truth about the girl next-door, detail-by-detail, as Owen does. These two are unaware of themselves. Owen is moving into puberty, but half-consciously seeks some affection or care from another. Abby, the neighbour girl, is motivated by her deadly animal instincts – but does this make her evil?
CLOVERFIELD (2008) director Matt Reeves has created a chilling world for the alienated Owen to drift through. Audiences will practically feel the cold seeping in as the events unfold. Reeves has an impressively firm grip on all the elements of this tale.
Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee, so memorable in ROMULUS MY FATHER (2007) and THE ROAD (2009) turns in another fine performance here in the role of Owen. Chloe Moretz as Abby has another intense and scary character to place alongside her Hitgirl from KICKASS (2009). Veteran character actor Richard Jenkins (EAT PRAY LOVE, THE VISITOR) demonstrates none of his trademark offbeat charm as Abby’s father. It’s an unusual role for him, but pivotal in terms of the film.
If I had a quibble, it is the relative under use of Elias Koteas in the role of the questing policeman. Like Jenkins, he has a long career in character parts and when he is given more to do, usually acquits himself admirably.
LET ME IN is an engaging and intelligent bloody-spattered movie that will appeal to many, like me, who haven’t seen the original. Rating 4/5.
A Look At the Blu-Ray
Icon Films is the Australian Distributor of LET ME IN, it comes on a single disc. There’s nothing overly fancy about the cover/disc. I think our American friends got the goods on this (24-page comic, shows a prelude to the events in the film, plus a transparent cover, which shows Abby’s hand moving downwards to reveal Abby’s Face).
The Picture
After watching LET ME IN on the big screen I was wondering how it would look as a transfer, its presented in 1080p (AVC MPEG-4) which is pretty much the highest quality which also presents us with some impressive detail. With a film like this you want the picture to be a little grainy and you get this, as far as transfer’s go I’m quite impressed with the look of the film on Blu-ray, I will say it is slightly dark in some parts but when you think it about it works and was no doubt the intention.
Let’s Rate the Sound
When I watch films I like to destroy my neighbours also and when it comes to LET ME IN I wasn’t disappointed. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby TrueHD it did seem that the vocal track was lower then the rest but after watching the film I think that was intended, silence is a major factor into this film so when we have some action hit the screen the sound just belts out and fills the room. I like to get immersed in what’s going on and with LET ME IN from Sirens, the arcade, school children you really do.
The Special Features –
Now I’m a sucker for special features, I will easily sit there and watch them all from start to finish sometimes you are overly impressed with the content and sometimes serverly let down! In the case of LET ME IN, I was happy with what was provided especially the Special Effects and one of the deleted scenes.
- Audio Commentary with Director – Matt Reeves
Hes quiet the informative director but not really the best commentary track I’ve heard, he discusses at length all the different aspects of the making the film (casting, palette, locations, logistics etc) But also goes on to describe in detail his love for Lindqvist’s Book and the Spanish original.
- From the Inside – The Making of LET ME IN (17 Minutes)
Just your general Making of here, interviews with cast and crew covering motivations for the characters, casting, filming and the novel. The behind the scenes footage was great to see though, but all round I personally thought it was fairly average.
- The Art of Special Effects (6 Minutes)
A look into the CGI work done on the film and how the special effects were done. I was really quite impressed with this, turns out there was quite a lot of CGI in this film and I didn’t even pick up even close to half of it.
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Director Commentary (5 Minutes)
There’s three scenes to check out on this one, the first two didn’t really tell us much but I sort of wish the last scene was in the film as it shows how Abby was ‘made’.
- Car Crash Sequence – Step By Step
Now these are the sort of features I really enjoy I spose you could say this was the ‘action’ part of the movie that involves a car flipping and what you get is the process of filming this scene and how editing can make anything look streamless! Definitely one to check out, its also Narrated by director Matt Reeves.
- Poster + Still Gallery
A decent amount of behind the scenes photos but poster art, some which weren’t used with the Australian Release.
- Dissecting LET ME IN, Picture in Picture Exclusive
If you want to learn more about the film this is quite a good special feature, they are starting to do this on more and more Blu-Rays these days (check out Forgetting Sarah Marshall for an impressive PNP feature) They talk to the producers, show some storyboards, discuss HAMMER films over the past 30 years.
My Verdict
Overall, the film itself as far as remakes go personally is one of the best yet, Matt Reeves seems to capture the same feel as the original yet making it somewhat his own. The Blu-Ray offers amazing picture and audio quality, Icon Films has really pulled this one together nicely with a pretty decent amount of Special Features that would make any film lover happy.
Blu-Ray Review By Darran Price - Let Me In Movie Review By Phil Jeng Kane.
To Win a Blu-Ray of LET ME IN, click on the share button to post it to your wall. then the person who gets the most friends to click the like button to it on their wall wins.. This competition is open australia wide.
