Why I won’t be seeing “Let Me In”.- A rant

I know that it’s common practice to remake movies in Hollywood.  Especially nowadays when it seems like everything is trying to cash in on the originality of others. “Let the Right One In” was Swedish movie based on a book of the same name that came out four years prior.  It was critically loved worldwide. Now not even two years later the United States craps out “Let Me In”.

-Spoiler Alerts-

Now I know that the original novel is different from the original movie. That is to be expected.  But when I see the “Let Me In” preview I find myself confused.  The Swedish version had a cold haunting atmosphere that made it feel like you were alone. Unless this one was shot in the dark in the plains of the nothingness of Wyoming I don’t see how it will ever match that void.

Next we have a cast choice that leaves me flummoxed.  Why Chloe Moretz as the vampire character? Sure she was great in “Kick Ass” but they got it WILDLY wrong.  In the preview they say “She has the face of an angel.” As Lex Luthor would yell, “WRONG!”  One of the reasons the original was so fantastic was picking Lina Leandersson to play the vampire.  She was lovely and yet, androgynous, something was not quite right about her no matter how you looked at her she was still odd.

I am really confused why her older keeper has a sinister seeming bent toward the protagonist. In the original he played his part and met a tragic fate in caring for Eli.  It makes the love story a have a mix of tragedy because you know that our protagonist in the end has replaced him as Eli’s new protector for the rest of his life.  But instead they seem to want to make the protector out to be much more of a psycho.  At least that is what I gathered in the preview.  Maybe someone will tell me otherwise after seeing the new movie.

Last but not least is I wonder if they will have the big reveal. Can American audiences handle seeing Chloe Moretz as not as a girl.  In the novel, the vampire was born male and castrated at age 12 by the vampire that turned him. This is handled well in the original movie and it is not even an issue.  I wonder if it would even be touched upon in “Let Me In”.

            Really I was curious at first when I heard the US was making a remake.  Two years is WAY too soon to remake something this recent and critically loved internationally. The previews for the new version now just bring my piss to a boil.  See the original if you ever get the chance. It’s the best vampire movie I’ve ever seen.  It’s beautiful; it’s haunting and really in terms of mood its perfection of the genre. To remake it is really a crime.