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A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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I] that probably will go unnoticed._ _ I knew nothing about this film until I accidentally caught a film review_ praising it as one of the best offerings of its kind in the past year._ _ I would hate to tell people in advance what this film is about. I would_ love to hand this title to someone blindly and say "go watch it!
problem is, picking up the cover of this BD release you can't help but
read the words, "Best. Vampire Movie. Ever."

And you know what? I wouldn't argue that opinion.

Let The Right One In is a vampire story like no other. It's
more of a fairy tale than a horror film, though as someone who gets
scared by vampire films rather easily, I had my share of squeamish
moments.

I really want to say as little about this film as possible as I don't
want to spoil its magic. I can tell you that it's a film out of Sweden,
and if you are very serious about purchasing this film blindly, you
better opt to hear it in its original language with subtitles rather than
the overdubbed English.

The video quality on this Blu-ray release is quite good, though don't
expect eye-popping imagery. One must remember that at its soul,
this is a horror film and thus the entire landscape of the film takes
on a rather dullish feel.

The 5.1 DTS-HD audio is quite effective for delivering an eery
soundtrack across the channels. I loved the fact that there was a
considerable amount of LFE boom that really underscored the
eminent danger. In other words, the louder you play this film, the
scarier it feels.

I would not hesitate to tell anyone to buy this blindly. It has all
the elements of a coming-of-age film, a love story and a vampire
movie all rolled up in a wonderfully told fairy tale.
 

Aaron Silverman

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If the word-of-mouth in general is anything like the word-of-mouth I've been hearing lately, it's probably going to sell well.
 

TheBat

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I rented the dvd of this movie last weekend. I enjoyed it. it was a bit gory, but mild compared to most modern films. I would recommend it to anyone.

Jacob
 

WadeM

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The older I get, the less patience I have with subtitles, yet I have to agree here. I tried both options here, and the overdub didn't work well for me. Plus, these are very good actors, especially for 12 years old.

It was refreshing to see an original take on vampires, told in an intelligent way.
 

Dan M

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I rented this blindly mainly because of of the cover and its proclamation of Best Vampire Movie Ever. As a lover of vampire films naturally I picked this up and gave it a watch.

I generally prefer my vampire films in the more traditional Gothic sense but I have to admit this certainly captured my attention and drew me in with it's pacing and story telling. Not to mention some very good acting coming from two very young people who are at the center of this well made film.

I didn't read the book but from what I understand the film omits alot of backstory. But the film stands very well on it's own. In fact I like having my own imagination answer some of the questions and fill in the blanks.

This is the type of film that leads to a lot of great discussion. There is a thread in the MOVIES section with a lot more detail about this unique film.

I watch many vampire flicks and lets face it, most are crap (to be blunt). But occassionally one comes across well made and fresh. This is one of them.
 

Paul Arnette

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I just finished watching this tonight. An excellent film that deserves a rental at the very least. I happily blind bought this based on the excellent word of mouth and low price Amazon had it at the time. I don't regret it a bit.
 

Todd smith

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I rented and watched this one last week and agree it is a great film, but I gotta say that I am glad I rented it as I personaly dont see a bunch of replay value in it. Just my opinion though.
 

Vincent_P

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Again, I did like the film a lot overall, but I do think there are some big flaws that are being overlooked just because it's foreign-language.

Vincent
 

Sam Posten

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I used to get PR offers for Magnolias DVDs but they kinda faded when the BDs started coming out, they have some really cool films in their lineup and I'm definitely going to grab LTROI at some point, doubly so now that Ron's given it a big thumbs up.
 

Paul Arnette

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The beauty of a film like this isn't that it's a foreign-language film, its that it doesn't pander to the lowest common denominator and spell everything out for its viewers like most present day American films. It requires thought and lets the audience make its own interpretations about its content, which, depending on the conclusions you draw, dramatically affect your perception of its ending.
 

Carlo_M

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Okay Ron, just ordered this BD and the hardcover novel based on your recommendation. Will update this thread in the weeks/months ahead with my impressions.

Sold! :D
 

RDarrylR

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I just picked this up based on this thread plus a couple of reviews elsewhere. Hopefully I can screen it tonight.
 

Carlo_M

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BD just got here (man Amazon regular shipping is fast!) and book should be here tonight. Probably won't get a chance to screen the movie with the gf until after March Madness, but I'll start reading the novel tonight and try to finish it before seeing the movie.
 

RDarrylR

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Well I watched this and was really impressed. It is quite a different story but one that I enjoyed. The PQ/AQ are very good as well. I watched it in Swedish of course with subs.
 

Johnny Angell

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My wife and I just recently watched this via netflix. While this movie is quality, I do not see it as a purchase. I'll spoilerize the rest to be safe:

This move is set in a cold place and left me feeling cold. This move's attitude is that vampires are real and they are not romantic or sexy. I found nothing about this movie to make me think "fairy tale."

If I had to use one word to describe the movie, it would be brutal. The bullies are brutal and so is the vampire.

I found myself thinking the same as others about her old caretaker, he's not very good at what he does, even as an old man he should have had a lot of practice. Eli is not sympathetic to him when he fails. She has needs that must be met.

At the end I found myself wondering if Oskar would someday be that old man. I could not sympathize with Eli, she's a killer and will turn Oskar into one.

I take that back, there was one moment when I sympathized with Eli, and that was when she entered without an invitation.

I also thought the bit of Eli's nudity was frivolous and unnecessary.
 

Felix Martinez

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The nudity was necessary if the filmmaker wanted to open the door to Eli's backstory, as found in the novel. Here's a FAQ (spoilers). I agree it was a mistake to include that shot. Better to dispense with the backstory. Too much information.
 

Johnny Angell

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Excellent link, very informative. That little bit of nudity was so brief I could not tell it was anything but a young girl. If there's anything of the back story I would like to have been in the movie, it would have been that.
 

Jeff McMillan

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Looks like Magnolia really screwed up on the subtitles this. Basically, the translations of the dialog in the subtitles is abridged (dumbed down?) in a lot of spots. Look here and scroll down a bit for some examples.

Having seen this in the theater with the original subs and really liking it, I had been planning on picking this up on Blu-Ray soon, but now I'm definitely going to hold off or perhaps seek an import from somewhere.

The ironic thing is that some are saying that the dub actually uses the original non-abridged script, so if you want the more authentic experience you might want to listen to the dub instead!

edit: after doing some further reading on the topic (including the SD thread for this at this forum), there is supposed to be a second 'narrative subtitle' track that contains the original translation. The problem is, there are some people reporting that the track does not display any text for them.
 

Ron-P

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I rented this, it should be in my mail box tomorrow. Looking very forward to it.
 

Johnny Angell

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When we watched the movie, I believe I selected the narrative track first and there were no subtitles. I switched to the 2nd subtitle track and that's what we watched.
 

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