Let the Right One In - E01 (Review - Potential Spoilers)

[danielmann861]

As I was searching for the first episode of the new season of Chucky online, I also did a search for Let the Right One In and to my great surprise the first episode is somehow up online. (through certain nefarious means)

So of course, I had to grab it and watch it before Chucky. Low and behold, it is indeed the first episode a few days early. I don't know if it was leaked, but I thought it was supposed to air October 9th?

First things first...I didn't entirely hate what I saw. I'm shocked I didn't entirely hate it. Let's just get it out of the way. It's a different take on LTROI all together. I think we all knew that going in...but it still has some elements there that are surprisingly very LTROI.

I found it kind of amusing that they made Isaiah (or Oskar) have a fascination with magic. That HAS to be a direct nod to John Ajvide Lindqvist so kudos to the writers on that one little tidbit. Isaiah is still very much the bullied loner although unlike Oskar, he doesn't seem as blood thirsty. Or at least I didn't detect any hint of serial killer obsession in this first episode. His parents are still very much divorced. His mother is a police detective who is investigating a series of grisly murders in downtown New York while his father is a recovering addict/drug dealer.

As for Ellie and Mark: it's certainly not the Hakan and Eli relationship. Mark and Ellie being father and daughter changes the dynamic drastically. 10 years ago they were a happy family until Ellie became the other (which I gather will be shown at some point in the series.) I don't expect we will see anything in terms of gender stuff here. Not that I really thought we would. It seems pretty obvious to me that Ellie will straight up be a girl. I get it, it's not the story they're telling, but it does again rob the story of one of the more interesting dynamics. But I get it; even Reeves didn't have the balls to do it with LMI so what made me think they'd have the balls to do it here?

Obviously the biggest change here is that Mark and Ellie are hunting down the being that made Ellie in hope of finding a cure. I get that they needed something to drive the plot in this serial adaptation but I will say, it is indeed quite generic and does ultimately strip the story of the power dynamic that Eli and Hakan had. But I won't lie, I was still kind of intrigued by it and I'm curious to see where that journey will take them. Even if it is slightly generic, I'm still kind of intrigued. The relationship here is more akin to something like Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us than anything else. Mark is disgusted by what his daughter is and just wants her to have a normal life again meanwhile Ellie is questioning her new nature and her newfound role in the food chain.

Meanwhile, there is another plot thread involving a retired billionaire pharmaceutical executive whose son was also turned. He has spent his retirement trying to develop a cure for his son but his time is running out as he is dying of pancreatic cancer. It's pretty obvious all of these threads will come together come the end.

The friendship with Isiah and Ellie is still here by the looks of it. Although, given how this first episode ends, I'm very curious to see where that goes and how that develops. I don't want to spoil it but the first episode ends with something happening that I didn't entirely expect and will be very interesting to see play in regards to the budding friendship of Ellie and Isiah. Other than that, there's that really nice moment from the book where Eli is tempted by Oskar's neck emulated here in the first episode that I actually quite liked seeing.

Look, at the end of the day, this was never gonna match the brilliance of Tomas Alfredson's film. It's not even worth comparing it to Alfredson's classic film. The acting is a bit all over the place in general. Some performances were decent, others felt a bit less so. It's clearly taken inspiration from the novel but is ultimately going in its own direction so I don't know if its fair to overly compare it with the book or either film version. There are some nice nods to the book here and there in this first episode (Ellie feeding on a drug addict had to have been a nod to the Cancer patient she feeds on in the book - although very different circumstances)

Other thoughts? I wouldn't expect the local drunks to show up. I don't think we'll be seeing any Lacke or Virginia variants in this version. But we will see.

I'm intrigued to watch the rest of it...even if it isn't the LTROI we all know and love. I'm still kind of intrigued to see where this is all going in its own right. The worst I can say about it is that it is seemingly very generic. Which depending on how you look at it could be very bad considering LTROI was a fresh take on an old yarn. But I never expected it to match the level of Alfredson's film or Lindqvist's book to begin with. I'm intrigued to see where it's going in its own regard, but I wouldn't deny someone calling it "LTROI in name only" either.

Anyways, feel free to add thoughts should anyone else be watching it. I'll stick with it and see where it all goes.

[Siggdalos]

I found it kind of amusing that they made Isaiah (or Oskar) have a fascination with magic. That HAS to be a direct nod to John Ajvide Lindqvist so kudos to the writers on that one little tidbit.

That's also in the novel, somewhat.

He put the cube on the edge of the sandbox half a meter away from him, stared at it.
Glide. Glide. Glide.
Telekinesis, it was called. There had been experiments in the US. There were people who could do that kind of thing. ESP. Extra Sensory Perception. Oskar would've given anything to be able to do something like that.

A magical thought, inspired by the books he read. But magic ... of course magic existed. Even if only a little. Those who denied the magic, they were the ones that it went badly for.

(My translations.)

Anyway. I think I'll be busy for most of this weekend, but I'm intending to also start watching along with it before too long (assuming it's available on the Nordic version of Showtime's service). I think it'll be interesting to discuss it as it progresses, regardless of quality.

[a_contemplative_life]

I'm excited about the TV series. Will have to track it down and watch.

[danielmann861]

I found it kind of amusing that they made Isaiah (or Oskar) have a fascination with magic. That HAS to be a direct nod to John Ajvide Lindqvist so kudos to the writers on that one little tidbit.

That's also in the novel, somewhat.

He put the cube on the edge of the sandbox half a meter away from him, stared at it.
Glide. Glide. Glide.
Telekinesis, it was called. There had been experiments in the US. There were people who could do that kind of thing. ESP. Extra Sensory Perception. Oskar would've given anything to be able to do something like that.

A magical thought, inspired by the books he read. But magic ... of course magic existed. Even if only a little. Those who denied the magic, they were the ones that it went badly for.

(My translations.)

Anyway. I think I'll be busy for most of this weekend, but I'm intending to also start watching along with it before too long (assuming it's available on the Nordic version of Showtime's service). I think it'll be interesting to discuss it as it progresses, regardless of quality.

Yeah, but they actually made Isaiah a practicing magician here. That's one of the reasons he's an outcast in this show. He's actually learning and practicing magic. I remember there were references in the book (as there has been in most of JAL's books) but this is straight up Isaiah having an outward interest in practicing magic. In fact, that's one of the things that brings Ellie and Isaiah together as he shows her a coin trick. Yes, Ellie still has an interest in puzzles but no rubrik's cube thus far. I just thought it was cute knowing JAL's past as a former practicing magician.

Maybe it was because I had extremely LOW expectations going in but I surprisingly didn't hate it. It's somewhere between a meh and curious to see where it's going for me. I think my advice for everyone is lower your expectations. Don't go in expecting it to be 100% like the film or book. I can't say you will enjoy it any more, but at least then you won't be as enraged by it. I had incredibly low expectations expecting to flat out hate it and it ended up gaining my interest more than I expected. I'll stick with it and see how it plays out in its own right. I saw some pretty harsh reviews online for it. I can't say they're entirely wrong in some regards but I do think it's a bit unfair to be overly comparing it to the book or film like some of them have. Unlike LMI, this seems like it took inspiration from the book and went in its own direction. For better or worse, it is what it is. To me it's somewhat like fan fiction more than anything else. But yeah I'll keep going with it and see how it plays out.

[Jameron]

As I was searching for the first episode of the new season of Chucky online, I also did a search for Let the Right One In and to my great surprise the first episode is somehow up online. (through certain nefarious means)

Interesting. Just acquired it, not going to read your review until I've watched it.

[JToede]

I might have to go watch it, this has peak my interest

[PeteMork]

Just watched it. I agree with most of what danielmann861 wrote in his review. One of the twists I found most interesting was the 'event he didn't entirely expect'. It could have a profound effect on Ellie's and Isaiah's budding relationship if ever brought to light.
The magic of the original, although not there yet, could easily evolve in future episodes if the writers play their cards right. The fact that Mark is her father rather than her 'helper' I consider a good omen. It's the first indication that unconditional love may indeed be a central theme of the series.
The production's respectful nod to the original, plus some creatively original plot twists will keep me interested, at least for a while.

[danielmann861]

I was thinking about this. Is there perhaps a chance they could do something with the Zomkan stuff? Considering the B-plot of this show is a ex-pharmacist trying to find a cure; how long before the mutations start showing up? Is there a chance we could see a version of Zomkan in this show? Not in the way we know it from the book, but in a way that makes sense for this show.

The drug plot is clearly gonna be tied to the pharmacist...I think that is quite obvious to me. But yeah, I was wondering if there is a chance they could do something like that.

I think the reason I didn't write it off after the first episode is because I'm just curious to see where this is all going. There is a chance they could develop Isaiah's blood lust as the show moves forward. We haven't seen him be physically bullied yet so I'm wondering how long before he starts getting beat on. If at all. His torment in the first episode came from a "kill yourself" text message. But I am wondering how long before he starts getting beaten on.

I'm willing to give it a chance just to see how it develops. I'll save all my judgment until the end.

The one positive about this is that it does bring LTROI back into the conscience and it may help expose more people to the book and films.

[PeteMork]

An interesting analysis:
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainmen ... ovie.html/

Ironically, the director, Seith Mann, seems to think that Eli's and Oskar's relationship in LTROI was more predatory than love-inspired. He's determined to make Eleanor's and Isaiah's relationship a genuine friendship in the series. Despite what I feel is an error in his thinking, I'm happy to see he's attempting to rectify JAL's 'error' in this new version.

Mann explained how there are different dynamics even between characters who are similar to those in the film. In particular, Mann feels Eleanor’s relationship with the human boy, Isaiah, will be different in the show.

“That relationship [in the original] even still, I felt like, was more predatorial than the friendship, the genuine friendship that forms between our Eleanor and Isaiah,” Mann said. “On top of that, we have the relationship between Mark and Eleanor and Arthur [Zeljko Ivanek] and Claire and Peter [Jacob Buster]. And Naomi’s character is much more present. There’s a lot of love in the story.”

At any rate, I'm now even more hopeful that the series will be worth the effort.

[Siggdalos]

Got caught up on the first episode. Some mixed feelings about it, but mostly cautiously optimistic.

I'm on board with the main Mark/Ellie/Isaiah plot. I like the performances, and I think it's an interesting way to reimagine the core LTROI relationships and place them in a different context, while still feeling similar enough to the original to justify using the original title. (Which is also what I first thought when the show was originally announced.)

I don't care for the pharmacist and drug aspects of the plot so far. But we'll see how those develop.

Some (not all) of the CGI is bad, and some (not all) of the music and the expositionary dialogue suffer from what I would call an American amount of cheesiness and lack of subtlety, but less than I was expecting (or dreading) based on the trailers.

I would say that, so far, the positives outweigh the negatives for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes. I feel like, as the season progresses, it could either end up being decently good all in all, or fall flat on its face and devolve into something that doesn't feel remotely like LTROI. We'll see.