Let the Right One In - E01 (Review - Potential Spoilers)
Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 11:56 am
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.
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.
