LTROI Film Book

[Hume]

I brought up this topic in the novel section, but the topic really belongs here.
Still no cover shot for the book. Release date is November 11. I found a better description of the book here, and thought I'd post it.

Audiences can't get enough of fang fiction. "Twilight," "True Blood," "Being Human," "The Vampire Diaries," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Blade," "Underworld," and the novels of Anne Rice and Darren Shan& mdash;against this glut of bloodsuckers, it takes an incredible film to make a name for itself. Directed by Tomas Alfredson and adapted for the screen by John Ajvide Lindqvist, The Swedish film "LA t den rAtte komma in" (2008), known to American audiences as "Let the Right One In," is the most exciting, subversive, and original horror production since the genre's best-known works of the 1970s. Like "Twilight," "Let the Right One In" is a love story between a human and a vampire& mdash;but that is where the resemblance ends. Set in a snowy, surburban housing estate in 1980s Stockholm, the film combines supernatural elements with social realism. It features Oskar, a lonely, bullied child, and Eli, the girl next door. "Oskar, I'm not a girl," she tells him, and she's not kidding& mdash;she's a vampire. The two forge an intense relationship that is at once innocent and disturbing. Two outsiders against the world, one of these outsiders is, essentially, a serial killer. What does Eli want from Oskar? Simple companionship, or something else? While startlingly original, "Let the Right One In" could not have existed without the near century of vampire cinema that preceded it. Anne Billson reviews this history and the film's inheritence of (and new twists on) such classics as "Nosferatu" (1979) and "Dracula" (1931). She discusses the genre's early fliration with social realism in films such as "Martin" (1977) and "Near Dark" (1987), along with its adaptation of mythology to the modern world, and she examines the changing relationship between vampires and humans, the role of the vampire's assistant, and the enduring figure of vampires in popular culture.

[Wolfchild]

While startlingly original, "Let the Right One In" could not have existed without the near century of vampire cinema that preceded it.

What utter crap. If this sentiment comes from the actual book and is not just the take of the blurb writer, then I was right to question Anne Billson's qualifications.

Anne Billson reviews this history and the film's inheritence [sic] of (and new twists on) such classics as "Nosferatu" (1979) and "Dracula" (1931).

LTROI has almost no "inheritence" from any other vampire movie, classic or otherwise. It has only three (or debatably four) premises taken from the classic vampire mythos:

1. Vampires must consume the blood of living humans to survive.
2. Vampires cannot withstand the light of the sun.
3. Vampires must be invited in to a dwelling.
4. A case could be made for telepathic powers being portrayed in the "Bli mig lite" scene, but it would be by no means bullet-proof (remember - we are talking about the film).

There was no

1. Widow's peak.
2. Black silk cape.
3. Turning into a bat.
4. Garlic.
5. Crucifix.
6. Holy water.
7. Sleeping in a coffin.
8. Comically prominent fangs.
9. And most prominently, no elevated social status.

I predict that while for some people Matt Reeves was the leading contender for the bette noir of this forum, that title will ultimately be taken by Anne Billson.

[Aurora]

Apparently she's written a novel about vampires and it's set in the 80's too...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Suckers-Anne-Bi ... 292&sr=1-2

Oh and her book about Buffy is pretty much hated on here as well...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/%2522Buffy-Vamp ... 292&sr=1-4

[Hume]

Apparently she's written a novel about vampires and it's set in the 80's too...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Suckers-Anne-Bi ... 292&sr=1-2

Oh and her book about Buffy is pretty much hated on here as well...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/%2522Buffy-Vamp ... 292&sr=1-4

Ouch. . .those Buffy reviews are not a good sign. I hope the LTROI book turns out better.

[N.R. Gasan]

Perhaps what the writer of the blurb meant by, "While startlingly original, 'Let the Right One In' could not have existed without the near century of vampire cinema that preceded it," is this: Audiences are familiar with vampires; over time, vampires have become one of the most popular "monsters" of modern fiction.

While vampires are indeed familar and popular, I would disagree with the assertion that this is critical to the success and popularity of LTROI. Yes, the film is given a boost by having a more familiar supernatural being as its central figure. But imagine this: In the scene where Eli kills Jocke, instead of actually sucking his blood, suppose she put her hands on his head and drained him of life energy (cue some glowy, subtle special-effects); no fuss, no muss. And after the deed is done, Eli closes Jockes wide and lifeless eyes, then leans down sobbing with remorse. Wouldn't this hypothetical scene be just as effective as the blood-draining scene in the actual movie?

I agree with the others who say that LTROI is a movie that stands on its own; it does not rely on any other "vampire cinema" to exist...and succeed.

[jetboy]

I can think of a way that vampirism is essential to LTROI and that is the doubt some have of Eli's intentions. The whole "look into my eyes" theme could be parralelled to what Eli is doing to Oskar especially if you believe that he is following Hakans footsteps.

LTROI basically is about trust and Eli kind of represents this in a supernatural way that only a vampire could do but of course shes also worried about letting the right one in.

[Hume]

Perhaps what the writer of the blurb meant by, "While startlingly original, 'Let the Right One In' could not have existed without the near century of vampire cinema that preceded it," is this: Audiences are familiar with vampires; over time, vampires have become one of the most popular "monsters" of modern fiction.

While vampires are indeed familar and popular, I would disagree with the assertion that this is critical to the success and popularity of LTROI. Yes, the film is given a boost by having a more familiar supernatural being as its central figure. But imagine this: In the scene where Eli kills Jocke, instead of actually sucking his blood, suppose she put her hands on his head and drained him of life energy (cue some glowy, subtle special-effects); no fuss, no muss. And after the deed is done, Eli closes Jockes wide and lifeless eyes, then leans down sobbing with remorse. Wouldn't this hypothetical scene be just as effective as the blood-draining scene in the actual movie?

I agree with the others who say that LTROI is a movie that stands on its own; it does not rely on any other "vampire cinema" to exist...and succeed.

This is an interesting idea: if Eli were not a vampire. . . ?
I think we would still recognize the story. In essence I do not think this is a vampire story. Yes, there are vampires in the story, but the story is really about something else.
I would take the thought even further than N.R. Gasan and say I think Eli could have been a human being, no supernatural attributes at all, and the story would still be there.

[jetboy]

Couldnt you say the same thing about Frankenstein, or King Kong, or Creature from the Black Lagoon etc.. This is what I compare LTROI with where the creature is not evil but misunderstood.

[Hume]

Couldnt you say the same thing about Frankenstein, or King Kong, or Creature from the Black Lagoon etc.. This is what I compare LTROI with where the creature is not evil but misunderstood.

I think of King Kong (1933) and Creature from the Black Lagoon as monster movies--grab your popcorn and enjoy some monster action! These movies are lots of fun, but without the monster there is no movie.
The examples you chose are interesting, though, since both are monster-movie versions of the Beauty and the Beast story.

Frankenstein is a bigger topic, I think. There's the novel and many different versions in film. I think Frankenstein (1931) is more than a creature feature. This is how I think of LTROI: it's more than a vampire movie. The vampire aspects of the story are really secondary.

[TΛPETRVE]

Don't forget Paul Wegener's The Golem trilogy.