Perceived Prejudice against 'LET ME IN'

[jetboy]

Yeah I was prejudiced against LMI, especially when I first heard that LTROI was going to be remade right after I saw it in the movie theatre. Having said that, I couldnt help myself from going to see it because I heard so many good things about it. I didnt go in their ready to point out deficiencies, I was hoping for a little of that magic. I didnt like it. As a matter of fact I REALLY didnt like it. I dont know if me seeing the first one first and loving it had anything to do with it or not, who can?

To me its not because it was Americanized, its because it was planned for a remake before I even got to see it in the movie theatre. Can anybody else think of another example of that ever happening? Its a huge sign of respect that they wanted to do it so soon after in the first place...even if it was disrespectful in the way they showed it IMO.

[drakkar]

I would hope someone could step up and say I didn't like LMI the movie because of A or B..

The part where LMI fails IMO is in the back story. By introducing the father as a former Owen, Reeves left me with the impression of LMI being about another cycle in Abby's life.
Alas, this change removed pretty much all of the magic of the story, rendering LMI a "mere" good film. An interesting take, but quite static compared to the original.

.. not because Oskar did this or the book said that.

Well, since the remake lies rather close to the originals, I think comparing them are are inevitable.

[flypaper]

Yeah I was prejudiced against LMI, especially when I first heard that LTROI was going to be remade right after I saw it in the movie theatre. Having said that, I couldnt help myself from going to see it because I heard so many good things about it. I didnt go in their ready to point out deficiencies, I was hoping for a little of that magic. I didnt like it. As a matter of fact I REALLY didnt like it. I dont know if me seeing the first one first and loving it had anything to do with it or not, who can?

To me its not because it was Americanized, its because it was planned for a remake before I even got to see it in the movie theatre. Can anybody else think of another example of that ever happening? Its a huge sign of respect that they wanted to do it so soon after in the first place...even if it was disrespectful in the way they showed it IMO.

So if I'm reading you right you disliked the movie even before you saw it

Yeah I was prejudiced against LMI, especially when I first heard that LTROI was going to be remade

so with this mind set you went to see LMI and came out not liking it because

seeing the first one first and loving it

So if I read this right you couldn't' give LMI an equal screening because you were prejudice before you set foot into the theater more or less?

I take your second point to mean LMI was planned before you got to see LTROI on the big screen? I don't know where you live but in the US unless you lived in a big city I doubt you would have seen LTROI at your local theater. Of course I don't know the number of theaters LTROI was released to but being a subtitled Swedish Horror movie would have kept that number small. Thats why LTROI was in such a hurry to sell the rights to Hammer and why LMI was quickly remade, both Hammer and Reeves new LTRIO was a great movie but would not get the screening it deserved because of limited theaters showing it. If LMI had not been made I would say that with out a doubt in my mind this and all the other LMI/LTROI web sites would not exist and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

If you are really interested in the number and speed of movie remakes check Google like I did under 'movie remakes' I was stunned by the amout!!

[flypaper]

I would hope someone could step up and say I didn't like LMI the movie because of A or B..

The part where LMI fails IMO is in the back story. By introducing the father as a former Owen, Reeves left me with the impression of LMI being about another cycle in Abby's life.
Alas, this change removed pretty much all of the magic of the story, rendering LMI a "mere" good film. An interesting take, but quite static compared to the original.

.. not because Oskar did this or the book said that.

Well, since the remake lies rather close to the originals, I think comparing them are are inevitable.

Yes the impression that Owen could be the next Thomas was strong....but if I'm not mistaken this same situation was in LTROI, so why would you accept in LTROI and find it distasteful in another? And if you use the picture strip here what I think of that red herring:


From what I've read a lot of stuff has been flying around about this film strip, I will be honest and say that when I first saw the film I also thought that Owen would be the next Thomas., but even if that were true were does the manipulation come in, It doesn't even point to implied manipulation. If anything it shows that Abby and Thomas had a long and mutual relationship which would be Owen fate if he chose to stayed with her. AND, most importantly of all, after Abby kills the cop and leaves she does so WITHOUT a hint that she wants Owen to go with her!!!!! So she was quite prepared to move on her own without Thomas or Owen.If Owen had missed school the day of the pool slaughter and was not in danger would Abby have ever again showed up?? So for me the photo strip is just a poignant reminder of the time Abby and Thomas spent together.

I don't see faulting Mr Reeves for that touch because it plays into what I outlined above, and the whole thing about what was in LMI and what was not is really not very convincing. People who nit pick LMI for both reasons just proves to me that there was enough and not to much of the novel and LTROI in LET ME IN. Lets face it Haters can't have it both ways.

[drakkar]

Yes the impression that Owen could be the next Thomas was strong....but if I'm not mistaken this same situation was in LTROI,

No, it wasn't. In LTROI (film) this grooming take was a possible interpretation among several, and it was contradicted by the film - albeit rather weakly, so you had to pay attention to see the hints. In LMI the father backstory pretty much nailed the grooming take as the only viable.

If anything it shows that Abby and Thomas had a long and mutual relationship which would be Owen fate if he chose to stayed with her. AND, most importantly of all, after Abby kills the cop and leaves she does so WITHOUT a hint that she wants Owen to go with her!!!!! So she was quite prepared to move on her own without Thomas or Owen.If Owen had missed school the day of the pool slaughter and was not in danger would Abby have ever again showed up?? So for me the photo strip is just a poignant reminder of the time Abby and Thomas spent together.

True, but still the photo strip nails the father as a former Owen. Throughout the film Abby befriend a new Owen, and as we leave them on the train it is very plausible that Owen will follow suit.

A less respectful interpretation of this is that Reeves just followed the story lines in the original film, and then the father's backstory kicks in making Owen part of a new cycle.

[flypaper]

Yes the impression that Owen could be the next Thomas was strong....but if I'm not mistaken this same situation was in LTROI,

No, it wasn't. In LTROI (film) this grooming take was a possible interpretation among several, and it was contradicted by the film - albeit rather weakly, so you had to pay attention to see the hints. In LMI the father backstory pretty much nailed the grooming take as the only viable.

If anything it shows that Abby and Thomas had a long and mutual relationship which would be Owen fate if he chose to stayed with her. AND, most importantly of all, after Abby kills the cop and leaves she does so WITHOUT a hint that she wants Owen to go with her!!!!! So she was quite prepared to move on her own without Thomas or Owen.If Owen had missed school the day of the pool slaughter and was not in danger would Abby have ever again showed up?? So for me the photo strip is just a poignant reminder of the time Abby and Thomas spent together.

True, but still the photo strip nails the father as a former Owen. Throughout the film Abby befriend a new Owen, and as we leave them on the train it is very plausible that Owen will follow suit.

A less respectful interpretation of this is that Reeves just followed the story lines in the original film, and then the father's backstory kicks in making Owen part of a new cycle.

Sorry I can't make that leap. No where in the film does Abby even hint at being a new Thomas. For all we know the photo strip could have been her brother!....
Now let me explain that, no where in the movie does Abby admit to her real age in human terms..only I've been twelve for a very long time, now mentally Abby is 12 and I ask you what is a very long time to a twelve year old 2 years 10 years don't you think a 12 year old who had lived 50/100 years would have said "a long time" or would she have said "forever"....agian remembering she is only 12 and thinks as a 12 year old.. Now I'm not saying thats what happened Just reminding you that the photo strip van be taken in other ways besides it being Owens fate. Which to me means if there is no evidence thats what she wanted, the photo strip is open to hundreds of interpretations all as valid as mine BUT and this is a big but because if it didn't happen in the movie it didn't happen otherwise the movie would have touch base on it. It amazers me the nit-picking and wild theories that swirl around LMI all the fevered imagination of people who only want to tear it up. I guess if I didn't like LTROI I could set my imagination going and do the same with it. Like why was Oskar prettier than Eli? Was there some homophobic reason for that?....see what I mean Every thing is open for interpitation but not all are correct or even close.

[gattoparde59]

Sorry I can't make that leap. No where in the film does Abby even hint at being a new Thomas. For all we know the photo strip could have been her brother!....

Her brother with a birthmark and glasses? I think Thomas was given a birthmark simply to set up that snapshot.

[flypaper]

Sorry I can't make that leap. No where in the film does Abby even hint at being a new Thomas. For all we know the photo strip could have been her brother!....

Her brother with a birthmark and glasses? I think Thomas was given a birthmark simply to set up that snapshot.[/quote

Good catch, I hab never seen thye birth mark but a quick check on Google and the photo strip in my possion shows it.

But again that was only a brief of the top of my head explination of the strip I never said what I wrote it was cast in iron like many who believe from the start that this was Owens fate.
It's just a a photograph of them showing a long time relationship and mothing more. tomatoes/tomatoes.

And I still hang my hat on that when she did leave she did not ask anything of Owen...at all.

[PeteMork]

As I said before, there may be many here who hated the film just because it was an American remake. But there are at least as many who judged it after the fact, and as objectively as is humanly possible, and found that it still fell short. Many of us, when we see that a film based on a novel is going to be released soon, do our best to read the novel first, if it attracts our attention at all. I did this with LTROI, although I must confess I had seen a couple snippets of the film before I got the book. In most cases, the novel is generally assumed to be the inspiration for the film. My firm opinion as to which film is better is based on how well the love story in the novel was presented accurately in the final film. In my opinion, the winner was LTROI. It’s not a matter of which film was judged to be better, based on some vote somewhere.

On a lighter note, at one point soon after the release of LMI, I compiled a list of many of the criticisms of both films presented on this forum over the years, and cobbled them together in a little short story called “Meeting of the minds,” which you can find here:

http://let-the-right-one-in.com/fancont ... -the-minds

There are, of course, many criticisms you are familiar with and, most likely, some you are not.

(The views expressed in this short story do not necessarily express the views of the author.)

[flypaper]

As I said before, there may be many here who hated the film just because it was an American remake. But there are at least as many who judged it after the fact, and as objectively as is humanly possible, and found that it still fell short. Many of us, when we see that a film based on a novel is going to be released soon, do our best to read the novel first, if it attracts our attention at all. I did this with LTROI, although I must confess I had seen a couple snippets of the film before I got the book. In most cases, the novel is generally assumed to be the inspiration for the film. My firm opinion as to which film is better is based on how well the love story in the novel was presented accurately in the final film. In my opinion, the winner was LTROI. It’s not a matter of which film was judged to be better, based on some vote somewhere.

On a lighter note, at one point soon after the release of LMI, I compiled a list of many of the criticisms of both films presented on this forum over the years, and cobbled them together in a little short story called “Meeting of the minds,” which you can find here:

http://let-the-right-one-in.com/fancont ... -the-minds

There are, of course, many criticisms you are familiar with and, most likely, some you are not.

(The views expressed in this short story do not necessarily express the views of the author.)

I have no problem with you liking LTROI because that's all a matter of taste I like it to!!!, my quest was to see some real posts showing me Abby manipulation of Owen,

The only one that's come up is the photo strip that Owen saw as being some sort set up for his trip being Abby's bit*h. If you check my last post to you covering Savgue (sp sorry) write I kind of cover that.

But to expand on this post a bit more I read the book also. it was a page burner and I ate it up in one sitting of 4 hours.

My take is neither movie really captured the real Eli/Abby.

Eli was a stone cold killer that used every thing she could muster to feed, I kinda grin ever time I think how close Oskar got to being on the menu the very first time they met. Abby was the only 2 of the movie that even came close to Eli the book vamp, The scene that screws Eli the movie vamp is when she kills Jocke and bends over him and cries.

And I saw both of them as love stories and both were handed well I don't feel cheated by either one in that respect.

Cheers