Keys To Success

[Aurora]

I have recently been wondering: what are the keys to success for this film? What elements must be present in order to have a successful retelling of this story? By success, I don't mean that it has to turn out to be as virulent as Tomas Alfredson's film (although I would love for this film to turn out that way - in fact I would love to find any other film like that). I mean that it is enjoyable to watch, it sucks you in, and perhaps you would not mind watching it again.

First and foremost, I think that the Eli character (Abby) must be monstrous and innocent at the same time. The key to the entire story (at least for me) is that despite everything that happens, you still have sympathy for Abby. Nothing else will work if this doesn't happen. If you don't feel that Abby has a claim to innocence, that she (or he?) is in some sense a victim of her vampirism, you will never be able to cheer at her growing relationship with Oskar (Owen). And if that relationship doesn't work for you, this story becomes rather pointless.

I think that we agree on this point, which is what I thought I wrote in my earlier post

Therefore a lot depends on how Abby comes across to audiences, I personally don't think that looking like a cute young girl is going to be enough to gain sympathy if it appears that she's using that as a way of getting helpers or getting close to victims. It's not going to be easy for MR to convince people that Abby is a victim of circumstances without either showing her suffering (being hungry is probably not enough) or giving us some of her backstory (which seems unlikely to me).

[TheVoxHumanus]

Chloe's audition tape made me think "What a snotty little brat.". I hope that I don't think that while watching the movie -- that's going to seriously hinder my ability to enjoy it. I'm willing to walk into the theater and try my best to forget about the Swedish movie (though I'm sure it'll worm its way back into my head), but if it doesn't stand on its own as a serious drama with likeable (but flawed) characters, it's going to be a failure. Like I said, I should want to be Abby's friend as much as Owen does.

Lina's Eli wasn't snotty. She was a bit of a smart-ass, but came off as likeable. I got the impression that the kind of humor she was displaying was a particular tired kind -- she was resigned to her fate, but still had a sense of humor about herself and her situation. She knows what's going on, but she's still playful like a 12 year old is. She's not bratty or snotty, just...adult in some ways, and a child in others. Like someone dealing with an emotionally crippling trauma should be.

Also Owen...Owen needs to be likeable, we need to feel sorry for him, but not think of him as pathetic. We need to be able to identify with his pain and be able to use him as an avatar in the story. Kare's Oskar felt as though he was on the verge of being broken by the world, but not quite there yet.

The other characters need not exist in the story but for purposes of plot mechanics, and we don't need to understand their motivations apart from very basic reasons. I didn't really need Lacke to exist emotionally in the original film, he didn't, and that's fine. I need to know why he's doing the things he's doing, and that's that.

The bullies need to be portrayed as they were in the original film. I don't care about them, I shouldn't be concerned about them -- they're a threat that needs to be got rid of. Initially they're a small threat, and it's further escalated toward the end of the story.

The "point" of the story is as Woofie already said: being damaged doesn't make you incapable of love, or being loved. If that's not the conclusion I come to after watching Matt Reeves' version of the story, the whole thing will have been a waste of everyone's time. I believe that's an important message and one that shouldn't be lost in translation. Of course the story still needs to be fun and interesting, so I'm willing to forgive deviations from the source material for the sake of pacing, or conveying a complex idea in a more efficient way.

So in summary, all of the appropriate emotional notes need to be struck as they were in the original film. I don't really care how it's done, but the end result needs to sound like the original song...just played on different instruments.

[gattoparde59]

Just to add to an earlier point, and perhaps again compare to the success of theSwedish version, a lot depends on the chemistry between Kodi and Chloe as actors. The balance between innocence and horror comes through Owen and Abbey put together. The vulnerable side of Abbey should come out in the interactions with Owen- that was one of the ways they pulled this off in the original. The innocent Owen draws out the innocent side of Abbey, so Kodi’s role becomes extremely important.

I guess I am one of the few who like Chloe in this role. I think when I saw the audition tape I was already familiar with the concept of "Hitgirl" from the original comic con trailer, so I thought this was an interesting casting decision. Whether it works or not remains to be seen, but I have no problem seeing Chloe as a demon girl, at the very least.

[gary13136]

Just some thoughts on what might be in the movie.

In the announcement for the release date, I was struck by several comments. One was the remark about Abby being barefoot. In the original movie, Eli only appears outdoors barefoot when she visits the hospital and then immediately afterward goes to Oskar's apartment. She appears indoors barefoot a couple of times at least. The barefoot instances are pretty much the same in the book. If Abby appears outdoors always barefoot, then you have to wonder why. Just barely dressed would seem to be adequate. However, this wouldn't necessarily add to or take away from the new movie.

But then there is the matter of the "terrified" Abby. After viewing the calm, cool, and collected Eli, one has to wonder why Abby would be portrayed as terrified. Although I don't know if the release comments were accurate, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess what is causing Abby to be terrified.

First of all, the new Hakan will most likely not be a pedophile. He will be her actual father, but doing all he can to hide her secret. So if Abby is 200 plus years old, how can he be her father? That would be because Abby isn't really 200 plus years old. She is actually 12 years old and is relatively new to being a vampire, and is also very inexperienced in obtaining blood. So her father is trying to protect her by doing the killing. But then he is captured or killed in the act of killing and Abby suddenly finds herself alone and having to do her own killing. That would make her terrified. Also, Abby will be a girl and not a mutilated boy.

According to one release, Owen's mom will be an alcoholic. Unlike Oskar's mom who is stone-cold sober and hyper-alert. So Owen will have a lot more freedom than Oskar. I can imagine Owen being an accomplished shoplifter like Oskar was in the novel. And since Abby is scared, I can see Owen sneaking into her apartment to comfort her; not the other way around.

Of course this is all speculative. The advance information could be partially, totally, or not at all correct. Of course the remake could be much like the original. But if Matt Reeves makes the characters a good bit different, he would have a movie that could stand on its own feet and not be constantly compared to the original. There's always the money to be made, but a good director really likes the acclaim if he does a good job.

[Wolfchild]

First of all, the new Hakan will most likely not be a pedophile. He will be her actual father, but doing all he can to hide her secret. So if Abby is 200 plus years old, how can he be her father? That would be because Abby isn't really 200 plus years old. She is actually 12 years old and is relatively new to being a vampire, and is also very inexperienced in obtaining blood. So her father is trying to protect her by doing the killing. But then he is captured or killed in the act of killing and Abby suddenly finds herself alone and having to do her own killing. That would make her terrified. Also, Abby will be a girl and not a mutilated boy.

If Richard Jenkins' part really is that of her father, he could easily be in his late 40's. This could mean that Abby could be up to 3 decades old. I think that the younger Abby is, the harder it would be to ignore her backstory. So the older the better.

As for Abby's gender, I haven't seen anything that I would take as being authoritative. In fact, I haven't seen anything that would authoritatively state that Richard Jenkins' character is Abby's father, for that matter.

[gary13136]

First of all, the new Hakan will most likely not be a pedophile. He will be her actual father, but doing all he can to hide her secret. So if Abby is 200 plus years old, how can he be her father? That would be because Abby isn't really 200 plus years old. She is actually 12 years old and is relatively new to being a vampire, and is also very inexperienced in obtaining blood. So her father is trying to protect her by doing the killing. But then he is captured or killed in the act of killing and Abby suddenly finds herself alone and having to do her own killing. That would make her terrified. Also, Abby will be a girl and not a mutilated boy.

If Richard Jenkins' part really is that of her father, he could easily be in his late 40's. This could mean that Abby could be up to 3 decades old. I think that the younger Abby is, the harder it would be to ignore her backstory. So the older the better.

As for Abby's gender, I haven't seen anything that I would take as being authoritative. In fact, I haven't seen anything that would authoritatively state that Richard Jenkins' character is Abby's father, for that matter.

You could very well be correct; which is why I used the word "speculative" in my comments. And what most prompts me to say what I said is that the synposis which came out last week described Abby as being "terrified". Nowhere in either the original movie or the book is there a "terrified" Eli. The closest Eli seemed to get was (in the book) when she advised Oskar not to be outside after dark since the "zombie" Hakan was on the loose. And that was concern for Oskar.

Now if the synopsis was just an uninformed opinion, and not official, then that would change my opinion in another direction. Which is that the movies will be somewhat similar.

But if Abby is in fact terrified, that would seem to suggest a radical departure from the original story. But again, my statements are speculative, and not to be taken as absolute truth. At the moment, no one knows for sure how this movie will compare to the original.

[drakkar]

I want to add:
One of the beauties with John's novels is that while the pages roar at you in horror, a very subtle story is quietly unfolding between the lines. So subtle that some readers never discover it.
LTROI (film) captures this beautifully, and I hope LMI also will.

[Drad]

The key for success in my eyes is for them to make this film a very quiet film like the original. I hope there are NO SONGS USED in the film or credits, unless they are used in the way they were used in the original; characters listening to them, not songs being used as the score. I say no SONGS as in, no songs with lyrics.

I think the music is something that they need to get right.

[TheVoxHumanus]

The pop songs in Let The Right One In were all diegetic, which is where the songs in the new movie ought to remain too. I understand the need to tell the story in a certain way, but I really think most all of the techniques used in the original movie were just great. A non-diegetic source for pop songs in the new movie would be cheap, it would feel cheap.

[gattoparde59]

The pop songs in Let The Right One In were all diegetic, which is where the songs in the new movie ought to remain too. I understand the need to tell the story in a certain way, but I really think most all of the techniques used in the original movie were just great. A non-diegetic source for pop songs in the new movie would be cheap, it would feel cheap.

For good or for bad, we ain't getting the original film. Regardless of what type of music being used, it is put in to manipulate our emotions. Diegetic or no. Lyrics or no. Lindqvist wanted to put a sentimental pop song on the sound track at the ending. Its all a matter of taste, or what sounds "cheap" to you.