Let The Right One In is a movie based on the bestselling debut novel by Swdish author John Ajvide Lindqvist. It tells the story of Eli, an ancient 12-year-old vampire who befriends her neighbour, Oskar, a normal 12-year-old boy. She lives by feeding on human blood which is gathered for her by her lover, Hakan, a paedophile. Wait, vampires you say? Oh no, Eli aren't like those Twilight vampires, who look incredibly sexy and glitter in the sunlight. The only similarity is that they have marbe-white skin. But Eli doesn't seduce teenage girls or have super strength or drink animal blood. She is what a vampire should be, savage, bloodthirsty, and bursts into flames when she comes into contact with sunlight..
Oskar is a 12-year-old-boy who is being bullied at school. He lives with his mother, who is loving and with whom he initially seems to have a good connection. His father is an alcoholic who lives out in the countryside. Oskar seems intelligent, has morbid interests including crime and forensics and keeps a scrap book filled with newspaper cuttings about murders. He befriends who he thinks is a new girl who moved in next door - Eli. Eli lives with an older man Håkan, a former teacher who was fired and became a homeless vagrant when he was discovered to be a pedophile. Eli is revealed to be a vampire, but the two children develop a close relationship and Eli helps Oskar fight back against his tormentors. Throughout the book their relationship gradually becomes closer and they reveal more of themselves and in particular Eli's lengthy history.
Håkan serves Eli, whom he loves, by procuring blood from the living, fighting against his conscience and choosing victims who he can physically trap, but who are not too young. Eli gives him money for doing this, though Håkan makes it clear he would do it for nothing if Eli allowed them to be physically intimate. Eli keeps the money in several boxes, along with a variety of different puzzles. These, apart from a few items of clothing and food, are all that fill the apartment. After several failures to acquire enough blood for Eli, Håkan offers to go out one last time if they can spend the night together. With the caveat that he may only touch Eli, they agree, but it is stipulated that Håkan must get the blood first.
Håkan's attempt to get blood from the last victim fails, and he disfigures himself on purpose with acid to avoid the police tracing Eli through him. When Eli finds Håkan in the hospital, he offers his own blood and is drunk dry while sitting on the window ledge. A guard interrupts them and Eli fails to kill him (so that he will not end up becoming a vampire such as he) before Håkan throws himself out of the window, bursting upon the ground below. The fall kills him, but he is later resurrected as a vampire himself, though one that is mindless and seeks only to find Eli. Eli is trapped briefly in a basement, but manages to escape. Håkan is later beaten to death. Meanwhile Lacke suspects a child is responsible for the murder of his best friend, Jocke (whom Eli murdered for blood before snapping his neck).
Later, he sees Eli as a small, shapeless creature who lunges from the trees at his sometimes girlfriend, Virginia. Eli attempts to drink her blood, but is interrupted by Lacke's interference. Virginia succumbs to vampirism, but does not realize her "infection" until after she attempts to prolong her life by drinking her own blood and avoiding the sun, which turns her skin into boils upon exposure. In the hospital Virginia deliberately exposes herself to daylight and bursts into flames.
After Oskar fights back and injures his main tormentor, the boy's older brother hunts down and attempts to maim him in revenge. Eli rescues Oskar, and the two flee the city with the remaining money, puzzles and each other.
In many ways, this is a good movie because it portrays the innocence of a child falling in love for the first time. Oskar finds himself falling for Eli even though she is a vampire. At 12, it was his first experience and the way he curiously ventured into a relationship with Eli is a strong point in the movie. Eli, who had a friend for the first time , too appreciates his presence and help, especially when he saves her from Lacke, who was about to stab her.
When the movie ended, they were in a train together, going away from their old lives, towards an unknown future. It does make us wonder how they would survive. how would Eli gather blood for her survival? Would Oskar become like Hakan when he grew up, and murder for her? There are no clear answers to this, so I guess we should work out the rest ourselves.
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