The Thousands

Scripted by John Ajvide Lindqvist from his novel, Tomas Alfredson’s LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is a subtly poignant vampire story that’s all the more masterful when juxtaposed with patronising crap like TWILIGHT. Set in a grim Swedish winter, it’s gorgeously, disturbingly shot in snow and shadow, as if Bill Henson were the cinematographer on EDWARD SCISSORHANDS.

Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is a puny, vulnerable 12-year-old who’s mercilessly bullied by a gang of classmates led by Conny (Patrik Rydmark). (Oskar’s girly haircut probably doesn’t help matters.)**He senses a kindred soul in Eli (Lina Leandersson), the new girl in his apartment building whose arrival coincides with a spate of grisly murders. As a delicate bond builds between boy and vampire, will Eli help Oskar face his demons, or has Oskar invited a far worse demon into his life?

Alfredson directs with patient elegance. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is explicit but never exploitative, no character is a caricature, and no shot is wasted. I found its ending almost unbearably sad, but left the cinema profoundly moved by the dark, visceral truths it reveals about adolescence.