Let the Right One In
Let's talk LET THE RIGHT ONE IN!
(I did warn you I'm like this, right?)
NOVEL:
Oskar is a walking red flag: a bullied, pants-wetting, latchkey kid who shoplifts for the thrill and collects newspaper clippings about killers. His mother's stretched thin and worries about other people's perceptions of her parenting; his absentee father is an alcoholic. Eli, formerly Elias, is a centuries-old vampire infected at the age of 12 by a monster that also castrated them for shits and giggles. The translation uses she, he and they for Eli, who shows a preference for feminine dress but also informs Oskar that they're not a girl, though it's left ambiguous as to whether that's about gender, age and/or species. It makes no difference to Håkan, Eli's (relatively) recently acquired and frankly sub par Renfield, a pedophile who is doing his damnedest to sublimate those urges into worship of the creature that's taken him in, if only they'd stop paying attention to that boy next door.
Through a subplot about a woman Eli accidentally infects, the novel illustrates how its vampirism works. Virginia compares it to a rat that's taken up residence under the sink and thinks of your house as its home; she realizes it can take over any time she lets her guard down and punt her to the back of the brain; and she knows if she dies, it will go on operating the vehicle that is her body just fine without her. We see this when Håkan is turned but dies, and there's no longer anyone to yank the reins on his hunger, so he goes full-on rapey revenant. There's a seed planted there: how much of Eli is the 12-year-old and how much is the vampire? Is there a difference at this point?
So, is it the story of two lonely outcasts finding in each other a kindred spirit, or is it the story of a vampire setting its sights on a budding sociopath and taking him under its wing? HM.
FILM:
Oskar is more awkward than off-putting, Eli is more mystery than menace, and the vibe definitely leaning more towards lonely people finding each other, but that's not a negative. It's a creepy masterpiece.
By giving Håkan a tired, lived-in feeling, the film suggests he's been Renfielding a while, giving his jealousy the added implication that he was once just a boy standing in front of a vampire too, making his attachment to Eli uncomfortably, creepily sympathetic to us where the novel was just uncomfortable and creepy.
US FILM:
Owen straddles the line between sensitive and creepy, with the film contrasting his developing friendship with Abby against the breakdown of her relationship with her unnamed Renfield, Owen's parents' failed marriage playing out in the background, and even the odd bit of Cold War flavor, in a way that says someone took notes in the margins of the novel, but in the best possible sense. It doesn't just hint that the Renfield was recruited young, but shows us what appears to be a picture of him as a boy. Add the gestures of affection and festering resentments, with fights that play less like a disgruntled servant than a marriage gone bad, and sympathetic pushes uncomfortably creepy for dominance. It's kinda fab.
Of course, it whiffs the ending a bit by going full American on that finale, and I'm not keen on the 'shy little girl' take on the vampire itself, or the emotion-herding strings in the score, but other than that, I'd say it's pretty solid.
TV SERIES:
Naomi is a detective looking for a serial killer, and mom to a well-adjusted kid who's getting picked on at school. Mark is a dedicated dad to a frustrated but well-adjusted daughter, who was vamped a decade earlier and has been lugged all over the place while he searches for a cure.
Oh, but they make a big point of pointing out that she likes puzzles so you know they've read the novel, and took notes in the margins, but in the worst possible sense.
Right off the bat:
- Our tween leads have completely different personalities
- and have been completely sidelined in their own story
- which is completely different from the original story.
Not 'adaptations will always change some things' different, or 'but thematically...' different - just straight-up bowdlerized.
(I did warn you I'm like this, right?)
NOVEL:
Oskar is a walking red flag: a bullied, pants-wetting, latchkey kid who shoplifts for the thrill and collects newspaper clippings about killers. His mother's stretched thin and worries about other people's perceptions of her parenting; his absentee father is an alcoholic. Eli, formerly Elias, is a centuries-old vampire infected at the age of 12 by a monster that also castrated them for shits and giggles. The translation uses she, he and they for Eli, who shows a preference for feminine dress but also informs Oskar that they're not a girl, though it's left ambiguous as to whether that's about gender, age and/or species. It makes no difference to Håkan, Eli's (relatively) recently acquired and frankly sub par Renfield, a pedophile who is doing his damnedest to sublimate those urges into worship of the creature that's taken him in, if only they'd stop paying attention to that boy next door.
Through a subplot about a woman Eli accidentally infects, the novel illustrates how its vampirism works. Virginia compares it to a rat that's taken up residence under the sink and thinks of your house as its home; she realizes it can take over any time she lets her guard down and punt her to the back of the brain; and she knows if she dies, it will go on operating the vehicle that is her body just fine without her. We see this when Håkan is turned but dies, and there's no longer anyone to yank the reins on his hunger, so he goes full-on rapey revenant. There's a seed planted there: how much of Eli is the 12-year-old and how much is the vampire? Is there a difference at this point?
So, is it the story of two lonely outcasts finding in each other a kindred spirit, or is it the story of a vampire setting its sights on a budding sociopath and taking him under its wing? HM.
FILM:
Oskar is more awkward than off-putting, Eli is more mystery than menace, and the vibe definitely leaning more towards lonely people finding each other, but that's not a negative. It's a creepy masterpiece.
By giving Håkan a tired, lived-in feeling, the film suggests he's been Renfielding a while, giving his jealousy the added implication that he was once just a boy standing in front of a vampire too, making his attachment to Eli uncomfortably, creepily sympathetic to us where the novel was just uncomfortable and creepy.
US FILM:
Owen straddles the line between sensitive and creepy, with the film contrasting his developing friendship with Abby against the breakdown of her relationship with her unnamed Renfield, Owen's parents' failed marriage playing out in the background, and even the odd bit of Cold War flavor, in a way that says someone took notes in the margins of the novel, but in the best possible sense. It doesn't just hint that the Renfield was recruited young, but shows us what appears to be a picture of him as a boy. Add the gestures of affection and festering resentments, with fights that play less like a disgruntled servant than a marriage gone bad, and sympathetic pushes uncomfortably creepy for dominance. It's kinda fab.
Of course, it whiffs the ending a bit by going full American on that finale, and I'm not keen on the 'shy little girl' take on the vampire itself, or the emotion-herding strings in the score, but other than that, I'd say it's pretty solid.
TV SERIES:
Naomi is a detective looking for a serial killer, and mom to a well-adjusted kid who's getting picked on at school. Mark is a dedicated dad to a frustrated but well-adjusted daughter, who was vamped a decade earlier and has been lugged all over the place while he searches for a cure.
Oh, but they make a big point of pointing out that she likes puzzles so you know they've read the novel, and took notes in the margins, but in the worst possible sense.
Right off the bat:
- Our tween leads have completely different personalities
- and have been completely sidelined in their own story
- which is completely different from the original story.
Not 'adaptations will always change some things' different, or 'but thematically...' different - just straight-up bowdlerized.