Are you referring to the thing going down the drain? If so, I really can’t remember many more details. I seem to remember him waiting for her to get out of the bath. She comes out into the living room in a towel. He goes into the bathroom after she’s vacated it to see the last of the bathwater go down the drain with something wriggling around in it (it looks like a tadpole or a small eel). He looks shocked and then he goes on to peep on her dressing. I have the movie so I’ll check it out later tonight and see if I’m misremembering.
Yeah, that’s what I was referring to. I don’t remember a drain scene. It occurs to me that it couldn’t have been a penis anyway, because Eli lost his penis centuries earlier.
Well I’ll check it out tonight. If I’m remembering correctly I’ll take a screencap and show you.
Cool. Sad to say, as much as I love the movie, I don’ t own the DVD. Yet. I also haven’t read the book. I’d see it again in a heartbeat if it were brought back to the theaters, especially if it were part of a double-feature with the remake.
Neither do I. 
I couldn’t find the tadpole thing going down the drain. So now I’ve got to figure out what the hell movie that is from.
Equipoise, do you watch rented movies at home, or do you stick with the theatres?
We have a home theater and over 1600 DVDs, but we both love seeing movies in the theater and watch most movies there. I’m on a roll this year with seeing movies in the theater, more than I ever have. I’ll hit 300 by year’s end. The time will come when I can’t go out as much and my film library will be there, waiting patiently for me.
I’ve probably rented less than 15 films in my life. I’ve always just bought VHS, Laserdiscs or DVDs, because building up a library was important to me.
I disagree. There’s no reference to that in the remake that someone unfamiliar with the novel or Swedish film would be able to understand.
[spoiler]In the remake, Abby saying she’s not a girl is explained when she reveals to Owen that she is a vampire. The look on his face when he sees her naked is just because (I would think) that’s the first time he’s seen a girl naked. I’m not sure how even by seeing a scar he’d be able to tell she was originally a boy anyway. Even when I watched the original film and they show the scar, it never occurred to me that she had been born a boy.
Sure if you are familiar with the story, you can come to that conclusion in the remake, there’s no evidence that was added *against *it, but there is also nothing there to lead someone to come to that fact on their own unless they had prior knowledge.[/spoiler]
That’s true, but it doesn’t matter. It’s only there for fans of the book and the Swedish movie. It’s an added dimension to Abby’s character, but unless they make a prequel, it doesn’t matter to the plot so those who haven’t read the book or seen the other film aren’t missing out on anything.
It’s not “explained,” it’s an interpretation.
Same here, I didn’t know what it was or what it meant, and it didn’t matter to me at the time. I also assumed the “I’m not a girl” lines meant that she was a creature, not a human boy or girl. It was just learning what that shot was later that made me say “Oh, how interesting!”
That’s true, and again, it doesn’t matter. It’s just an extra detail that will mean something to those who do have prior knowledge, but will not be important to the movie or plot for those who don’t.
I’m confused now. I think we’re in agreement, but it sounds like we’re arguing. 
I saw it at the midnight showing. Amazing movie.
But I didn’t see anything in this movie saying Abby is a boy. The fact that Abby is played by a girl, dresses like a girl, sounds like a girl, and is referred to as a female Vampire in the ads kind of makes me think Abby is in fact a girl.
If you put 2 and 2 together and get 12, thats up to you. But that dosn’t mean it adds up.
Well, unfortunately, the film tanked over the weekend, opening on 2000+ screens and placing in 8th place, behind Case 39 (which managed to score a full 50 pts lower than LMI on metacritic). Ouch.
I’m sure it’ll eke its way until Halloween, but unless word-of-mouth gives it a huge boost, it’s likely to slowly wither on the vine. Haven’t seen it yet, but now I know I’m going to need to pretty soon.
The new version certainly doesn’t have the “reveal” found in the first movie. It’s a worthy remake, but it doesn’t improve on the original, IMHO.
ArchiveGuy, the box office take makes me sad, but maybe it’ll pick up in the coming weeks. It might well just end up being a cult film, like the other version.
Glad you liked it!
You didn’t use a spoiler tag when everyone else did. It’s too late, so I won’t use one either.
Abby herself said it. Twice. The fact that you didn’t see anything has more to do with the child porn laws in America, I suppose.
All the same things were in the Swedish movie. Played by a girl, dresses like a girl, sounds like a girl, and is referred to as a female Vampire in the ads. The only difference is the showing of the castration scar.
Abby is indeed a boy, but, as I’ve said several times, for the purposes of the remake, it doesn’t matter. It’s ONLY a nod to the book, the story is based on a book after all, and the Swedish movie. If you don’t want to believe that Abby is a boy, no problem! Doesn’t make it true, but it makes no difference in any case.
I didn’t use tags because I didn’t type any spoilers.
Did anyone tell Chloe, the girl playing the"boy"? Cause even she seems to think think Abby was a girl.
No she didn’t.
The hell it wasn’t. Even though it doesn’t matter, it’s still a spoiler.
Chloe is a very smart girl. I’m sure she’s seen the Swedish movie and has probably read the book. I’m sure she talked it over with Matt Reeves.
Yes she did. First when she gets sick from eating the candy. Owen gives her a hug and Abby says something like “Would you still like me if I wasn’t a girl?” and then later, after the hospital scene, she goes into Owen’s bedroom (after he invites her in), gets undressed after telling him not to look at her, he asks her if she’ll be his girlfriend and she specifically says “I’m not a girl.”
Right. She never said she was a boy though.
I know that’s how it is in the novel, but in *this *remake, that aspect is not touched upon.
If I say, “I am not a cat,” it does not mean, “therefore I am a dog.”
If one is neither a cat nor a dog they could be a rabbit or a sheep. But humans only come in two flavors, male and female. “I’m not a girl” on this planet means “I’m a boy.”
Haven’t seen the American version, so I can’t really say either way, but isn’t the point of this that she isn’t human? She’s a vampire. So she is neither boy nor girl, she is a vampire. Honestly, the first time I saw the Swedish version, that’s what I thought she was referring to when she said she wasn’t a girl.
Unspoilered:
I haven’t seen the remake, but think it does make a difference that Abby is a girl. If Abby has no genitalia that changes how the viewer sees the relationship of the characters.
Traditionally vampires don’t have sex, but the story is very non-traditional, and I felt that Oskar would eventually want to. While there are many types of sex that work without genitalia, the castration shot sets up a huge emotional and physical barrier that tells the viewer that lust isn’t going to be a major component of the kids’ relationship. That reinforces the power of their friendship.
Also the castration shot multiplies the distance of Abby from conventional society. She’s an immortal vampire, yes, but that doesn’t have the visceral impact of castration and loss of gender identity. Traditional vampires still have strong gender identity.
Abby’s disfiguration also means she can’t stay in any setting where she might be disrobed by an adult. Hospital, jail, a temporary foster family.