They're going to REMAKE "Let The Right One In"????

Cafe Society
1

GAH! Why do they do these things? Let The Right One In is a very subdued, quiet, touching and scary Swedish vampire movie, about two pre-teen outsiders who meet and find in each other a sympathetic soul. One is a shy, taciturn boy named Oskar, who is tormented and taunted at school, the other is 12-year old vampire named Eli (she’s “been twelve for a very long time”). They’re soul mates who need each other, for understanding and companionship. I love this movie. It has gotten some attention. David Ansen of Newsweek listed it as his best film of the year.

I went to the IMDB message boards to read other people’s thoughts and saw that a remake is in the works. It’s not listed on IMDB itself, nor is it listed on the pages of the people involved, but the scuttlebutt was that it’ll be produced by J.J. Abrams, and directed by Matt Reeves, who directed Cloverfield. I have nothing against Abrams, and I did like Cloverfield, but why remake an already wonderful movie? Oh right, because it’s in Swedish with English subtitles, and more money will be made by taking the basic story, hacking it up, Americanizing it, making it louder with more action, cutting out or toning way down the more shocking and controversial bits, adding some “hip” music so the soundtrack will sell, and marketing the hell out of it to teenage boys who want to see a hot girl vampire, and teenage girls who will want to be a hot girl vampire to attract the hot young stud they find to play Oscar (of course they’ll change the spelling of his name). They’ll probably make the kids much older and slicker, give them much more dialogue to explain things (very little is explained in the original), and just all-around dumb it down.

GAH!!

Yeah, I know, I should wait to see what happens with it. On the bright side maybe all the people urging “see the original, see the original” will get people to see the original, but still. I wish they’d just leave it alone, and if they like the original so much, help get it a wider distribution so people can actually see it.

It’s still playing at one theater here in Chicago. I’m going to go see it again before it disappears.

I’d link to clips, there are several on YouTube, but I hadn’t seen any scenes at all before I saw the movie (I just went on the basis of hearing vague good things about it) and I was so glad, because the scenes in context had a huge impact. I watched the trailer after coming home and was shocked at how much the trailer gives away! If you like unusual vampire movies, and you haven’t seen this, and you have a chance to see this, GO, DO, without watching any clips in advance.

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I hear ya, it was nice to be able to dodge the Twilight Movie Event, and go see this at the indie show instead. I have not much confidence in h/woods ability to do this well.

3

Huh.

I just saw this movie last night and thought it was fantastic.

I really don’t see how an American remake would work. The movie derives so much of its richness from its environment. The story simply wouldn’t be the same (or, I think, as good) in an American suburb or city.

I also agree with the OP that I can’t imagine an American remake would leave intact the young, awkward protagonists and their odd but strangely sweet relationship.

4

I did like Twilight, but this one had much more of an emotional and psychological impact on me.

5

Even if the American remake turns out to be terrible (and it very likely will), the original will still exist and you can still watch it.

Ed

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I have the least problems with this. It wasn’t particularly “Swedish” in location, to the extent that the story wouldn’t work anywhere else. They should keep it set in the winter, though, set in a smaller city (though probably filmed in Toronto).

Ed, I know, but this is the first one that’s affected me. I saw the remakes of things like The Ring and kept hearing people saying “see the original(s), see the original(s)!” and I never did even though I should have. Now I’ll be the one saying “see the orignal!” when the remake comes out. I’ve never been in that position before.

Of course, I’ll (psst, Abrams) forgive them everything if they use a Kate or Happy song in it. Both, preferably. They both have vampire songs. smile

7

I haven’t seen this film yet – it’s not opened in Thailand – but had heard about the American remake. They do this from time to time. For instance, Wim Wenders’s wonderfully perfect Wings of Desire was remade into the mediocre City of Angels.

8

Oh, don’t remind me. I guess I have been in this position before, because Wings of Desire is one of my favorite movies, but I never saw City of Angels, and so never got drawn into discussions about it to urge people to see the original.

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Eli is actually a castrated boy, as confirmed here.

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Jack, I know. Anyone who hasn’t seen the film, PLEASE do not read the spoiler or click on that link until after you’ve seen the film.

But, you know that’ll be the first thing changed in the remake screenplay.

11

I can’t imagine an Americanized version of this film turning out well. I hope to be surprised.

12

It seems like the most original (and spookiest) fantasy/horror movies of the past several years have come from overseas – Japan, Spain, and in this case Sweden. Are subtitles really such a hardship?

13

Too late, and you’re right on both counts.

14

I saw a lot of 2008 movies. This was the best one by far. Nothing else has stuck with me like “Let the Right One In”.

I saw it twice in the theater, read the novel and bought the soundtrack and poster. Can’t find the T-shirt, but when I do, I’ll buy it. DVD will be out in March.

I’ll go with the popular opinion that the remake will stink. I know the original will always be with us, but I worry about a future where one person says, "I just love ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ and the other person says, “You must be nuts. That movie sucked just like all Keanu Reeves movies do.”

15

Try to look on the bright side. This willmake a ton of money for the original writers and makers of the movie, enabling them to continue making interesting projects. It’s not as if the box office numbers over here (in Sweden) or what little money it makes in other countries will give Alfredsson carte blanche for his next project.

16

I came, I saw, I clicked, and now I agree with FriarTed. If I ever get the chance to see this film something has really been ruined for me.

17

I just got back from seeing this, and it didn’t even occur to me that that’s what that scene meant. Totally did not make that connection. Wow.

Yeah, I’m not especially happy to hear that there will be an American remake. I really don’t understand this compulsion Hollywood has to remake perfectly good foreign movies. If it’s already been done well, what could a remake, within the same moviemaking era, possibly add?

18

When I read the OP I assumed this was an older movie. I agree with nevermore, what could possibly be the point of remaking it so soon? Just so there wont be subtitles?

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It’s still worth seeing!

For those who haven’t seen the movie, think they will, and have not read that spoiler, DO NOT READ THIS. For those who haven’t seen the movie, think they will, but did read the spoiler, this is for you:

[spoiler]It’s not a major part of the movie, as nevermore’s post has shown. It’s just another aspect of Eli. It’s revealed by one short line from Eli (“I’m not a girl”), which could easily be misinterpreted (I thought she meant, she was neither boy nor girl, but a creature), and, later in the film, a lightning-quick shot of Eli’s genitals, showing the scar, which if you blinked you could miss, or misinterpret. I myself thought the scar was pubic hair, and thought ‘no way would this, even as quick as it is, be shown in an American movie’. After those two quick things, it’s never mentioned. Obviously it doesn’t matter to Oskar. He loves Eli for who Eli is, no matter what Eli is.

In the book, which I haven’t read but want to, there’s much more of Eli’s backstory, which is barely touched on in the movie, and apparently “Elias” was castrated by the man who turned him into a vampire, centuries earlier.

I got these things from reading the IMDB message boards, which is full of spoilers. [/spoiler]

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Happens all the time; practically guaranteed for successful foreign films.

A note to the OP: no need to panic. They’re not UNmaking it, they’re REmaking it.