There's just something vampirism and adolescence that makes for a perfect fit. If you think about it, the legend of the vampire has always been one of the outcast, the count in his castle who can never find love because he's only going to outlive his mortal beloved or end up sucking her blood. And when did you feel the most like an outcast? Like someone who will never find true love? Puberty. The Twilight books have turned the blending of adolescence and more intense necking than 90210 into a mega-franchise, but they're not the first to make it to the big screen and (probably) not the best. Also based on a book (from author John Ajvide Lindqvist), Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In is a beautiful, heartbreaking horror film that transcends its genre to become one of the most memorable and powerful movies of the year.

Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a bulled 12-year-old who dreams of revenge and longs for not only love, but also just a friend in his cold Norwegian town. He finds someone to talk to on a dark, cold night when he meets his new neighbor, Eli (Lina Leandersson). Eli is a bit unusual. She only meets Oskar at night and doesn't seem to be bothered by bare feet on the frozen tundra of the playground. Oh, and she also attacks and kills a local man so she can feed on his blood. As more and more people start to disappear around town, Eli becomes reluctantly closer to Oskar. It's the most untraditional love story of the year, not just because they're twelve (of course, Eli's actually much older) and not just because she's a killer, but also because of the wonderful details of Lindqvists's spectacular screenplay. Oskar teaches Eli morse code so that they can communicate through the wall. She knows growing close to him will only lead to trouble when he discovers the truth but she sees a kindred spirit in him. He asks her to go steady. She teaches him to stand up for himself with the bullies at school. And all of these lovely, natural details culminate in a shocking and violent ending that no one will see coming.

Like last year's The Orphanage (one of the most underrated gems of the last decade), Let the Right One In is an exercise in mood. There's some incredible violence and imagery, but it's not what defines the film. This is a movie about isolation. The white of the snow is as important as the red of the blood. It's the cold, always-snowing town where a field trip to a frozen lake is a fun day at school. It's the lonely eyes of Eli's guardian who has clearly spent years finding "food" for his charge. It's Oskar's gentle-and-awkward moves towards the only girl who has ever been nice to him and his reaction when he discovers she's not a girl at all. Let the Right One In lives and breathes because of the details put in place by Lindquist, Alfredson, and his talented, natural cast. The first act of Let the Right One In takes just a bit too long, there are a couple of frustrating plot holes, and the end is too abrupt, but while those flaws might drag down a generally inferior film, what Alfredson does right with his genre-bender makes them easy to overlook.

In case you're completely unfamiliar with vampire mythology, the title - Let the Right One In - is a reference to the fact that a vamp must be invited in before they can enter somewhere (and this movie's take on what happens if they don't get the invite is one of my absolute favorite moments of the year in any film). But, like all great horror movies, there's more to it than just that. It's not only innocent victims who need to know which "right one" to let in, it's the bullied, scared child who needs to know, as cheesy as it sounds, which one to let in to his heart. For horror fans looking for something well off the beaten-to-death path of American horror, Let the Right One In is a movie to which they should definitely extend an invite.

Rating: THREE AND A HALF BONES

Reviewed by Brian Tallerico (MovieRetriever.com Film Critic)

Release Date: November 14th, 2008

Rating: R

Starring: Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist, and Peter Carlberg

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Writer: John Ajvide Lindqvist