It's safe to say the recent first trailer for LET ME IN, Matt Reeves' (CLOVERFIELD) remake of the beloved Swedish film, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN did a good deal in the way of softening cinema lovers' ill will towards it. Friday's presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, however, did a whole lot more. Read on for a recap and the brand new poster.
By now you're most likely familiar with the tale of Oskar and Eli, the young 12 year old boy and his new vampiric neighbor, and the relationship they share that's inspired awe in readers and audiences. Well there seemed to be two missions of Reeves and his cast this weekend. The first, to prove that Reeves, who signed on to direct the adaptation long before the original film hit U.S. shores, was just as touched and affected by it as all of us and secondly, that his version will not simply be a shot-for-shot retread of what Tomas Alfredson so wonderfully created.
Renamed Owen and Abby, and essayed by two child actors already familiar with mature and dark material (KICK ASS' Chloe Moretz and THE ROAD's Kodi-Smit McPhee), the first extended glimpse was a familiar scene to fans of the story- their first "date". While differences were subtle and small, the scene played out beautifully setting the stage for the real show stopper.
[If you haven’t seen the original or read the novel, you may want to skip this and the next bit] Reeves presented his staging of Richard Jenkins’ character (the sort of protector and slave of Abby) and his chaotic attempt at getting his love the blood she needs. In the original film, he sneaks into a gymnasium’s locker room to wait for his victims. In the clip shown, Jenkins hides in the backseat of a young man’s car and we watch as everything goes wrong, from the boy picking up his friend, to needing gas, to eventually being discovered. The discovery leads to a stunningly filmed car wreck that will prove to audiences Reeves is just as talented behind classical narrative filmmaking as he was a handheld camera. The whole crash plays out inside the vehicle from a stationary POV in the backseat and the visuals on display, as bodies and the contents of the car fly, tumbling over and over again, become a feast for the eyes.
Naturally, the issue of Abby’s gender ambiguity came up in the Q&A and Reeves revealed it’s not explicitly addressed in his film, but the interpretation is not blocked in anyway.
Look for an exclusive interview with Reeves, McPhee and Jenkins on the site soon and check out the latest poster for the film, which serves to continue the excellent job LET ME IN is doing at getting people excited.
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