Let Me In is a horror film. However, the movie’s depiction of an unusual love also makes it kink. Kinda sorta.
Owen is a boy on the cusp of adolescence. He’s a lonely voyeur, curious about sexuality, and bullied by his classmates. He befriends an odd, barefoot girl, immune to the cold. Abby tells him she’s not a girl. She isn’t. She’s an immortal who needs blood to live.
Let Me In has been interpreted by several reviewers as a vampiric take on Romeo and Juliet. I don’t. The love these two share isn't fully realized, nor will it be. However, their relationship has one critical component of love: fierce and true loyalty.
The film is extraordinary, but it isn't perfect. The bullying scenes are heavy-handed. Why, for example, are all of Owen’s twelve-year old classmates so much more physically mature? The locale and time choice are also bizarre. Why the eighties? So Boy George can sing “Do you really want to hurt me?” in the background? And why does the film take place in Los Alamos? The real town of Los Alamos could beat vampires in a battle of the weird, but in this movie, the town is just a snowy backdrop.
One of the most moving scenes occurs after Abby reveals her true nature. Owen is terrified. “Is there evil?” Owen asks his parents. Significantly, his parents don't reply.
The film doesn't answer that question, either. Let Me In offers clues about Owen’s future with Abby. The ending left me feeling ambivalent. I pondered it long after the film was over.
