Let Me In

Cinematical first clued me in to Let Me In, a surprisingly moving and graphic 2004 vampire tale written by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, with their opening paragraph review of the film adaptation:

The vampire movie has been pretty much done to "death" by this point, right? Even the good vampire flicks are sort of treading over familiar ground, yes? Longtime fans of the undead bloodsuckers have more or less accepted that the sub-genre has become a fairly anemic wasteland, true? Normally I'd have to reluctantly agree with those assertions, but fortunately I caught a really excellent Swedish film this morning called Let the Right One In. Not only does this fantastic little import add a lot of new color to the "vampire flick," but it also turns out to be one of the strangest, stickiest, and (yes) sweetest horror movies I've seen in ten years.

Just reading the back flap biopic of the author, you know you're in for something a little different:

John Ajvide Lindqvist is a Swedish author who grew up in Blackeberg, the setting for Let Me In. Wanting to become something awful and fantastic, he first became a conjurer and then was a stand-up comedian for twelve years.

The story is simple, but new to vampire-fiction

Oskar is a 12-year-old-boy who is being bullied at school. He befriends a mysterious girl, Eli, who moves in next door with her father Håkan.

In the course of the story the reader finds out all is not what it seems. Eli is really a vampire and her 'father' supplies her with fresh blood by murdering young boys. As Oskar gradually begins to understand who Eli really is, the bond between them grows stronger. Eli teaches him to stand up to his bullies and Oskar grows increasingly fond of her.

Oskar isn't exactly your typical hero, in fact he's a little creepy and is fond of knives. His off-kilter personality makes his acceptance of his vampire friend that much more believable. While I thought the book started a bit slow, it soon builds speed to the point where I couldn't put it down. The themes dealt with in the book are atypical of a horror book and very thought-provoking. Ultimately, the book ends up being romantic while being sick, twisted, and very bloody.The book has already been made into a foreign-language film, retitled Let the Right One In. Here's one of the trailers:
Unfortunately, at present, the film is only going to be released in limited cities and dates. According to Cinematical, it'll be playing at the E Street Theater in Washington on November 7. (E Street's website doesn't confirm this, so I'm hoping to find it somewhere.)