with the lycanthropy and shape-shifter mytholo- gies central to the character of Jacob Black and his tribe). In doing so, Meyer concocts personable incarnations of extended family units (the whole of Edward’s clan, Jacob’s tribe, James’ outcast predatory tribal trio, etc.). These groups function with their own shared bonds in stark contrast to the dysfunctional example of Bella’s shattered fam- ily unit. (James, in fact, preys directly on that splintered family to entrap Bella in the final act.) Meyer also confronts with at times uncanny potency the peril-fraught tensions, rituals and pa- rameters of courtship amid a generation torn be- tween the remnants and consequences of the “free love” past (the ’60s and ’70s), possibly lethal con- tagion (AIDS and STDs), and the risky proposi- tion of “abstinence-only” programs that hold sway if you’re growing up in the Bible Belt—or, in this case, if you happen to love a vampire. The temp- tations and dangers, as presented in TWILIGHT, are essentially identical.
That Meyer approached all this as a neophyte writer, rather than as a sociologist, lends surpris- ing gravitas and candor to her fantasies in ways perfectly in synch with her young audience. This is what director Catherine Hardwicke recognized and devoted herself to translating to the big screen with such success—again, no surprise if you’ve seen her previous films, especially THIRTEEN and LORDS OF DOGTOWN.
The religious subtext is powerful, too. Is not Edward a sort of Christ figure at points? He loves Bella without violating her, preserving her virgin- ity; he watches over her at all times, and actively protects her when needed; their bond becomes a bond of blood, sans sexual contact. Hardwicke was hip to that, too; after all, the feature she com- pleted just before this project was the excellent THE NATIVITY STORY (2006). In LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, the primal scene is a much more delicate moment, eschewing the blood and thunder of TWILIGHT’s bizarre surro- gate sexual consummation. It is not among the heart-stopping “feeding” scenes, but an unnervingly quiet and intimate moment when Oskar and Eli are alone, and Oskar catches a glimpse of Eli nude. This glimpse lasts a mere moment; Oskar turns away. He can’t quite fathom what he sees, but he knows he’s seen it. This is closer to adolescent reality: a “What is that?” peek at that which is kept hidden.
The confusion of gender, privacy and sexual organs revealed is primal stuff indeed, whether we choose to admit that to our adult selves or not. The film taps this with a naturalistic “Did I really
see that?” image calculated to disorient, provoke, confuse and upset adult viewers, as well. (It is a plot point fully elucidated in the novel, where Oskar shares an agonizing flashback induced by Eli of his castration two centuries before.) It’s perfect, really, and as jarring and fleeting an image of im- plied sexual horror as any I’ve seen since the chill- ing coda of François Ozon’s Regarde la Mer (SEE THE SEA, 1997).
Given the context of their respective cultures and commercial and production marketplaces, it should come as no surprise that the Swedish LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is the more provocative and daring of the two films. Many enthusiastic critics and fans are placing it alongside Guillermo del Toro’s El Espinazo del Diablo (THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, 2001) and El Laberinto del Fauno (PAN’S LABYRINTH, 2006), but that’s not correct; it’s much closer to John Fawcett and Karen Walton’s delicious Canadian sleeper GINGER SNAPS (2000). Like that film, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN survives a few missteps in its playful interpretation of genre lore, and scores often enough in its elegantly pragmatic assessment of vampire mythology. (I loved the almost immediate consequences for the always- mysterious requirement for vampires to be invited into a home space; ah, now I understand!) In tackling the even more troubling nature of adolescent life and sexuality (both Oskar and Eli are 12, going on 13, though Eli has apparently been 12 “a long time”), LET THE RIGHT ONE IN simply wouldn’t exist as it does had it been made in North America—one of the reasons I encour- age my readers to see the original, given the an- nouncement that its American remake (from CLOVERFIELD director Matt Reeves) is already underway, and especially given the fact that a per- fectly serviceable English dub is provided on Magnet Video’s DVD and BR discs. So much of what is implicit to LET THE RIGHT
ONE IN is toxic to American pop culture that it’s highly unlikely Lindqvist’s central conceits will sur- vive the translation. “Will they play up the Morrissey connection?” is the least of my worries (the title references Steven Patrick Morrissey’s song “Let the Right One Slip In” from the VIVA HATE album). I also wonder if the relationship between Eli and her male companion Håkan will survive the translation, without becoming too overtly defined or redefined altogether. Where the source novel is quite explicit about their dynamic and what, pre- cisely, Håkan may be, the film version of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN remains mum about the precise nature of Eli’s relationship with or to Håkan. It remains an enigma: there are clues, but they
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