Holy fuck. I didn't know there was a Swedish original! I can't wait to see it. Thanks for letting me know.
Just following up, in case anyone's interested. I watched the Swedish original. I kind of wish I had seen it first. I haven't read the book, and I don't really plan to. I'm focusing on the film(s) exclusively. I have to say that there were aspects of the Swedish version that were better, but overall - I liked the U.S. release more. I just think the acting was better - but that could very well be a cultural nuance/bias thing on my part - maybe the 80's nostalgia had a bigger effect on me in the U.S release, because it seemed more familiar (being an american). Still, I enjoyed both the films and I would say that both are among the best vampire films I've ever seen.
The original was in New Movies from last October. It was about time to move it so I put the two threads together. I need to move some other flicks that are no longer "new" outta there. Also, something was wrong with the search feature yesterday. I even tried searching on the same forum where I saw the title and it said there were no matches. BTW, I too prefer the American version better than the Swedish, even tho they were both basically the same portrayal. I could relate to the American better because of cultural familiarity.
no matter how close you try to keep to a foreign language original, even remaking it scene for scene and line for line, the change in language always creates a change in tone. in this case, as mark kermode put it, very well, i think "Let the right one in is a film about children that happens to be told using vampires, whereas let me in is a film about vampires that happens to be told using children." both very good in their own right, but i have to say i found the original much more engaging. this may be a purely cultural thing, however, as, coming from england, nothing reminds me more that i'm watching a film than hearing everyone on screen talking in an american accent, therefore its harder for me to feel immersed in the plot. very, very good film though. in terms of modern (last few years) vampire films, which arent just the matrix with teeth, i'd put this up in the top 3 along with "thirst" by park chan-wook (awesome film, would absolutely reccomend this to any fan of the genre) and the original.
