Yesterday I wrote about an incredible film called Let The Right One In (read here). A lot of readers have written in to share their love for this film festival favorite. And among the responses, Reamwe also received some noteworthy updates.

Neoufo51 called Magnet Releasing and found out the film will be released on DVD on March 10th 2009.

I also contacted Magnet reguarding the film’s theatrical release, and they told me that the film will be released in New York City and Los Angeles on October 24th. In the weeks following, the movie will roll out into more cities. I’m not sure what cities exactly, but I’d guess that chances are good if you have a Landmark Theater in your city (as Magnolia/Magnet and Landmark have a distribution relationship).

Also, /Film reader Brian noticed that IMDB has a listing for another movie with the Let The Right One In title. Turns out that Hammer Films and Spitfire Pictures has acquired the english-language remake rights for a reported seven-figures. A projected 2010 date was announced, but no director or writer has been named. I’m not sure an American or British remake would capture the magic and sweetness of the original Swedish film. It would be too easy to turn the story into your typical horror film, or even worse, a Twilight like teen romance. I hope that doesn’t happen.

Official Plot Synopsis: A fragile, anxious boy, 12-year-old Oskar is regularly bullied by his stronger classmates but never strikes back. The lonely boy’s wish for a friend seems to come true when he meets Eli, also 12, who moves in next door to him with her father. A pale, serious young girl, she only comes out at night and doesn’t seem affected by the freezing temperatures.

Coinciding with Eli’s arrival is a series of inexplicable disappearances and murders. Blood seems to be the common denominator – and for an introverted boy like Oskar, who is fascinated by gruesome stories, it doesn’t take long before he figures out that Eli is a vampire. But by now a subtle romance has blossomed between Oskar and Eli, and she gives him the strength to fight back against his aggressors. Oskar becomes increasingly aware of the tragic, inhuman dimension of Eli’s plight, but cannot bring himself to forsake her. Frozen forever in a twelve-year-old’s body, with all the burgeoning feelings and confused emotions of a young adolescent, Eli knows that she can only continue to live if she keeps on moving. But when Oskar faces his darkest hour, Eli returns to defend him the only way she can …

  • Eric
    Damn those remakes. Why not just dub them or put them out in theaters with subtitles?

    Examples: Funny Games, Rec, Let the Right Ones In, etc...

    Why not do it like they did Night Watch where the subtitles interacted with the movie?
  • Justin
    I can't wait to see this movie, but I just have to scream NOT ANOTHER FUCKING REMAKE! Honestly, these stories do not need to be retold. What is the point of an Orphanage remake?
  • lujs
    AHAHA!!! I KNEW IT!
    Some douchbag with money is making a remake of the movie!!
    Sleep tight lazy english-speaking people!
  • Ms. Barnacle
    Yes. It is the fault of all English-speaking individuals that a (surely horrendous) remake will soon grace American and international screens. And all English-speakers are lazy. Moron.

    Nice reasoning skills (sarcasm, FYI), but congratulations on predicting the future (also sarcasm. FYI).

    You do realize *you're* the douchbag? Oh, good.
  • andru
    how sad.
  • Mark
    This obsession to remake foreign films is very sad. Every good movie gets a bastardized US version with lots of money and/or starpower pumped into it. Dub the originals if the movie-going public is to illiterate for subtitles, but remakes are always a very bad idea.
  • Gaius
    Awesome, I got mentioned on /film!

    Chances are good that the Landmark Embarcadero Cinema may get LTROI, Peter. If they roll it out in SF, I'll be there opening night.
  • REAL6
    Damn i just read about this yesterday and i come on here now to find out about A FUCKING REMAKE!!!!

    At least let us see the fucking movie first and dub the fucking movie or just release it in Swedish so stupid fucking americans can learn how to read subtitles!!!
  • Brian
    Nice, I actually found something newsworthy
  • I cant wait to see this movie!! We dont get so many good swedish movies that often but this one seems really good. (im swedish btw).

    The poster in the above post is Norwegian by the way.

    Another good Swedish movie tip is: Storm

    Its a little bit like Matrix, but very different anyway.
  • Iron Matt
    Twilight burn = Awesome.
  • Rena
    Why do people think remakes are the best thing in the world? If this is made in America then they will screw this up royally.
  • Laurence
    I want to see this movie. It looks good.
  • Trans Farmer
    yup, the movie will play in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Sunset 5 on October 24.


    and, in defense of "stupid fucking americans" ...the people who think remakes are a good idea are the ones who see nothing but money signs. they pounce on opportunities to exploit good foreign movies that mainstream (American) audiences may not be familiar with, pay a comparatively small price for the remake rights, throw money and overused Hollywood actors at it, change important elements to differentiate it from the original (i.e., piss all over it to mark their territory), then reap the rewards of "introducing" this property to otherwise oblivious audiences. phew.
  • I am one of few Americans that finds remakes of perfectly good movies ungodly. I just don't understand why everything has to be Americanized, I mean what the hell America, your not original at all. Nothing that is made in America is original anymore. For example, an American director is remaking "Spaced for american television", The IT Crowd had its on version in America that failed without it even being aired on cable television, I could go on and on, but if I do anymore I might get more depressed than I already am about this topic.

    Iron Matt: I agree with you. As a teenage girl I have read the twilight saga and to me the books are decent (except for "Breaking Dawn", which sucked major ass), but I am afraid that the movie is going to be an epic fail.

    martin: Thanks for the Swedish movie tip. The movie sounds good and I've added it to my Borders Wish List.
  • Sean P. Burt
    Delia: Speaking of being original. The "few" americans you mention might not be as few as you think.
  • Butterfly
    I know this thread is weeks old but I just saw this movie at the Chicago Int'l Film Fest...it was brilliant, no question! But I can't tell from your writing about it (*sort of spoiler alert*) whether anyone else thinks it is as damn sinister and sad as I did. This is no sweet pre-teen coming of age romance. This is about cyclical manipulation and exploitation, and it just broke my heart. But of course, that doesn't mean it wasn't amazing and utterly memorable (so many images will be burned into my brain forever!!!), but anyone who thinks this movie is sweet and touching by the end is missing a major plot point or two. It's achingly sad.
  • This film was fantastic. It's the best horror movie you're going to see this year and one of the best film's PERIOD that you'll see this year. If you want to listen to an interview with director Tomas Alfredson, head over to Zoom In Online:

    http://www.zoom-in.com/podcasts/on_the_circuit_...
  • Kristin
    Here are some showtimes for Let the right one in.
    If you loved the movie you should really read the book too, I think it's been translated to English by now.

    PLAYDATES:

    Opening

    10/24/2008
    Irvine, CA: University Town Center 6 Cinemas
    Pasadena, CA: Playhouse 7 Cinemas
    West Hollywood, CA: Sunset 5
    New York, NY: Angelika Film Center

    10/31/2008
    Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa, Bijou Theater

    11/7/2008
    San Diego, CA: Hillcrest Cinemas
    Washington, DC: E Street Cinema
    Huntington, NY: Cinema Arts Centre

    11/14/2008
    San Francisco, CA: Embarcadero Center Cinema
    Chicago, IL: Landmark's Century Centre Cinema
    Cambridge, MA: Kendall Square Cinema
    Baltimore, MD: Charles Theatre
    Minneapolis, MN: Lagoon Cinema
    Philadelphia, PA: Ritz at the Bourse
    Nashville, TN: Belcourt Theatre
    Seattle, WA: Varsity Theatre

    11/21/2008
    Denver, CO: Mayan Theatre
    Providence, RI: Avon Cinema

    11/28/2008
    Santa Fe, NM: The Screen

    12/12/2008
    Hartford, CT: Real Art Ways Cinema
  • Anders
    Excellent swedish movie. It opened last friday in Sweden and has been "the talk of the week".

    And the really fun part is this... The film is taking place in a Stockholm suburb called Blackeberg, which is located about 25 minutes by subway from Stockholm City.

    And I live in that suburb! About 200 meters away from the centre!

    A few scenes from the movie was shot in Blackeberg and the most part of the movie was filmed in Luleå which is far far north from Stockholm. Still they made it feel like Blackeberg. Excellent work.

    The big tree in the scene when Eli jumps down from it and fiests on the white trash woman is still standing in Blackeberg. I saw it on the way from the cinema this monday. Thats kinda cool I think.

    Only one thing really bugged me when I left the theatre. The whole movie was taking place in the winter time and there was a lot of snow all throughout the movie - EXCEPT when the two alcoholics (one woman and a man) are walking down the street (Wergelands street). And then they separated and the woman walked up the stairs to Blackeberg centre. And then Eli jumped her. In those scenes there wasn´t any snow at all to be seen anywhere. Very strange and it was a total failure to miss that.

    Otherwise the movie was excellent. Even though I heard that they didn´t film the really scary stuff from the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist. I haven´t read the book but I probably will. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ajvide_Lindqvist).

    See it. Good stuff!

    Anders, Blackeberg, Stockholm, Sweden
  • stop the remake and promote the original by signing:

    http://www.petitiononline.com/KeepIndy/petition...
  • Johnny
    Leave it to American directors to never be original.
  • Mathew
    just watched this movie .... why do they need to remake this, it's like spitting in the face of the director. this has become one of my favorite movies not just from a horror fanatic stand point, but it has a beautiful story with heavy character development as well..... WHY HOLLYWOOD WHY dont you have other things you can ruin, can't you fill your pockets with money by releasing another mainstream peice of crap.
  • kelly
    i agree dont bother with a remake, learn to read subtitles instead, one of the greatest movies i have ever seen such a great mixture of fact and fiction. please dont ruin it with a remake
  • Shia
    Every now and then I see a movie that I really like, it's been awhile but I adore this movie. That's probably not the proper word considering the type of film this is, but it goes without saying...brilliant.
    DVD March 10....damn, I'll have to wait awhile.
  • Jacob
    I agree with Butterfly:

    This is no sweet pre-teen coming of age romance. This is about cyclical manipulation and exploitation...

    That the film played out like a coming of age romance, sidelined the whole vampire issue, and still managed to have such a storng thread of tension running through it the whole time is quite an achievement. Well done Tomas Alfredson! I am about 2/3 through the book at present and I must say the director did a pretty wicked job. The only thing I think they didn't quite get across is Oscar's level of personal struggle with what Eli is/might be; whether everything she says is a lie or not. This is the crux point because he needs someone to share his sense of youthful isolation with...

    Brilliant. I am so buying the DVD as soon as it is released...
  • Jujube
    This was so good - saw it yesterday. Been fascinated with vampires for 40 years and i really appreciated the pathetic, sad, desperate portrayal of Eli, and the equally desperate need for her in Oskar. Vampires today are shooting each other with guns, or glamourous, or the Anne Rice variety of sexually obsessed next door neighbors. Puh-leeze!

    By the way, I'm an American and I read subtitles. I don't think remakes have much to do with Americans being illiterate and not tolerating subtitles but more about making money. Americans have been conditioned to watch movies while eating popcorn, with entertainment that gets them through a boring life for a few hours. Many foreign films are for thinking and require involvement, and "Let the Right One In" is no exception.

    I, for one, will most likely prefer the Swedish original version. I think the movie was very well done and any remake will have a difficult task to top it.
  • Kevin
    I am a Canadian and they have translated the movie over here. Don't fix what ain't broken. Truthfully the actors in that movie were perfect even though they weren't very old. I wouldn't want to see any other actors replace those memorable characters.
  • Kevin
    Good luck with that petition doing anything. Hollywood is all about money and business. They won't stop until it is made.
  • Jorge Rodriguez
    I'm American. Knowing xenophobes who are too lazy to read subtitles or have something against other languages/cultures won't get to experience the original version depresses me to the point of crying. I bet it will be some Twilight-like watered down money-making PG13 version with lots of moral values thrown in so parents let their kids see it and Hollywood can rake in all the cash. Those people forgot it was an art at one point. Now it's all about swindling as much money from teens as possible, and nothing else!
  • Mandy
    I loved this movie - i saw it in theaters and it was subbed - and i still loved it - im pretty good at subtitles due to watching anime for years - all i know is that im buying this when it comes out and showing everybody i can how great of a movie it is!
  • John S.
    The problem isn’t that the movie is foreign, it’s that it isn’t in English. What were these moviemakers thinking? How will anyone know what’s going on in the movie?

    Seriously now, I know better than that. The fact is, that Europeans are even more tolerant of subtitles than they are of trying American tourists (and they are at least tolerant of their visitors—even the French) and they are much more likely to have a second or third language, which makes the diversity of language in film hugely more tolerable. One fact remains unmentioned by the purists here: Subtitles suck. If you care about film you should hate subtitles. Dubs are little better and are rarely good enough to not suck the vibrance from a film. So everyone who doesn’t have a North Germanic language is going to have to watch this film as though they were deaf! One eye on the film, one eye on the bleeding translation . . . (That’s why I watch most sub-titled films twice—once to figure out what everyone is saying and again to actually watch the film.) There is no good answer. The truth is that many, many more people worldwide will see Låt den rätte komma in because of the publicity its remake gets. While I imagine some romanticize the subtitle experience so much they would actually say that scarring this medium with subs is better, but I think it would be ideal if the original filmmakers were to shoot/reshoot the whole film in two languages. Maybe this concept should be promoted, but it is not currently that viable.
    In truth, remakes for language are inevitable and unlike the incessant remakes just for vanity or money, language remakes serve a serious purpose. We should support (or tolerate?) new language remakes, while encouraging them to be kept as closely as possible to the original work in all other respects.
  • Jacopo Belbo
    John S. : I wonder why it's so difficult just to dub the audio in English, as happens everywhere in the world for the animation flics. I just can't believe there are absolutely NO actors that should do the dub work in the US. It's simply unbelievable. And it would be better and A LOT cheaper than doing the remake. Unless US people (as US movie execs think) are so dumb that can't bear to see a movie shot in a country different from US.
  • matt
    i liked the remake of funny games..both were good
  • firewalker
    I loved 'Let the Right one in" film but i don't think a American remake is such a bad idea.
    My reasons:
    1) You can't prejudge a film before it's out basied on other remakes..

    2) "Let the right one in "is great but did lack a certain scariness by today's standards. (my opinion).

    3) The director chosen for the remake Matt Reeves just made one of the scariest films I have ever seen "Cloverfield" . so with the right actors and keeping the same emotional content of "Let the Right one in" you have the possible making of a very scary horror film.

    4) The book "Let the Right one in" has alot of content left out of the film, so the remake film can or should expand and enchance the storyline.

    Be positive and don't prejudge.
  • ToTheChase
    I just watched it on Blu-ray. What a sweet, sweet (honestly) movie. It just tickles me to see two sweethearted kids kiss with fresh blood on their lips. The greatest thing about it is the kids act like actual kids--finally! Sure, kid characters can be smarter than adults or better morally than adults, but they don't have the life experience to know everything as they do in US movies and TV. Everything is new to them, and the director of this movie let that show so well in the faces of all the kids in this movie. A grim, ironic fairy tale with a true sweetness at its heart. George Romero tried this kind of movie with "Martin," but he didn't have the budget or story.
  • Dana
    I am American and I happen to love foreign films, especially "Let The Right One In"
    However, though I hate to admit it, America will take any good movie, even if it is a foreign film, and do a remake. From what I've read, the director is planning to follow the book as faithfully as he can. I'm not sure if the remake will suck or not, but I'm willing to give it a chance.
  • What a great movie I'm sure most people would agree. The movie starts with a young boy named Osker that meets a young girl with a big secret named Elie that becomes his friend. Its a movie about survival and friendship with a Horror Twist
    Best Vampire movie ever
    Posted By TormentedFilms.com
  • Christopher
    This film was good - but it could be better. The re-making of this movie for american audiences is a good idea. I agree that most hollywood movies based on foreign films are bad. This is an example of one that may be improved by letting an american director do it.
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