Bakjwi (Thirst) (2009)

SOUTH KOREA --- horror

Dir: Chan-Wook Park

Vampire films nowadays are dime a dozen. Over the decades of films' existence, there have been a myriad of interpretations for audience consumption ranging from genre-bending mash-ups of everything from comedy to animation. The key vampire movies that usually keep the genre fresh are the ones that return to the core issues of just what a vampire is, a dead immortal suffering to stay alive. I had first saw "Bakjwi" (translated as "bat") aka "Thirst" within just a few months of watching Sweden's "Let the Right One In", and realized I had just gotten hit with a double whammy of fresh new visions of our favorite kind of nocturnal blood-suckers.

This South Korean film, from director Chan-Wook Park, (of Old Boy fame) takes a strikingly evocative peek into what it is to become a vampire. However, it also looks at the insatiable desire of lust, love, adultery, and the destruction it ultimately brings to one Catholic priest cursed with the infamous disease. Loosely based on an 1867 French novel titled "Thérèse Raquin", Bakjwi (Thirst) explores the tale of Sang-hyun (played by the hardest working Korean actor in the world, Song Kang-ho), a young Catholic priest, who becomes disenchanted with his duties as a faithful servant to God. His visit with a hospitalized obese patient, Hyo-sung, pushes him into disbelief when the man goes comatose. He asks a superior blind wheelchair-bound priest, who has looked over him since he was an orphaned child, to send him to the Emmanuel Labs in Africa. Sang-hyun volunteers himself as a subject to an experimental virus called the Emmanuel Virus, which has the patients to a process of slow degenerative state of boils and blisters, which infect the internal organs ultimately killing them. Sang-hyun, however miraculously survives.

Sang-hyun becomes something of a saint, and many come from afar just to have his prayers over them. when an old woman, Lady Ra, comes to him, begging him to pray for her cancer-stricken son Kang-woo, he respectfully pays the man a visit in the hospital. He soon discovers that he and Kang-woo (played by Park director pet Shin Ha-kyun) are old childhood friends, as the mother reminds him he used to come over for noodles. He reunites with the family over a game of mahjong and a young woman named Tae-ju, who appears a sheltered repressed young housewife (once raised as a sister) to Kang-woo. Sang-hyun visits their home and catches up on their lives, finding out about Kang-woo and Tae-ju, who is stuck with the over-bearing mother and the "Baby Huey" husband and mistreated by the whole family. Sang-hyun frequently visits and when he suddenly has an adverse reaction to sunlight and the symptoms of the EV virus returns to him, he quickly realizes he has become a vampire. Sang-hyu develops a deep attraction for her, and they do carry on a torrid adulterous affair. Eventually Sang-hyun reveals what he truly is to her as they sneak into the hospital room of the comatose Hyo-sung, the man he has been siphoning blood from. At first, Tae-ju is of course frightened, but she soon requests from Sang-hyun for him to turn her into a vampire as well. His backsliding, of course, begins to worsen.


Soon, Tae-ju requests to be turned into a vampire as well. Not long after, Chang-Hyun's own surrogate father, the blind priest also requests to be turned, leaving him with no choice but to step down from the priesthood. This begins his downward slide into sin, as his affair leads to murdering Kang-woo. Both he and Tae-ju's tragic love story goes from a lustful affair to absolute mayhem as they go on a murdering spree which will ultimately cost them their lives.

Chan-Wook Park's "Thirst" isn't a fantastic vampire film, but it most certainly brings yet another fresh take on the most famous horror sub genre ever. Chan-Wook Park direction is very smart and meticulous, overlapping dialogue with other scenes, and subtle moments of suspense and black comedy like Sang-hyu getting sick from the smell of garlic and saying he had a whiff of blood, sending Tae-ju running to the bathroom to look for a tampon.Kudos for the young Kim Ok-bin, whose slippery performance as Tae-ju keeps the audience engaged with her demure beauty and her eventual manic femme fatale actions. The key factors into this film besides the ethnic South Korean flavor, is the infusion of faith and a man of faith's battle with a very sinful disease. It is almost an essay on that alone, but if anyone is interested in seeking a film with a better take on that aspect of the vampire, watch the anit-blaxploition film "Ganja & Hess". The vampire has always been an inverse of Jesus Christ, with many references to his legendary existence.

- Just like Christ, the vampire was once alive and he rises from the dead.


- Just like Christ, the vampire becomes makes followers.


- Just like Christ, the vampire's "spirit", by bite, is passed on to others, often exponentially.


- Just like Christ, many Christian's profess to be "saved", by his blood.


Many believe that the vampire lore was partly created as an anti-Christian allegory anyway. It can be no mistake that the crucifix is a key weapon against the creature of the night, but that rule apparently does not apply to the universe in this film. "Thirst" is definitely a great addition to the vampire sub genre. Unlike Christ, however, they are not as immortal. Eventually, like all men they are dust in the wind.

Nochnoi Dozor (Night Watch) (2005)

RUSSIA --- fantasy

Dir: Timur Bekamambetov

“Sorcerers in Moscow . . . silly.” Anton Gorodestsky


The anemic Russian cinema movement has returned, with a bang. "Nochoi Dozor" (or Night Watch) was the top grossing film in Russia in 2004, making it the first blockbuster in post Soviet Union Russia. When I first read about Night Watch in the papers glaring at the riveting movie poster, I was intrigued. I was even more intrigued when I found out it was the first of a trilogy. I didn’t get a chance to see it in its limited U.S. release, so I had to wait for the DVD. The wait was well worth it. I was at once astounded at not only its unique premise, but as a film, in its innovative visual amalgam of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the “Blade” films, with a little bit of the vibe of “Underworld” and “Ghostbusters” thrown in for good measure. I finished the movie and I wanted more from this world. I immediately went scouring the net for info on who came up with this terrific cinematic wonder.

Nochnoi Dozor is definitely no Ptushko or Tarkovsky film. Director Timur Bekamambetov gives an adrenaline shot to this film in every frame with stunning visual effects that are not used like condiments on a bland burger like some of Hollywood’s films, but are used to tell the story. The 1998 novel, by science fiction/fantasy author Sergey Lukyanenko, is slightly different from the fim in story structure. The 2004 film unweaves the existence of two powerful forces among us; the “Others”. One is light and the other is dark. They control the day and the night. But many years ago, they came to a truce. Geser (according to the author is named after Gesser the Tibetan hero of legend), the lord of light, and Zavulon, the general of darkness agree to never give any new “Others” the right to freewill – to be what they want. Be that good, or evil. Hmmm, yes, I detect some post communist controlled USSR inspiration there.

They also set up two separate mystical factions that exist in the world, still until today, complete with rules. Basically they were set up to make sure neither breaks the truce. The light forces became known as the Night Watch, while the dark became Day Watch. Our hero in the story is Anton Gorodetsky, who in the film we see him try to win his ex-lover back through the assistance of a witch. The witch is an Other and has just broken a rule of the Nightwatch. But in the process, we find out Anton happens to be an Other. He becomes a Light Mage, as he is a magician.

Fast forward years later, we find that Anton is indeed working for the Night Watch, and his latest mission is to find a vampire who has broken the truce. A vampire has bitten a woman, turning her into one of them. But she must feed, and the vampire has her lure a young boy for her consumption. Anton seeks the assistance of his neighbors who happen to be vampires too. He must think and behave like a vampire in order to find and track down the boy. This is considered to be field work by the Night Watch, and Anton dislikes it. In the subway, Anton runs into another problem; a woman he believes is an Other, but he lets it go in order to complete his current mission with the boy. Upon finding the vampire, his attempt to apprehend the vampires goes sideways as one of them is killed and the chick escapes. This doesn’t make things good for the truce any better, on either side. Anton returns to Geser mortally wounded and on top of this, Geser takes a look into Anton’s mind finding the woman on the train. He discovers that this woman is about to bring about the apocalypse. Meanwhile, Zavulon is designing an elaborate plot to take advantage of an ancient prophecy that tells of a Great One, that will choose to become an Other that will either destroy the light within or battle the surrounding darkness. It is that choice that will decide the fate of the world.

The film is intriguing with its plot, and it’s at once jaw-dropping to watch the special effects utilized to the hilt. Timur Bekamambetov has created an ultra-slick and highly stylized "New Weird" film. I can watch the movie over and over. What’s even more exciting is that Fox Searchlight funneled (of course) an American appeasing version, and that there is an original Russian cut out there to be had. KOOL! I also have to track down the Region 0 PAL 3-discer set available, and maybe even the novel at some point. This website is an English ready fan site and is pretty informative of the Night Watch saga: http://www.lightordark.com/ A sequel was made, but as of this writing, the trilogy is incomplete.

Geung si sin Sang (Mr. Vampire) (1985)

HONG KONG --- horror

Dir: Ricky Lau

Yet another Chinese horror comedy. I know, I know. This one is actually pretty good though. The reason being, it gets a lot more into the Chinese rituals and checks and balances of those rituals. So first let's get a little schooled into what just what's in store in this film, specifically the issue with "hopping vampires". They are technically called gyonshi or jiang shi. These vampires, however, are not quite what we expect from our western vampires. They are quite considerably different, and are more like the "George Romero" zombie than the Bram Stoker blood-suckers who follow a strict list of rules. Having said that, they do have some rules that apply of course. They usually stab their victims with very long fingernails, they're blind and can only find victims through the sense of smell, and are defeated with black magic and a healthy serving of good old kung fu. As I mentioned once before about vampire films, each film can have certain rules that exist only in the universe of the film you're watching.

So, with that said, this film follows a unibrowed mortician/ Taoist priest named Master Kau (played by Lam Ching Ying, who appears in the gyonshi sub genre multiple times throughout his career) and his bumbling assistants named Man Choi (played by veteran comedic relief Ricky Hui) and Chou (played by martial artists Chin Siu-ho, and yet another vet of this sub genre). Master Kau is hired to overlook and perform a reburial ceremony for the father of a wealthy businessman named Mr. Yam. He and Man Choi meet up with Yam and his niece Ting Ting for tea. Yam, on the advice of a so-called fortune teller, believes his father is to be buried vertically. When they dig him up, they realize he may have to be cremated so as to no longer leave his soul in unrest. His body, also begins to look somewhat revitalized and after twenty years, this is clearly a bad omen to Master Kau. So he orders his assistants to place incense around the graves of the cemetary, possibly to keep them at rest, that is until Chou hears the voice of woman of the dead; a ghost.

Back at the mortuary, Master Kau orders them to spiritually tie up the coffin as he performs a ritual to on some twine and they mark the coffin to keep the body dormant. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as the body begins to break out of the coffin. So Mr. Yam's own grandfather kills him later that night. Unfortunately, Yam's relative, a Barney Fife-esque local police officer blames Master Kau when he notices (thanks to Kau himself trying to alert him of a hopping vampire) his long finger nails and the puncture wounds in his Uncle Yam. Kau is arrested and as he sends Man Choi and Chou out to get ingredients for his ritual potions to stop not only the vampire on the loose, but Mr. Yam himself. Chou delivers the goods to the jail house to Master Kau as the have to battle Mr. Yam. No sooner than defeating him, Man Choi must defend Ting Ting from her grandfather and in the porcess is infected by the corpse until Kau and Chou come to the rescue. Kau wisely realizes the town is in danger and sends Chou to get more sticky rice; a prime ingredient to fighting off hopping vampires.

However, Chou, runs into an enchanting female ghost in the next village. Chou is bewitched by her beauty and literally under her spell, he narrowly escapes her grasp. Just as soon as he returns, Kau can see he has been "haunted" by a ghost. Under her spell, Master Kau bounds Chou to a chair to keep the ghost from snatching him away. In probably the best scene of the film, Master Kau battles against the love-hungry ghost and the blood-thirsty Man Choi at the same time. A testament to the genre itself and to the actors martial arts choreography. Soon they must eventually deal with a horde of hopping vampires and one that comes out of nowhere that gives the trio their greatest challenge.

"Mr. Vampire" isn't a horror film that sets out to scare its audience. While producer Sammo Hung spent most of the early 80's attempting to make a successful horror comedy to appease Hong Kong audiences, it wasn't until "Mr. Vampire" came on the scene where he had a hit. The film is definitely a classic in the Hong Kong horror (specifically the hopping vampire subgenre) comedy genre, spawning many sequels. As where "Spooky Encounters" laid the foundation, "Mr. Vampire" is the cornerstone which eventually took over the entire sub genre of films for many years to follow. My personal issues with the film is the niece character, Ting Ting, is reduced to a girl servant halfway through the film and all but disappears. It would have been interesting to see her fight for the affections of Chou against the female ghost. Anyways, as I mentioned in my review for "Spooky Encounters", Western filmmakers were not blind to these films, particularly with the cult classic John Carpenter film "Big Trouble in Little China" which features many tropes from this sub genre of film. Sam Raimi also borrowed alot for his "Evil Dead" films. The legacy of films like "Mr. Vampire" continues on into today, even with so many sequels and spinoffs of this very film alone.

Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: Symphony of Horrors) (1922)
GERMANY --- horror

Dir: F.W. Murnau


When it comes to the quintessential vampire story, all roads lead to Bram Stoker's 1897 literary masterpiece "Dracula". The success of this Gothic tale spurred interest in other media from stage to eventually film. The first adaptation would actually be a 1921 Hungarian film titled "Drakula Halála" (Dracula's Death), which is now thought to be lost. The true first would be German director, F.W. Murnau's classic silent film "Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens".


The film opens with Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) and his wife Ellen (Greta Schroeder) at home, and soon Hutter meets with his employer Knock (Alexander Grannach), who offers him the opportunity to go to Transylvania for a stay at Count Orlok's castle. Hutter takes the offer, and leaves his wife, departing for the Count's abode. Soon arriving at an inn, the habitue warn him not to travel by night. In this scene, it's important to note the much used cliche of a foreigner entering a bar where upon mention of the evil (depending on the film) stops everything in cricket-induced silence. Murnau should be credited for that much. Anyway, Hutter decides to stay the night and finds a book about vampires (or Nosferatu as they're translated), which has ominous warnings he pays no attention to. In the morning, he rises to continue his trek, but even the coach driver will not take him but so far.

So Hutter takes his belongings and hoofs it alone, until he meets a stranger (played by Max Shreck) with a swift horse buggy who takes him directly to his destination. He finally meets the Count late at night (though in the film it is clearly still daylight), though in some cuts of the film, it is colorized blue tint to give the intentional time of day. During dinner, Hutter accidentally cuts his finger, which of course brings out the thirst in his beady-eyed host. Orlok then tells Hutter they have much to discuss through the night. In the morning, Hutter rises and when looking in the mirror finds two bite marks on his neck. He writes a letter to his wife, describing his strange stay so far. Hutter, however, finds the Nosferatu lying in a coffin filled with dirt, having already sensed the vampyr had somehow visited Ellen back in his hometown of Bremen. Frightened still, Hutter espies a worker board up and remove the coffin and take it out on a carriage. They take the coffin down river and to the docks to the ship called the Demeter. Once there, they open the cargo to find it filled with rats, yet Orlok is on his way to the Hutter's place of residence.


We are next introduced to Professor Bulwer, as he teaches a class on carnivorous plants , comparing a venus flytrap to a vampire. Next we revisit Knock, who's locked in an asylum for being mad, but who is in actualality under the influence of Count Orlok. Ellen has also become distant and unusual in her behavior as well, even upon receiving a good tidings letter from Hutter. The sailors aboard the Demeter become infected with an "unknown" deadly plague; taking them out one by one. One of them inspects the cargo particularly the coffin and discovers the body of Count Orlok. Tempted to see "The Book of Vampires" Hutter forbid her from, Ellen reads something about the willful offering of a woman of purity to the Nosferatu. Many townspeople become victims of the plague. Adhering to the book,  that night Ellen decides to sacrifice herself to Count Orlok, and to rid them of the Nosferatu. Nearing the dawn, she pretends to become sickened, as Hutter rushes out to get Bulwer for help. Meanwhile, Count Orlok is stalking her from a window nearby. His shadow looms over her, and when he finally sinks his teeth into her, the cock crows and Orlok is defeated by the dawn's morning light.

"Nosferatu" became infamous for many reasons. First and foremost, it really is a creepy horror film, silent or not. Max Schreck's (Even his name is intrepreted as Fright or Horror) performance is perfect. This is a very different Count Dracula than what we would see later with the very regal Bela Lugosi and the seductive Christopher Lee. The visual interepretation of Count Orlok in "Nosferatu" distinctly resembles a rodent. By no indication can this be a coincidence. Though some have gleaned an anti-semetic cariacture from this, which was of course rising in Germany at this time, I see it differently. This could be a comparison of the plague of vampirism caused by Count Orlok and how the bubonic plague was caused by rats throughout Europe in the 14th century. This film introduced the world to vampires, going by the book with this nightmarish interpretation. Murnau helped innovate the German Expressionist cinema movement, with high contrast light and shadow. The names in Nosferatu were changed in order to avoid legality issues with the Stoker's estate; namely Stoker's widow Florence. So, Jonathan Harker was changed to Hutter, Dr. Van Helsing to Professor Bulwer, Dracula was renamed Count Orlok, and Renfield was renamed Knock. Murnau's adaptation has become legendary, and has allowed Dracula's presence to sink his teeth in film ever since.

Lifeforce (1985)
UK --- science fiction/horror

Dir: Tobe Hooper

What is the true origin of vampires? Lifeforce suggests the answer lies beyond the stars. Master of Horror Tobe Hooper and “Alien” brainchild Dan O’Bannon teamed for this visually entertaining homage to some of Europe’s B-grade science fiction and horror cinema of the 50‘s and 60‘s.

When the HMS Churchill space shuttle embarked for a mission to explore Halley’s Comet, they discover a 150-mile long starship in the comets wake. The team commanded by Colonel Carlsen, (played by Steve Railsback) which is a merger of both US and Great Britain astronauts, send out a party to investigate. Within the gigantic tubular confines of the ship, the party finds dozens of dead bat-like alien creatures, and a trio of humanoid-alien bodies encased in transparent coffins. There are two males and one incredibly alluring female. The team decides to return to the ship with the bodies and one of the bat-like creatures’ corpses.

Thirty days later, we find that the HMS Churchill has been out of contact with earth and the USS Columbia has been dispatched to investigate the floating mystery ship. They find the charred remains of the crew and their storage; the three encased bodies still intact. The humanoid-aliens are returned to London‘s Space Research Centre, where some scientists conduct a series of tests to find out just what they are. They leave the bodies alone, but under strict surveillance, that is until, in tried and true Hammer Horror form, the space lady (played by dancer Mathilda May) opens her eyes and rises from her coffin. Besides standing stark naked in front of a guard, she goes over to him and locks lips effectively stealing his life-force as he is quickly turned into a fleshy shell of himself. Having witnessed the reanimated corpse rise to life on a surveillance camera, the Space Research Centre chief, rushes to the scene. He gets within but a few feet of the space girl and becomes weakened in her presence, later claiming he felt overwhelmed. At this point we know just what’s going to happen as she escapes the high security facility of the SRC.

After she escapes, the scientists decide to perform an autopsy on the corpse of the guard’s fleshly corpse, only to find he is not really dead. He rises from the autopsy table and sucks the life-force from one of the coroner surgeons, and it would seem transforms back to his original human form. Meanwhile, a British government agent, Col. Caine, is assigned to investigate this case has both the chief of the SRC and doctor

The scientists are shocked to discover that the bodies become reanimated after sucking the life-force of another human being. However, they learn it is only temporary, as these “vampires” must continue to do so for within a certain time span or else they will explode and be utterly destroyed. Now that the scientists realize what’s at stake, they come to the conclusion they are on they’re way to vampire epidemic in London. The space girl is already loose and has taken another victim and shown a new ability as she is able to assume the body and identity of whomever’s life-force she consumes. At this point, the HMS Churchill’s escape pod is recovered in Texas and Colonel Carlsen is recovered from it. The scientists of the SRC immediately demand his assistance and knowledge of what happened on board the Churchill. He is the key to discerning what these creatures are all about, in hopes of finding some way to quell the vampire epidemic about to ensue in London.

Based on the novel “Space Vampires” by British author Colin Wilson, “Lifeforce” is one of those films that is apparently quite polarizing. Some dismiss it as really bad movie, and some see it for what it is; a cheesy homage to B movies. IMHO, it follows in the same tradition as “Fright Night” or “Night of the Creeps“. I do think there were a couple of problems that didn’t allow the audience to get what it was doing. Cannon films is not a big budget studio in the likes of Universal or Paramount who would have had a say in what they were getting back - sometimes suit interference is a good thing. Another thing, perhaps with the haughty British performances which really did appear to make you take this film “deadly” serious, however there are some scenes of humor even just with the presence of Aubrey Morris that beg to differ. One my personal issues is the ending does seem anticlimactic and leaves much to be desired. To play devil’s advocate, the one thing they got right for many reasons was the casting of Mathilda May. Besides being nude, she perfectly exudes all kinds of allusions to B-grade film. In her eyes, she embodies the raven-haired “Brides of Dracula”, she has the body of a Russ Meyer heroine, and displays a creepy silence about her that feels very much directed by Mario Bava.

Rabid (1977)
CANADA --- horror

Dir: David Cronenberg

We all know the dangers of modern medical science. One week some research study suggests something's bad for you, the next week it's good. The fact of the matter is, as the old adage goes, nothing is in exact science, this certainly goes for the practicing medicine. In this early directorial effort and companion piece to his debut film "Shivers", master of horror, David Cronenberg dives into his common theme of body horror once again. A young couple (played by the late Marilyn Chambers and Frank Moore) get into a terrible accident while on a country motorcycle ride in rural Montreal.

Rose and Hart sustain pretty bad injuries, but Rose gets the worst of it when the bike lands on top of her. They are rushed to the hospital, where the doctors must attempt a radical emergency surgery on Rose. The process basically involves taking skin tissue from one healthy part of her body and grafting it to her burnt and damaged skin. Being a new process, one can expect side effects, and this one is the crux of the film. As Rose begins to develop a hunger for human blood in which she sucks through a mutated growth of a stinger under her armpit which penetrates its victims even through clothes and with a simple hug. She in turn leaves the victims in an almost zombie-like state, in which they also begin craving blood. Soon enough, Rose is on a feeding frenzy and unlike "Shivers" where just an isolated apartment building is contaminated, the entire city of Montreal is on alert, and the military gets involved when the province of Quebec is threatened.

This is, of course, essentially the closest we may get to a Cronenberg vampire film. It is also a commentary on sexual disease, something Cronenberg seems to have been a prophet of. Here we get a couple of soon to be trademarks for the director with motorcycles (Fast Company), sex (explored in nearly every film), medical science (again in nearly every film), and of course body horror. Exploitative in nature, Rabid was to originally star Sissy Spacek of "Carrie" fame, but producer Ivan Reitman suggested porn star Marilyn Chambers who would make this her only starring role in a somewhat mainstream film. She was one of the first to do so until Traci Lords years later. Watching this film years later, you see the start of two careers, one of which sky-rocketed the other not so much.

Marilyn Chambers RIP (April 22, 1952 - April 12, 2009)

Låt Den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One In) (2008)

SWEDEN --- horror

Dir: Tomas Alfredson

From the land that gave us Ingmar Bergman, ginger snaps, and ABBA (Two out of three ain't bad) comes this fairly minimalist vampire love story. Låt Den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One In) tells the tale of a twelve-year-old boy named Oskar living a lonely and bullied life in a Swedish suburb. He lives alone with his mother and has a kind of morbid fascination with death, in which he collects newspaper clippings and articles about crimes.

One dark snowy night, Oskar espies a cab drop off a man and a young girl to his apartment complex. Boy sees girl. That night, Oskar imagines vengeance against his bullies outside in the cold snow-bathed playground, and but being watched by his new neighbor, an anemic looking young girl, who outright wants no friendship with him. We are then shown the man named Hakan, who seemingly parents the girl, preparing for some kind of work, little do we realize it's to murder a man in cold blood. Unfortunately, the man haphazardly fumbles up the murder of which it appears he was attempting to drain the victim of his blood by hanging him upside in the woods over a canister. He flees from the scene of the crime when a dog being walked by two girls, finds him. This is cause for concern for his anemic young girl, who scolds him of his terrible mistake, leaving her to have to handle things the old fashion way. She feeds on a bar patron on his way home that same night, leaving Hakan on clean-up duty in which he dumps the body in a reservoir of sorts.

The following night, boy meets vampire girl, Eli, as he introduces her to the Rubik’s cube. In the meantime, Oskar’s bullies get more lethal in their reindeer games, and the police is on the alert for a killer. The townsfolk are all suspicious as one of them was an actual witness to one of the murders of the late bar patron. Oskar in the meantime must deal with his bullies, and the loneliness he feels at home and between his divorced parents, as we are shown his father is in a separate town altogether; also that he may have a bit of a substance abuse problem. This draws Oskar ever closer to his enigmatic new crush Eli, whom he eventually learns is indeed a vampire, and yet that does not change his love for her. She even advises him to fight his bullies back. Eli’s Renfield, Hakan, makes one last attempt to find her food, and this time fearing his identity is known and will lead authorities to Eli, he brings a jar of acid just in case.

Hakan fails again, and Eli severs their relationship forever. Meanwhile, having taken Eli’s advice about fighting back against his bullies, Oskar enjoys his comeuppance and wants to cement his relationship with Eli as going steady. Eli does so and falls him, but must feed one more time on one of the female bar patrons, who is accidentally turned from Eli’s failure to finish the job. The female bar patron destroys herself, and her inquisitive husband goes after Eli during the day with her only defense in Oskar. She returns the favor by destroying his nemesis and they like all fairy tales, they live happily ever after.

In my opinion, Låt Den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One In) is just that, a great and twisted variation on the fairy tale. It is based on a Swedish horror novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Inferences can be made about Sweden’s neutrality and the cold war of the 1980’s, in which this story is set. Vampirism in this tale could be seen as the aforementioned Red Menace as opposed to Oskar’s bullies, who in turn could be seen as the Western world. I only make these comparisons based on the newspaper clippings of terrorist acts, and the fact that Eli comes off as a manifestation of Oskar (representing Sweden) somewhat pacifist nature to his bullies and neutrality between his parents. The film also has a simplistic color scheme and quiet starkness that attracts attention to it's attention to detail. Red on white i.e., if I'm not mistaken, one beautiful shot has blood drops on a snow-covered branch. Oskar's seems to be surrounded by the color blue consistently throughout the film, until he falls for Eli in which he borrows a red shirt from his estranged dad. Her color of choice seems to go from grey to red.

This is one of my favorite films from '08, because I think there's something to be said of a prepubscent love, in its true innocent form. True romance is an adventure, and it isn't always going to end the way you think. Twelve is an age before all the adult issues can really creep into decisions of what you base love on. In a sense this is a slight variation of the alien visitor motif in films such as "E.T. : The Extraterrestrial" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still", except of course, it has a vampire girl, but if you watch those films again you'll get what I mean. I can't recommend this film more highly, watch it before the American remake you will not be disappointed.