Dspang's thoughts on Let the Right One In.

Ok. This is my second time viewing this movie and I still find it very eerie and very disturbing. Upon my initial viewing I focused more on the friendship between the two Eli and Oskar. How they both experienced love for the first time. But on my second viewing. I also see a darker undercurrent that could get a little weird. Maybe I'm reading into this too much, but that's fun and the point of this site. Bare with me, it might get deeply psychological.

Now that that's out of the way, let's circle the drain. In the beginning I took notice of a few disturbing anomalies with Oskar. I'm no psychologist but have read a lot about serial killers and a bit of psychology. My friends, Oskar is primed and ready. We have all of the telltale and/or cliche signs early on. First, Oskar constantly playing with his knife and stabbing at things while exclaiming "Squeal like a pig." Second we have his lonely existence. His mom is "just there." She's concerned about him but there isn't much in the way of full on attention. Next, we have Oskar's fascination with death. He had a whole scrapbook of newspaper clippings on killings and murders. Pictures of knives. The scene with the policeman at school when Oskar is very keen on the fact that the dead body in the burnt house had no smoke in the lungs. Finally, we have the fact that Oskar is bullied. Brutally bullied by these jerk kids at school. Bullying can lead to bad things, we all know this.

"So Darrel, What does it all mean?" You ask. Well here goes....... Oskar meets Eli at a time when his loneliness and rage at the bullies, possibly even his family is at it's peak. Isn't this a funny coincidence? That he meets her when he's out stabbing at the tree. This is merely my analysis. I realize others might not agree, but I feel that Eli is the physical embodiment of Oskar's murderous rage. Against the bullies, possibly against his emotionally distant parents. Against the world for whatever reason. I find it fitting that she just so happens to be a vampire. Bloodlust anyone? Oskar as at such a vital time in his life. Hormones, emotions all kinds of wacky stuff is going on. He's losing it. Eli is like his alter ego. His doppelganger. The fact that she's female maybe be signaling other suppressed urges. Who knows. Oskar is feeling some weird things and they are physically manifesting themselves in the form of Eli.

Eli brings him out. Makes him grow and stand up to the bullies. She makes him feel more like a man. Brings him out of his shell. All the while subconsciously linked with his murderous impulses. I know this all sounds very strange but it seems to make sense to me. This is a strange movie after all anyway. I feel the title of "Let the Right One In" has significance too. I know it pays homage to a lot of the folklore with vampires in general but also think of it this way. She can only be invited in when she comes to Oskar's house. It makes sense that this is symbolism with him inviting his negative compulsions into his psyche. That he peacefully and innocently plays along with them. Embraces these compulsions fully.

The significance of the old man with Eli. Well I notice he wasn't very skilled at providing Eli with food. He had a ritual and I know that it was easier for him to get blood for her this way. But, who's to say he hadn't been a serial killer for a long time already, and maybe Eli was also the physical manifestation of his murderous urges. I realize this is all a stretch but don't go taking my opinion as "the word."

All in all I loved this movie, but its not one of the movies that I will revisit frequently as I find it kind of a downer. The fact that Oskar becomes Eli's new helper for food in the end merely demonstrates his jumping off the cliff into his abyss. This movie truly did get to me. I found it very saddening when the older man pours acid on his face and kills himself. I find it disturbing because of the age of the children in this movie. Here you have Oskar on the cusp of being an adult and then he meets Eli, the possible physical version of his "growing up" as a possible killer.
Very young children dealing with very adult issues.