Floyd Konde

Let Me In - Review analysis

Empire online.com

I read the review for Let Me In at one of the world’s leading film magazine websites, Empire – I found a very thorough and professional review written by Dan Jolin.

At the top of the page is (of course) the film title, and beneath it is the film score out of five. To the left is a description of each score out of five and in this case, Let Me In is scored 4/5, which is “Excellent”. The review also features a screenshot from a scene in the film, showing the two main characters/ leading actors, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Grace Moretz. A brief summary of the storyline labelled under ‘Plot’ is written at the very beginning of the film review, giving the reader a bit of background information concerning the film, which is very useful to someone who hasn’t watched the film themselves. The critique’s review then begins underneath which is also labelled, as ‘Review’ – this is how the website has structured their review page.

Dan Jolin focuses on the weight of expectation and pressures the director (Matt Reeves) faced in the production of Let Me In due to his 2008 epic Sci-fi success Cloverfield, in the first paragraph - Here he states how this film marked the return of Hammer studios and the fact that this is the second released adaptation from John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel Let the Right One In, in the space of two years. In doing so, this is introducing the film review and giving some insight on the background relating to the director and film. He then goes on to comment on the explicitness Let the Right One In lacks, in comparison to this version, but also compares Matt Reeves’ methods to the novel – in the process, the reviewer is informing readers the personality and situation relating to one of the characters in the film. Throughout the review the critic draws numerous comparisons to the original release. He even gives quotes from the movie as well which adds depth when he’s trying to get his point across. In the process, he sometimes describes scenes of the film to the reader which are highly significant to the satanic nature of the film. He even goes as far as comparing the choice of locations between the two versions and draws his own opinion on what effects it has on the story itself. Dan Jolin also makes reference to the leading actors’ previous roles in films such as The Road and Kick-Ass – characters which these two young actors played, that were one of the year’s most powerful and daring child performances. He comments on how using two of such actors who have marked the world of cinema at such a young age already, creates the successful chemistry they hold between them in the story – using their combined talents was an intelligent decision, which made a big difference in this film.

Near the end of the review, the techniques used by Matt Reeves to portray Owen’s isolation are told – he states how Owen’s mother’s face is a distant blur and is never revealed in the film, the same for his father who is only ever made aware of when heard over the phone. It is an excellent aspect about the film to point out to the reader, which only shows how good Reeves directing skills are. We are also given Jolin’s opinion between Matt Reeve’s previous Sci-fi success Cloverfield, to Let Me In – he gives a positive account on whether this was a better production than the film that got Reeve’s name known. At the very end, the final ‘Verdict’ on the film is given along with the score (which has already been given) – in terms of structure, it is quite needless to display the film score more than once on the page, but by giving the verdict, it summaries all his thoughts and opinions of the film in one.

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=118640


Total film.com

The film review page for Total Film magazine has a strikingly similar layout to that of Empire but to be honest, it displays a more appealing and convincing review page layout than its counterpart, in terms of; use of space and colour, not to mention the clearer font size of the text, making it easier for the reading public. What familiarises itself with Empire is the ‘stars out of five’ rating system located at the top, the ‘film details’ located just below that to the right hand side (which to be fair doesn’t provide much detail about the film. Displaying only three pieces of information concerning Let Me In – the certificate, release date and genre – is a sloppy mistake) and the word ‘verdict’ accompanied with some witty, critical, summarising sentence or two right at the foot of the review.

As expected, they’re not following each other’s footsteps exactly; whilst the Empire review page provides the reader with a plot summary of the film and as I’ve previously mentioned comes quite in handy for us, Total Film provides the reader with a introducing gag foreshadowing the opinion of the reviewer concerning the film, and in this case its – “Relax – the kids are all right...” This is something refreshing, pleasant and somewhat entertaining for the reader, leaving them with something to keep in mind as they’re about to read through our critique’s very own account. Unlike Empire, this review page doesn’t provide us with a nifty ‘key’ describing what each star merit means, but similarly and maybe even better than Empire, it does give us the star ratings for recent productions either just or still hitting the big screens. Empire shows us a list of only five, ‘5 star reviews’ and five ‘Latest DVD reviews’ on the side whilst Total Film has four options to choose from concerning film reviews.

Jonathan Crocker is the critical reviewer of Let Me In through his own version of the film’s general performance. In reading this review from Crocker, I picked up on a number of similar factors from Dan Jolin’s review that he also points out. He compares and contrasts the film with the original make based on the Swedish novel, he provides us with a small dose of background information concerning the leading actors - referencing their breakout roles in their previous films - he mentions the use of CGI, the storyline’s early 1980’s theme, the director’s skills and techniques, and even quotes and references to some of the film’s material, such as the type of music being played within the 1980’s world of the film. I’d say this is a far less detailed account of the film but never the less, touches on all the right corners providing a briefer but intelligent analytical review.

http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/let-me-in

The Guardian.co.uk
As expected, a film review page from a national newspaper tends look far more sophisticated in way which represents standard organisation and design. Just like the two others the Guardian displays; the ‘stars out of five’ rating system near the top (and in this case isn’t quite as noticeable in font size), an introducing sentence concerning the general opinion from the reviewer, the review’s name above the image but accompanied with a small photograph showing a visual identity and the film details, neatly categorised and listed within a little grey rectangle which is pretty much shoved into the text, which could potentially swerve the reader’s attention midway through the review. What contrast its layout from its big-film industry magazine counterparts is the absence of the verdict – a summarising judgement on the film’s overall performance in a sentence or two – and the presence of a caption right underneath the image. The font used to display the film title is definitely smaller in size than the other two and the style is very ‘Book Antiqua’ to say least – a standard and quite formal style of font, an expected feature within a newspaper – this reiterates my initial point concerning the difference between a newspaper and an actual film magazine.

Here, Peter Bradshaw – the reviewer – gives a slightly more negative account about the film. They’ve scored Let Me In a 3 out of 5 and this rating is reflected in this version of critical film analysis. He begins his review by stating how over-praised the two versions of the Swedish novel have been and after watching Let Me In myself, I would personally agree with this statement. Although I haven’t had the privilege of watching the original make, Bradshaw in a way saves me the trouble stating more of less the same opinion concerning the two films – “A very good film, slightly over-praised, has been remade as a slightly good film, very over-praised.” The comparison of both productions is something all three reviewers fluidly take the liberty of doing, and to be honest is something that should naturally come to mind prior to the fact that Let Me In is a remake. One thing that strikes me about the whole franchise is that Reeves decides to remake a modern production, when usually it’s a film taken from the 20^th century. Bradshaw picks up on the storyline time frame – the early 1980s – he provides background information concerning the leading actors, he even connects the modern day audience to such productions like Let Me In and Twilight - giving comparison to a film outside the whole circle and a blatant personal opinion over favoring Let Me In, which is a one of the few positive comments made throughout the review. Bradshaw continuously reference other material outside the circle, with similes and gimmicks that provide an entertaining and somewhat daring review for the reading public – this is a technique which I admire greatly.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/04/let-me-in-film-review

Let Me In - Poster analysis

Written form


Release date – The release date – the American release date (October 1^st 2010) – clearly relates to the fact that they were aiming to reach that cold and chilling winter period leading up to Halloween. The genre of the film prompted the creators of this film to release it at a period of time where horror lingers everywhere. Ghouls, zombies, vampires are all elements of horror films in Halloween.

The Film title – The font and style of the writing seems to have a cold and chilling effect, It is very conventional of the horror genre to create that sort of effect with the wording. This all adds to the atmosphere that the film portrays. Ultimately the title speaks for both of them, because in the film there are scenes where they ask each other, “Can I come in?” The title raises gothic connotations.

Tag line/ slogan – The tag line foreshadows Abby’s life and the events which the audience should expect during the story – it suggests that Abby is immortal because she is a vampire and that the ‘innocence’ is mortal.

Target audience – Rating the film at 15+ is expected because it suggests that teenagers from this particular age group would enjoy this type of movie because of the fact that it is narrating a story about young characters, with the use of gory scenes of disturbing nature for individuals under that age rating. It is also why the additional 18 certificate is present in the bottom right, presumably.

How the genre of the film is communicated/ Representation – The two main actors/ characters are displayed – Owen, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee and Abby, who is played by Chloe Grace Moretz. They are in an embrace which suggests the close relationship they hold between each other. It also emphasises the title of the film – by hugging they are inviting themselves into one another – letting each other in. Additionally, they have been edited to look black and white which creates that spooky, gothic vibe about the poster. Abby has blood on her mouth to signify that she is hungry for blood and simply that she is a vampire. There are red patches behind the title which undoubtedly signify trails of blood. This is another typical convention of the horror genre – blood is always used to show pain, danger, death etc. so of course in a vampire film blood will be guaranteed as part of graphic scenes within the film.

The U.S.P. – The unique selling point of the poster is the director’s name and one of his previous successful productions, Cloverfield to attract an audience who have seen that film and enjoyed it to watch this film, which also promises to be a success - it gives the film an advantage during its advertising campaign.

Film reviews – Let Me In received nothing but positive feedback from the press - the proof is visible at the top end of the poster. They all have used one word to describe the film in a positive way, and stars all rating it 4 out of 5 suggesting how successful it really is.

 

Let Me In - Textual analysis

Film title - Let Me In

Date of release - 5th November 2010 (UK)

Director - Matt Reeves

Genre/s - Drama | Fantasy | Horror

Sub-genre - Vampire Horror

 

Narrative structure

Todorov’s equilibrium model is the structural narration of the plot for a film by describing the state of normality (the equilibrium), the events disrupting that state of normality (the disruption) and the new resolution (new equilibrium). In Let Me In, a twelve year old boy called Owen is a social misfit and a victim of bullying in school, and who only lives with his mother. Two new characters move in next door to him - a twelve year old female vampire called Abby and a man who is thought to be her father. The audience are then made aware that Abby and her father, (who is actually her Renfield) are associated with satanic happenings when Abby’s Renfield stalks and kills a post-graduate student from Owen’s school one night. In another scene, the audience discovers Abby is a vampire when she attacks a man in a foot tunnel. Owen befriends and becomes emotionally involved with her throughout the film despite discovering her true identity. The new equilibrium of the film is Owen and Abby travelling away from home by train, which suggests to the audience that they are starting a new life elsewhere.

Levi-Strauss’ was an anthropologist who suggested that the production of meaning depended on the concept of binary oppositions. There were a lot of highly significant binary oppositions in the film; Life/ death, light/ dark, day/ night, love/ hate, vampire/ human, good/ evil. During the film these binary oppositions are explored significantly through the characters; these two young characters’ personalities hang them on the fringes of society – they are outcasts against the realms of society. Abby’s survival depends on her consuming human blood, she only comes out at night and avoids exposure to daylight in order to live (which is a typical vampire movie convention). Her evil nature as a vampire leads her to attack various characters in the movie, she is also emotionally involved with Owen during the film and Owen without a doubt, expresses hate towards the bullies.

At the very beginning of the film, they show a hospital scene from the perspective of one character – later events help explain how and why the victim was brought to hospital in the first place, so this scene is revisited later on but in the perspective of Abby, which ultimately reveals to the audience it was a ‘fast-forward’ opening sequence. Other than that, the film is told in chronological order, without anymore fast-forwarding and flashbacks. The film has a closed and omniscient narrative – it doesn’t contain any highly significant twists within the story to create an open narration, which would normally leave a door open for a possible sequel and the audience is told everything to do with the characters motives, whereabouts etc.

Representations genre codes and conventions

In every horror film (not just vampire horrors of course), the audience should expect to witness numerous typicality’s of the genre such as typical characters and typical stylistic elements, including mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound and editing. Horror films tend to create vast negativity of the way characters think, behave and of course the events that occur to them during the film. Like other horror movies such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Paranormal Activity and Insidious, Let Me In is so different in that sense - there isn’t really any happiness. The setting of the entire film is based in a snowy winter, which sets the scenes for cold and chilling events. The use of isolated areas where the population from the public is very limited such as, the forest where Abby’s Renfield kills his first victim, the ditch (when the car accident occurs), and the foot tunnel are very conventional of the genre. The use of silhouettes in certain shots, which signifies darkness and morbidity in this type of film, is also quite typical. It is an interesting piece of cinematography. Owen is seen as a victim in the story because he behaves and speaks quite timidly, mainly due to his bullies. It is typical that a boy of smaller size would be tormented (in numbers) by boys who are presumably older and bigger. Just like other horrors, Owen acts afraid and uneasy towards the evil within Abby – there’s always going to be shock and hysteria once a person discovers the truth about someone, or when they witness something horrifying in front of them and this typical convention is no stranger in this film - Just like in Fright Night (2011) the vampire living next door is a danger to the people living amongst him. In the film Owen is protected by Abby, even though he is in potential danger around her. Other characters are made victim to Abby in the film, because of course the innocence are always made victim to a villain; the man in the foot tunnel, the woman with her dog, and even the policeman. When Abby turns into her vampire form, you can expect to see the change into a vicious facial expression, eye colour and teeth – although, I was slightly surprised to see the lack of sharpness in her teeth. Her character was mainly dressed in all black clothes, which is typical of a villain but it is debatable to say if she was totally evil in this film. In terms of make-up she seems to have paleness about her skin which is a classic convention of vampire characters.

One thing the writers decided to do with the storyline is to base it in the 80’s, which means that the representation of the characters would be retrospective to a specific degree – it means that the costumes, hair, make-up and the manor of speech would correspond to the way people would have fashionably appeared and behaved at that era. The way in which the bullies dress for instance is totally representative of a youthful white male lower class, social group; the character on the far left is an obvious example, wearing very short shorts, with a tight top and a jerry curl hairstyle. The policeman wearing large glasses and a puffy rain jacket, with a moustache and a balding hairstyle is a typical 1980s appearance. The policeman himself is typical of the genre – heroic secondary characters in films such as this will always be vulnerable to danger and eventually killed. This image I specifically chose is from one of the later scenes of the film – He is investigating strange activity, something which is typical of a policeman to do and unfortunately for him, he is eaten to death by Abby. Additionally, characters make numerous vain remarks by saying, “Jesus-Christ!” which is linked to the religious context of the film – the binary opposition of good versus evil, because it’s as if saying that is an immediate response to bad and evil happenings – like when Abby’s Renfield falls out the hospital window to his death, the policeman goes back and discovers him and says that phrase.  

The overall representation of age, gender, social class and ethnicity is a mainly the case of being stereotypical and negative. Some of the younger characters in this film are seen to be rebellious (the bullies), and a person like Owen – a lonely victimized 12 year old boy, bullied by boys taller and older than him, which creates a stereotypical and negative image for a youngsters. Owen’s parents are separated in the story and are on the verge of a divorce and stereotypically, it is the father who isn’t living with the child, but the mother instead – the audience never see him in the film but there is a scene where Owen is talking to him over the phone – this negatively represents fathers in a way.

In terms of the storyline’s typicality of the sub-genre, I would say it isn’t very typical – it is a totally different method of narrating a vampire movie. I can easily dictate what a typical storyline of this sub-genre would be – a loose vampire in a town, only ever appearing at night (of course) and a heroic character left the responsibility to kill them with a wooden stake. In this film, there isn’t even a mention of wooden stakes – in fact, Abby’s vampire teeth do not feature any sharp fangs – when she turns into her vampire form, the focus is mainly on her eyes and the blood all over her face. Not one character attempts to kill her in this film but that’s mainly due to the fact that she keeps herself quite isolated away from the world and her true identity hidden.

What is quite typical of the genre is the use of non- diegetic sound; the discordant vocalizing used at the titles in the very beginning to signify evilness, the screeching violins at the hospital scene in the opening sequence to create great tension and more. Sometimes there is a song of which a person sings in a horror film, which can be highly significant or create creepiness – Owen sings the same song throughout bits of the film including the end, a bit like Jeepers Creepers. The editing increases in pace when the horrifying scenes occur (as expects), like when Abby attacks a woman in the neighbourhood, the camera changes angles quite frequently. The fact that film is set in the peak of winter, (snowy conditions) it adds to that cold and spooky vibe.