(Låt den rätte komma in, Tomas Alfredson, Sweden/Norway/France 2008, 114 min., 35mm, Swedish with English subtitles)
Plagued by school bullies, 12 year old Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) finds a friend and his first crush in Eli (Lina Leandersson), a seemingly young girl who moves into his working-class apartment block. They communicate through their shared wall and meet on the playground at night. While Eli encourages Oskar to stand up for himself, a series of brutal murders plagues the suburb. After losing her familiar, Eli is forced to confide in Oskar that she is, in fact, an ageless vampire whose insatiable bloodlust threatens their relationship and the lives of everyone around them. Re-made and imitated, but never duplicated, Tomas Alfredson’s moody updating of a tale of the undead remains effective to this day.
