‘Let Me In’ (re)does vampires right

The Swedish film “Let the Right One In” was a godsend. It was a vampire movie that didn’t get lost in useless romance and focused on what the reality of being a vampire would mean, if such things existed.

Amazingly, the American remake, titled “Let Me In,” accomplishes everything the original did and brings it to a whole new audience.

On paper, the plot sounds terrible, especially to those who currently feel inundated with vampire fodder. A bullied boy named Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) becomes friends with the mysterious new girl in town named Abby (Chloe Moretz). Abby is actually a vampire whose feeding habits set a detective (Elias Koteas) searching for a satanic cult.

While it sounds like a generic tale of forbidden love, it is truly so much more. The love elements are partially there, but the bigger story is an unflinching look at Abby’s vampire traits.

She is not a watered down version of vampire lore for the purpose of a love story. Like her Swedish counterpart, she commits brutal murder and even uses people to the extent that her affection for Owen is even called into question. She is among the most complex and interesting characters to come out of the horror genre in years.

Director Matt Reeves does a superb job preserving everything that is interesting about the original. He relies more on sound, and he exchanges an attack in a school gym for one in a moving car, but the overall plot and themes are intact.

“Let Me In” maintains the integrity of the original while still adding its own originality. So few remakes do this and even fewer horror movies provide the emotion and the sheer brutality like this one.