Matt Reeves’ “Let Me In” (2010): Every Outcast Needs a Monster…

Let Me In is Matt Reeves’ 2010 film, starring Kodi Smit-McPhee as Owen and Chloe Grace Moretz as Abby. It’s based on the novel Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

Marketed as your typical horror film, Let Me In is more accurately a twisted love story. It surrounds a young boy, Owen, who befriends a girl the same age, Abby, living in his apartment complex. Owen soon discovers that Abby is a vampire.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS!

From the film cover alone, I could tell this was going to be an interesting film. At first glance, the picture appears to be a white rabbit on a blood-red backdrop. But upon closer inspection, we see it’s main character Abby, curled up in fetal position.

One of the main debates of this film is whether Abby truly liked Owen, or whether she was deceiving him into becoming her next caretaker. Abby saved Owen’s life, and was his only friend when he had none. Yet Abby initially claimed she couldn’t be Owen’s friend, until she discovered her caretaker was getting sloppy- then she begins talking to Owen nightly. While Abby appears like a sweet girl, she is much older than twelve years old, and thus is wizened on how to trick people. While she saved Owen’s life, she could have came back for him because she realized how hard it was to find a new caretaker considering her physical appearance.

Owen likes Abby despite her monster-side, even when she reveals she’s not really a girl. But what would have happened had Owen refused her when he discovered her secret? He refuses her once, but Abby goes to him right afterwards, and he folds. Would Abby have drank Owen had he stopped being her friend? Was this an underlying psychological element that caused Owen to stick with Abby?

The whole concept/dynamic of Abby’s relationship with her caretaker is pretty fascinating in itself. We see a photo that depicts Abby with her former caretaker. He was about the same age/size as Owen is currently when he started taking care of Abby. We might also assume that this caretaker was an outcast like Owen. In the beginning, Owen shows some semi-disturbing tendencies of spying and stabbing the air- he wears a freakish mask while doing so. Abby’s caretaker also wears a weird mask when he kills victims for her. So it seems that Abby purposely chooses outcasts to be her caretaker (or happens to befriend them easily due to their always being alone). In return, she protects her caretaker from bullies/potential threats. As mentioned previously, she also spares her caretaker as a victim (she even seems reluctant to drink her caretaker’s blood at the hospital). Still, what happens when the caretaker grows up and can take care of himself? We see that it’s too late for the caretaker to change his mind and live his own life- he’s stuck with Abby until he dies or can’t fulfill his duties.

So, clearly Owen is following the same path as Abby’s former caretaker, although it’s never established out in the open exactly what Owen is doing or sacrificing. Abby became to Owen a mother figure, a protector, a friend, a potential love interest, a teacher- everything that was missing from Owen’s life. Thus, their bond forges a strange sense of loyalty within Owen, and a silent agreement is formed that he will return his affection for Abby by being her caretaker. Keep in mind that Abby shows interest in Romeo & Juliet, after which Owen does. His reading it during time spent with Abby, definitely could have influenced his puppy-love for her.

Some speculated that Owen created Abby as his imaginary friend, and this is definitely plausible, especially in regards to the ‘white rabbit’ mentioned previously (falling down the rabbit hole, making up a fantasy). However, because we see scenes of other characters by themselves (the cop, the former caretaker), it’s doubtful that this is what the writer intended.

Every vampire story has its own characteristics, and Let Me In is no different. Many have debated this aspect, but hearing wings fluttering and considering the scene where Abby decapitates the bullies, it’s safe to assume Abby can fly/glide. Many vamp stories claim that vampires have to be welcomed into a household, but this was the first story I know of that delved into why. When Abby enters Owen’s home without him technically inviting her in, her head starts to bleed, similar to Jesus’ crown of thorns. Another common attribute is that Abby can’t be out in the sun, but it’s interesting that she chooses the bathtub as her daytime coffin. We also see in the film that Abby can’t kill on her own- she needs a caretaker. This is somewhat odd, as Kirsten Dunst’s character in Interview with the Vampire killed quite easily on her own. Yet perhaps we should consider modern times; the need to clean up (leaving DNA) and the need to occupy a residence, which Abby probably couldn’t do on her own. Another interesting aspect of the film is that both characters appear androgynous (even in the original film version), and both are at a ‘middle stage’ sexually due to their age.

Overall, Let Me In is surprisingly captivating, and has a great 80s soundtrack to boot, although one might hesitate to label this a horror or romance considering the points mentioned above.


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