Let the Right One In

Set in the snowy urban wastes of Stockholm in the early 1980s, this Swedish vampire movie proves unexpectedly moving. It's a curious love story between bullied 12-year-old Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) and Eli (Lina Leandersson), a doe-eyed little girl who hides a dark secret. Based on John Ajvide Lindqvist's bestselling novel, Let the Right One In develops into a muted meditation on violence and vengeance as bloodsucker Eli convinces Oskar to strike back at his tormentors. Director Tomas Alfredson coaxes fragile performances from his two young leads (Leandersson, frequently framed like the subject of a Renaissance portrait, is astonishing). It's undeniably frightening - much grisly bloodletting ensues as Eli's middle-aged helper Hakan (Per Ragnar) drains local youths of their haemoglobin - yet Alfredson's light touch adds soulful delicacy and a certain ambiguity to the proceedings, making this a horror movie more likely to prompt tears than screams.