Let the Right One In (2008)

Let the Right One In (2008) is a Swedish romantic horror film directed by Tomas Alfredson, adapted from John Ajvide Lindqvist’s 2004 novel of the same name. Set in 1982, the story follows 12-year-old Oskar and his mother Yvonne, who live in the western Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg. Oskar is constantly tormented by his peers and takes solace in collecting news articles about murders while daydreaming about revenge. One night, he meets a pale girl named Eli who has recently moved in next door with her caretaker Håkan. At first, Eli rejects Oskar’s friendship but they gradually form a bond, communicating through Morse code messages through their shared wall. As their relationship grows, Eli discovers that Oskar is being bullied and encourages him to defend himself by enrolling in weight-training classes after school.

Earlier, Håkan stops and kills a passerby on a footpath to obtain blood for Eli. However, his plans are thwarted when an approaching dog walker interrupts him. In response, Eli is forced to waylay and kill a local man named Jocke, who was on his way home after saying goodnight to his friend Lacke. The attack is witnessed by a cat-loving recluse named Gösta from his nearby flat, but he chooses not to report it due to disbelief. To conceal the evidence, Håkan hides Jocke’s body in an ice-hole in the local lake. Desperate for blood, Håkan later resorts to trapping a teenage boy in a changing room after school.