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dvolsky914
Reviews
Thriller: Sleepwalker (1976)
I guess this was it.
I just thought of this film while on YouTube and decided to google the synopsis to see if I could find anything. I saw a link with a description much like one of the film for which I was searching. When I clicked on it, it brought me here, and the description I saw was the one I wrote over 11 years ago. Lol. This is the film, I'm sure. YouTube wasn't around 11 years ago, so I guess I can finally look it up. But do I want to? Like Bahamamama mentioned above, so many films do not hold up to our childhood memories and somehow lose the magic. Still, I've been trying to figure this out for years. Curiosity killed the cat, right? Wow. I was 5 when I first saw this.
Låt den rätte komma in (2008)
This is the version to see.
This is an highly original entry into the horror genre. It has creepy atmosphere and excellent story development with perfect tension-building pace. There is a lot of depth to each of the characters. The chemistry between the principles is both believable and aids in developing the story. The acting by the two leads is impressive and shows depth and maturity for their ages. There is a certain subtlety to the film that perfects it and actually makes the end product something more. I highly recommend this film and would like to add that the American remake is poorly executed and offers nothing that is not more masterfully done here. Thank you.
Let Me In (2010)
See the Swedish version instead.
The original Swedish film adaptation of the novel Let the Right One In has creepy atmosphere, laudable acting, excellent story development and the perfect tension-building pace. This film has none of those things in common with its predecessor. This one also lacks the character development and chemistry between the principle characters that was present in the Swedish version. The characters seem very two- dimensional.
The director has stated that he wished to make the story more accessible to a broader audience. Translation: This is a dumbed-down version of the original. Film critic Beth Accomando said that it "makes obvious all that the original film made subtle and does so with less complexity." I could not agree more. If you are going to remake something, especially something so recent, you must have something to change or add to it to make it your own. In my opinion, this film failed to do so. Any of the changes that were present actually weakened the resulting product.
I wish to add that I also found this to be a letdown for a Hammer Studios release. Hammer is a production company historically renowned for atmospheric vampire films. This movie did not lend much credence to such a reputation.