Let the Right One In (franchise)

Let the Right One In is a horror media franchise encompassing a book, two films, a comic book series, several theatre productions and an upcoming television series.

Book

Let the Right One In (Swedish: Låt den rätte komma in), or Let Me In, is a 2004 vampire fiction novel by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. The story centers on the relationship between a 12-year-old boy, Oskar, and a centuries-old vampire child, Eli. It takes place in Blackeberg, a working class suburb of Stockholm, in the early 1980s. The book focuses on the darker side of humanity, dealing with issues such as existential anxiety, school bullying, paedophilia and murder. The book was a bestseller^[1] in the author's home country of Sweden and was translated into several languages, including English.

Novella

Let the Old Dreams Die (Swedish: Låt de gamla drömmarna dö) is a 2012 novella by Lindqvist which follows the exploits of a retired police officer obsessed with tracking down Oskar, decades after his disappearance.

Films

Swedish

Let the Right One In (Swedish: Låt den rätte komma in) is a 2008 Swedish romantic horror film directed by Tomas Alfredson. The film tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a vampire child in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm, in the early 1980s. Alfredson, unconcerned with the horror and vampire conventions, decided to tone down many elements of the novel and focus primarily on the relationship between the two main characters. Selecting the lead actors involved a year-long process with open castings held all over Sweden. In the end, then 11-year-olds Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson were chosen for the leading roles. They were subsequently commended by both Alfredson and film reviewers for their performances. The film received widespread international critical acclaim and won numerous awards, including the "Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature" at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival and the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation's 2008 Méliès d'Or (Golden Méliès) for the "Best European Fantastic Feature Film", as well as four Guldbagge Awards from the Swedish Film Institute and the Saturn Award for Best International Film.

American

Let Me In is a 2010 American romantic horror film^[2] written and directed by Matt Reeves and starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz. It tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a vampire child in Los Alamos, New Mexico in the early 1980s.

Television

American

Main article: Let the Right One In (TV series)

Let the Right One In is a 2017 American drama television series created by Jeff Davis for TNT. The show stars Benjamin Wadsworth, Kristine Froseth, Kristoffer Joner and Thomas Kretschmann. It tells the story of a heavily bullied 16-year-old boy (Benjamin Wadsworth) who befriends a vampire girl (Kristine Froseth) who moved to his small hometown in Vermont with her caretaker (Kristoffer Joner).^[3]

Comic book series

In April 2010, it was announced that Hammer Film Productions and Dark Horse Comics are producing a four-issue comic book limited series. Marc Andreyko will write the comic.^[4] The series, titled Let Me In: Crossroads, is a prequel to the American film. The first issue has Abby and her "guardian" facing a ruthless real-estate tycoon who wants to steal their home and was released in December 2010.^[5] Original author John Ajvide Lindqvist said "Nobody has asked me about [doing a comic] and I think that the project stinks. I am looking into this matter and hope that they have no right to do this."^[6] Later, he informed fans that he had in fact unwittingly sold the rights for the comic to be made, stating that the producers had misinformed him as to the nature of the contract he had signed.^[7]

References