Principal Cast Set for 'Let the Right One In' Remake

Having already heard that Kodi Smit-McPhee from the upcoming The Road was the odds-on favorite to take the male lead in Let Me In, a little more light has been shed on the remake of last year's Swedish vampire movie, Let the Right One In, a film you absolutely should see irrespective of this new Americanized version. Chloe Moretz, who plays Joseph Gordon-Levitt's startlingly mature pre-teen sister in (500) Days of Summer, has been officially cast as the young vamp, called Eli in last year's film, but in the remake she'll be called Abby. Similarly, Smit-McPhee's character will be renamed Owen. That's a pretty good young cast for this film, which will roll into production with director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) soon for a 2010 release. But it gets better: The great Richard Jenkins, a recent best Actor nominee for The Visitor will play Abby's kinda sorta father figure/manservant. I don't want to give any additional information about that character away if you haven't watched the original (and did I mention that you should?), but at the same time, you need to have a few details, right? I get the impression that this won't be a straight-up remake. It will apparently be filming in New Mexico, which could change the entire mood of the piece. Let the Right One In is covered in snow, and even though that can happen in the 47th state, too, it's probably going to be more of a desert vibe, wouldn't you imagine? And as long as Reeves approaches it differently enough, the elements of the story are good enough to transfer to another setting successfully.

Comments

[Lengthy Johnson]

Oddly, I can't think of any two movies that are more dissimilar than Cloverfield and Let the Right One In.

Cloverfield has incredibly shallow characters and an annoyingly shallow plot, while Let the Right One In is all about character, setting a plot and meticulously creating a complex mood. It's almost an anti-movie with its long takes, slow pace and semi-documentary style.

Still, the remake will probably get the audience that the original deserved.