FilmSnobReviews

Title: Let The Wrong One In
Director: Conor McMahon
Starring: Karl Rice, Eoin Duffy, Anthony Head
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 97 min

What It Is: The film follows young supermarket worker Matt, who is a little too nice for his own good. When he discovers that his older, estranged brother Deco has turned into a vampire, he’s faced with a dilemma: Will he risk his own life to help his sibling, with blood being thicker than water? Or will he stake him before he spreads the infection further?

What We Think: This is one crazy, hilarious and baffling film! If the comedy and effects of Evil Dead II got a savory Irish twist… you’d get Let The Wrong One In. As the title already suggests, this film is a parody of sorts – yet it actually has quite a bit of fun with that idea. This one feels like something the cast and crew thoroughly enjoyed working on (nothing is taken too seriously), and I found myself chuckling along with the film’s witty (albeit sometimes awkward) screenplay throughout its runtime. It doesn’t entirely fall into the ‘so bad it’s good’ category either, because whether you believe it or not – there is some real love and passion put into the film.

The practical effects are actually really great and super fun to watch. Vampires get stabbed, torched, and beaten in all sorts of ways in the film, hardly feeling tacky or fake at all. There are some CGI moments here and there (with one scene towards the end making me howl), but in regards to the effects as a whole – the intention here is to make them enjoyable, not make them something you have to try to believe to enjoy, something very admirable and heartwarming to think about.

The acting here is very charming as well, with all three of our leads Karl Rice, Eoin Duffy, and Anthony Head (a familiar face to the vampire genre, of course) having great chemistry – again, having what looks like a hell of a time. The double-edged sword in this one is that the vampires don’t really feel like a threat, more like a Saturday morning cartoon villain, which might detract from any sort of suspense or danger the film is trying to convey to some – but I found it to be oddly amusing. That’s another thing that you must know about this film before going in; it’s totally for laughs. If you try and invest yourself in the film’s story, you probably won’t find anything of merit. The true diamond in the rough here is the heart the film has – the same feeling you’d get from watching bloopers/a a gag reel. Pure enjoyment.

Our Grade: B-; There’s a certain quality to this sort of production, one that can be enjoyed to the fullest accompanied by a few friends or a full art-house movie theater, that makes the comedic, gory, and slapstick sequences very entertaining. As the saying goes, it’s not for everyone. But, if you’re looking for a fun, vampiric romp – this is the best pick for your popcorn.