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There’s really no good reason to go see Twilight this weekend. If you’re curious, go for it; I won’t judge you a bit. The cast is very good looking, which is almost a good enough reason to watch. But the movie doesn’t stand alone as a film—its not going to be a good story unless you’ve actually read the (in) famous book. And if you have read Stephanie Meyer’s tale of teenage lust (I may or may not have finished the first during fall finals) as is usual the book is–I don’t want to say better– certainly more interesting than the film.
Twilight follows its literary predecessor pretty faithfully. Bella is new in town. A boring Kristen Stewart doesn’t do much to make Bella more likeable, and when Bella meets mysterious, handsome Edward, their supposed chemistry just doesn’t play. Bella discovers that Edward and his gorgeous family are vampires (oh no! I gave it away!), and the two cannot be together because Edward is not strong enough to resist biting Bella, turning her into a vampire too. You wish they stop whining about the Romeo/Juliet schmultz and just do it. Of course, Robert Pattinson just can’t be as handsome and charming as a reader’s picture of Edward, which is the inherent problem with making this movie. Putting images to a fantasy world is risky business and though director Catherine Hardwicke gets the atmosphere just right, the actors themselves can’t create the tension, sexiness, and suspense that makes the book addicting. Go see Twilight if you absolutely have to find out what your 13-year-old sister is so obsessed with, otherwise just read the book—you don’t have to tell anyone you did.
Let the Right One In
The film playing at SUMO this weekend is called Let the Right One In (not ‘put the right one in,’ like I thought.) It is a Swedish film and it is about vampires, not the hokey pokey, which I realized when the movie was scary, and, you know, about a girl who drinks blood. Its title is, in fact, a warning referencing vampire lore. I’ll tell you this now because I was vampire-ignorant and an integral part of the movie was lost on me: a vampire cannot enter a home unless he or she has been invited in.
Just keep this trivia in mind and you will be entranced by Let the Right One In. It is exceptionally scary, but it is so much more than its thrills, giving interesting spins on morality, humanity, and gender roles. It is thought provoking, and the quiet direction walks just the right side of subtle and quiet. The film could have been boring, but instead when 12-year old, vampiress Eli befriends bullied Oskar, you’ll be totally invested in their tale: Oskar is obsessed with the mysterious and brutal killings that have happened in his Swedish town. He knows there is something strange about the new girl next door (you can guess what it is), and the movie unfolds her secret slowly, painfully, and dramatically. We felt worn out by the end. Go see Let the Right One In if you feel like thinking your way through a good mystery, and don’t mind being just a little petrified. Its like Twilight except totally different, and much better.