I can’t believe I forgot one of my ALL-TIME favorite vampire movies!

Let the Right One In is based on the novel by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. He also wrote the screenplay of the original Swedish movie version, by the way, which follows the book very closely. But the book is something else so if you haven’t read it, definitely check it out! It’s dark, dark, dark and not a single vampire sparkles.

This is a slow burn horror story for vampire lovers with lots of back story to dive into if you have the time. What makes it unique is it’s a story about two children, Oskar (sorry, I wrote Hakan earlier), a bullied little boy and Eli, a mysterious new neighbor who does not feel the winter cold.

It’s in Swedish so there by subtitles and it was remade by Hollywood (of course) but please, if you can, watch the Swedish version.

Let the Right One In ranks up there with Near Dark, a cult classic from 1987 that stars Aidan Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, and Jenette Goldstein (the last three would star together in the Aliens movie – Bishop, Private Hudson “Game over, man!”, and Private Vasquez, respectively). It’s a bloody vampire tale that unfortunately got overshadowed by another vampire movie that came out that same year, The Lost Boys.

And her you thought I only watch and write romance…