Films of the 2000s Rankdown

[Alex95]

16. Let the Right One In

12.57/20

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@FrogLenzen - 6/20

@Deeee - 7/20

@~Tom~ - 10/20

@*Diana - 11/20

@*Chris - 15/20

Public - 19/20

@Steven_ - 20/20

 

@Elliott - 10/20

@totes4totes - 12/20

@*Wallace - 12/20

@Alex95 - 19/20

@.Rei - 19/20

@#jeah - 19/20

 

Derek

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This being considered a “horror” movie is almost silly. How can a horror movie make me feel so much? I was almost like.. idk relaxed during this. It feels so focused and comfortable. The setting is extraordinary. The snow and the stillness and the lighting and everything. The time period. It all feels familiar somehow. The soundtrack is amazing. This does show vs. tell so expertly. I feel 1000% enthralled watching this.

 

I was afraid it was going to slip through the cracks at the end with some of our horror fans more vocal about other films in the game. I was scratching my head like… OBVIOUSLY this should have been the top horror priority for the game. But maybe they agree with me that this barely feels like a horror. It’s almost a love story. There were only two parts that took me out of it. One is the random crotch shot that was unnecessary. Like I get it, it’s about the boy’s gaze on her. But I can just watch the boy gazing, I don’t have to watch what he’s gazing at lol. And then the cat scene was also totally left field, probably the weirdest part of the movie. CGI cats were as good as they could get at this time lol but I wonder why they felt like they needed to have SO MANY CATS for the scene to work, or why they really needed that particular scene at all. Overall this just feels totally unique and special and absolutely deserves its place in our Top 20 of the decade. 

 

Dee

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One of the greatest horror films ever made. So so so happy this made the finals. Really this is a romantic film, with a side of horror and vampires LOL. The focus of this film is the strange and dark yet beautiful friendship and love between Oskar and Eli. The relationship between Oskar and Eli is a true, genuine piece of art and elevates this film above all other entries in the vampire sub-genre. I would go so far as to say this is the best vampire film ever made? At least in modern times. Oskar and Eli are two of the most complex characters in modern horror cinema. The loneliness and desperation for companionship is such a strong and compelling force that the characters in this story are pushed to commit horrendous acts. It is a film that asks the fundamental question: is there a limit to love and friendship? A coming-of-age romantic vampire horror tragedy. Sounds like a mess, but really, Let the Right One In is truly a perfect film.

 

Tom

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One of my favorite horror films and certainly one of my top favorite ones from the 2000s, I'm very pleased this made it. When Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), a sensitive, bullied 12-year-old boy living with his mother in suburban Sweden, meets his new neighbor, the mysterious and moody Eli (Lina Leandersson), they strike up a friendship. Initially reserved with each other, Oskar and Eli slowly form a close bond, but eventually, Eli shares her vampire identity with Oskar and saves him from bullies near the end. It’s safe to say that they are some of the worst movie villains among this top 20. The cinematography is beautiful and it retains a quiet approach even as the movie goes dark. Apparently the movie toned down many elements of the book it was based on; I'll have to read it one day.

 

Diana

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Romantic film plus horror film? Maybe I need to watch this one! I am placing it high due to the need to place others lower strategically so it benefits from that haha. It does have a highly impressive 98 percent on rotten tomatoes which is cool to see as well. One note is the director Alfredson won the Gothenburg Film Festival's Nordic Film Prize as director of Let the Right One In so that is a great accomplishment as well the universal praise for the film. The film is pretty much universally loved according to the reviews I am reading which is cool to see.

 

Chris

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From the very first line, "squeal like a pig, so squeal", I was drawn into "Let the Right One In" and found myself enjoying the film, even though I am not a fan of horror films. The plot of the film kept me hooked from start to finish and I was invested in the characters' journey.

 

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the film is the camaraderie and friendship that develops between the two main characters, Oskar and Eli. The blossoming of their relationship is a key element of the film, and it's great to see how much they like each other despite their differences.

 

Throughout the film, I was rooting for Oskar and Eli, and the surprise ending was the perfect conclusion to their story, albeit predictable, as we should have known Eli wouldn't leave Oskar out in the cold like that.

 

Overall, "Let the Right One In" is a fantastic film that transcends the horror genre and one that anyone can enjoy, regardless of their horror movie preferences.

 

Megan

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Another movie I thought would end up higher on my list! Honestly, despite killing some of my favorite movies in this game, y'all did a pretty good job of choosing a pretty good and competitive top 20 even if you did eliminate some of my absolute favorites. Of my Top 11 movies, I just don't have as much emotional attachment to this one. I mean don't get me wrong, I love this movie, I just love 11 movies more. I'm thrilled that two horror movies made the Top 20 and arguably they are the two best horror movies (even if I personally probably love The Descent  and Jennifer's Body more than I love this one, Let the Right One In is probably objectively a "better" movie). Let the Right One In hits all the right notes balancing the horror while giving something new to the vampire genre. Child vampires are kind of a terrifying thing to think about. Being trapped in the body of a 12-year-old forever is just a horrifying thought. And we often don't think of the little girls as the monsters. On top of just being a unique vampire movie, it's absolutely beautiful. Overall just a really excellent movie.

 

Alex

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MVP: Kåre Hedebrant

Favorite Scene: Oskar asks Eli to go steady.

 

This was fine! Can't say I agree with the effusive praise most of you have for this movie. I agree with Rei that it was a bit slow for my liking. Not that I need heavily plot-driven movies (for example I love most of PTA's work) but when it comes to thrillers I'm gonna need some more plot because this simply isn't a world I need to be in for two hours if it's gonna take this long for us to go anywhere. I feel like the movie had major tonal issues. Oskar nearly kills a kid in the snow in one scene and then we see a bunch of feral cats attack an old lady in the most absurd way I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or roll my eyes. The relationship between Oskar and Eli is obviously the heart of the movie and that was definitely done well. While I named Hedebrant the MVP, I wasn't that affected by the performances in the movie. The kids were good, but they're also kid actors. And that fact was obvious at times. I can't say I agree with this placement in the top 20, but congrats to its fans.

 

Rei

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An European horror movie would seem to be right up my alley and while I liked it I must admit that I was expecting a bit more. I think it was a smart way to handle the vampire theme and the choice to make the two kids the leads of the movie was refreshing. But I think the movie suffered a bit for its lack of character background (Eli, Hakan) and the pacing. It was a bit slow for me.

 

Steven

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I didn't get around to watching Let The Right One In, but I doubt it's a movie I would've enjoyed anyway. Horror is not my favorite film genre, so it's not like this is a movie that would've been on my watchlist. And after reading the plot summary on Wikipedia and watching the trailer, I think this would've been near the bottom of my ranking even if I did watch it. Perhaps higher than last place if I watched it, but who knows? The friendship angle between these two kids and how they want revenge against the bullies may have separated it from other horror/vampire films? But this was the film that appealed to me the least out of this Top 20, so to the bottom of my ranking this film goes.

 

[FrogLenzen]

tragic that Steven suffered through Hereditary but didn't get around to watching this one. Couldn't be more different examples of the genre

[*Chris]

Surprised to see Derek as the highest ranker for this one and expected it to be higher on Tom’s end. 

[FrogLenzen]

well my guess for Diana was off by 1 and my guess for Chris was off by 2, otherwise yeah

[Deeee]

I expected a lower ranking for Let the Right One In, so I’m not too bummed by this reveal. Just happy it made the Top 20.

[*Chris]

Just now, Deeee said:

I expected a lower ranking for Let the Right One In, so I’m not too bummed by this reveal. Just happy it made the Top 20.

Glad it made it as it was a pleasant surprise - didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did !

[Deeee]

Just now, *Chris said:

Glad it made it as it was a pleasant surprise - didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did !

Happy to hear - this is pretty far from traditional horror, so I figured some of you that hadn’t seen it might actually like it!

[*Chris]

Just now, Deeee said:

Happy to hear - this is pretty far from traditional horror, so I figured some of you that hadn’t seen it might actually like it!

Definitely type of horror I can get behind but I also enjoyed Hereditary so I keep surprising myself ; I definitely have more of an openness to the genre now than let’s say 5 years ago ?

[Steven_]

Perhaps I should’ve watched this one after reading these write-ups.

[Deeee]

2 minutes ago, *Chris said:

Definitely type of horror I can get behind but I also enjoyed Hereditary so I keep surprising myself ; I definitely have more of an openness to the genre now than let’s say 5 years ago ?

My influence!!! JK. That’s good though, I think true film fans likely can enjoy every single genre, they just have to find the right films. Hereditary and Let the Right One In are two non-traditional options with really weighty acting performances that are good starting places for people exploring the genre imo.

[#jeah]

I haven’t seen my #16-20 so take those with a grain of salt  

[FrogLenzen]

 

[FrogLenzen]

RIP my early lead, now Public is winning 

[FrogLenzen]

for the individual pubic I was most wrong about Wallace's ranking!

[*Chris]

17 minutes ago, FrogLenzen said:

RIP my early lead, now Public is winning 

And I’m slowly starting to do better!

[.Rei]

I'm slaying

[.Rei]

I think Let The Right One In was one of the biggest disappointment as I though I was gonna love it more... it was a good film and a nice watch though 

[~Tom~]

I’m glad people liked Let the Right One In more than expected!!

[*Wallace]

LMAO I totally forgot about Let the Right One In... but seeing that I ranked it at #12 on my vote, I guess I kinda liked/didn't mind it?   

[totes4totes]

6 hours ago, FrogLenzen said:

RIP my early lead, now Public is winning 

 

Gonna savor this moment where 5 movies in only Rei is doing better than I am w/r/t having no top 10 movies revealed.

[*Wallace]

8 hours ago, FrogLenzen said:

for the individual pubic I was most wrong about Wallace's ranking!

 

 

I would have been really impressed if you could have gotten my rankings close, as I didn't even know my rankings before doing them - outside of my Top 4, maybe Top 6.  

[Alex95]

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