10 Best Vampire Films Of All Time

Let the Right One In is a Swedish film from 2008 based on a novel by the same name. Its title refers to an interesting addition of a classic vampire rule: they cannot enter your house unless they’re invited.

The film revolves around two children, Eli and Oskar, who form a friendship. Oskar notices strange things about Eli, and eventually finds out she is a vampire.

Like 30 Days of Night, the icy landscape lends itself well to the cold-blooded vampire. There’s a bleakness to the scenery that takes any glamour away from vampirism. And, although this film definitely romantisises vampires, Eli’s life is anything but glamorous. She lives in poverty, in a depressing apartment, spending her time waiting underneath a bridge to feed on unsuspecting humans. This dreary life she leads is something she and Oskar have in common, which increases their bond.

Through the theme of vampirism, the film explores childhood horrors: the divorce of parents, extreme bullying, and dead bodies being found in the woods. The bullying in particular is Oskar’s greatest anguish, and is something that leaves him feeling angry and violent. Eli’s vampirism speaks to this inner violence and Oskar finds catharsis through her hunting down his tormentors.

A picture of vampirism in this universe is painted for us, as we not only see Eli, a fully fledged vampire, but a woman she accidentally turns. We see the frightening process of becoming a vampire, and how many aren’t cut out for it.