Låt den rätte komma in (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

Let the Right One in comes in the midst of a deluge of re-imaginings on vampirism, given fresh blood as a genre by the teen emo culture, that anaemic take on '80s goth. This is unfortunate, as it's best viewed as a growing-up drama instead, which is only added a chill and frisson by the horror theme.

And it's a superior example of either genre, the sense of confusion and otherness of the alienated pubescent bolstered by the haunted outsider status of the nightstalker. The idiosyncratic two young leads do much to contribute to its power, and the glacial setting of an anonymous mid-winter early-'80s Swedish suburb, beautifully framed and lit, make for a whole that far transcends what may seem to be stock ingredients. There hasn't been a vampire film this good in terms of rising above the genre cliches since Bigelow's Near Dark, and beyond that it holds its own against acclaimed coming-of-age pieces such as Stand by Me or The 400 Blows.

8/10