One Of The Scariest Scenes In Let The Right One In Spills Blood Into The Water
(Welcome to Scariest Scene Ever, a column dedicated to the most pulse-pounding moments in horror with your tour guides, horror experts Chris Evangelista and Matt Donato. In this edition, Matt wants you to "Let the Right One In.")
When Roger Ebert's right, he's right. The prolific film critic called Tomas Alfredson's "Let the Right One In" the best modern vampire movie upon its release, still relevant praise over a decade later. The movie is many things — sweet, compassionate, bloody, and supremely dark. Vampirism is what connects two outcast children, as they perform unspeakable acts for the benefit of each other. Alfredson stays in command of a vampire tale that's often an emotional journey first, relying on adolescent actors who shoulder the beloved international hit.
There's a specific moment where Virginia bursts into flames that is, probably, the most horror-forward shot of the entire film. That'd be most other people's selection for the scariest scene ever in regards to "Let the Right One In." Maybe because I fear drowning more than becoming a bonfire, I'm drawn to a wetter glimpse of horror imagery. Where body parts are thrown into chlorinated water, stained cloudy red by blood.
The setup
Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is a timid 12-year-old who lives in a Western Stockholm suburb with his mother. Eli (Lina Leandersson) is Oskar's new next-door neighbor, a pale girl who appears to be the same age and lives with an older gentleman named Håkan (Per Ragnar). Oscar is bullied regularly by tougher classmates, and Eli takes pity on him despite her early claims that they cannot be friends. That rule is broken, as the two find comfort in each other versus an outside world that's cold and unforgiving.
The story so far
We come to learn that Eli is not just a shut-in girl, but a vampire. Håkan is Eli's caretaker and supplier when it comes to feeding. A series of events unfolds that leaves Håkan and other civilians dead, but strengthens the bond between Eli and Oskar. They agree to "go steady" even though Eli confides that "I'm not a girl," and through a series of events, learn each other's truths. All this leads to Eli leaving after deciding it's not safe to stay together, only to return when Oskar needs his vampire companion the most.
The scene
Oskar's bullies — Conny, Jimmy, Andreas, and another — find Oskar swimming at a local pool to improve his fitness. The four boys tell all the other children around the pool to scram, leaving only Oskar. Jimmy threatens Oskar by telling him "three minutes," meaning he's going to hold the blonde-haired boy's head underwater for three minutes without air. Oskar doesn't fight his fate, and lets Jimmy plunge his head underwater.
Conny and Andreas glance around as Jimmy leans into the pool, keeping pressure on Oskar. The clock ticks away, counting down how much longer Oskar must hold his breath. Everyone's silent, looking at Oskar, wondering if he'll survive that revenge prank.
Then the camera submerges in front of Oskar, and we can see the large empty pool area behind. Jimmy's hand still firmly presses against Oskar, and the audio mimics how water muffles our hearing when fully under. Oskar starts expelling a stream of bubbles, hinting that he doesn't have the lung capacity to complete Jimmy's challenge. One of the boys asks Jimmy to stop, but he's not letting go.
Back underwater, Oskar appears to be unconscious. The camera stays on him, as we hear a crash above. Shouts can be heard not long after. Sounds are still weakened like from under a blanket, but we can assume what's happening. Then a pair of feet splash into the water, and are pulled back while kicking until they're yanked above the surface. We no longer have to assume what's going on as a decapitated head plops into the pool. Finally, Jimmy's hand loses grip of Oskar and we hear the squelch of a severing noise, the limp appendage sinking like a bleeding rock.
It's the state of being underwater that gets me. Watching children get maimed from below, their frantic actions futile. This separation between air and liquid splits the scene into two realms, where we're forced to imagine even more graphic attacks that we can't see.
The impact (Chris' take)
It can be hard to make an effective vampire movie. The tropes of the subgenre are so well known by now that they've grown stale, giving one a sense that there's nothing new under the sun (or I guess not under the sun, since these are vampires we're talking about). Which is why "Let the Right One In" feels so fresh. It's not your traditional vampire movie; it's more meditative, more somber. The friendship that develops between Oskar and Eli is both sweet and terribly, terribly tragic. Eventually, Oskar will grow old while Eli will stay the same, forever locked in adolescence. The scene in question then becomes a loaded moment. Is Eli saving Oksar out of friendship, or is there a more sinister reason? Eventually, Eli will need a new human to assist with feedings, and who better than Oskar?