“Let the Right One In”/”Let Me In”: Moretz Talks Vampire Remake

Chloe Moretz in “Kick-Ass” (photo obviously courtesy of Empire magazine). 

The Swedish film “Let the Right One In” was that rarity amongst the recent wave of vampire-themed films: a well-reviewed, respected horror movie. Needless to say, that was enough to spawn an English language remake, directed by Matt Reeves (”Cloverfield”). The MTV Movies Blog talked to actress Chloe Moretz about her experience making the film, and what were some of the similarities and differences between this one and the original (aside from the obvious title change from “Let the Right One In” to “Let Me In”).

One similarity is the 1980s setting–Moretz said Reeves felt it was important to keep that. The basic story is the same: a boy, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, is a bullied outcast in his town, alone until a new girl moves into his neighborhood. She also seems like an outsider, and the two connect. She has a reason for feeling different, though: she’s a vampire.

Differences from the original? Moretz says:

“I don’t have fangs; but [my teeth] are quite scary. I can’t really say anything about it, but they’re terrifying…I’m the only vampire. You never meet her maker, who made her a vampire. You have a flashback scene where you get it, but you don’t. It just leaves her background kind of blurry. Because, she’s been around for 250 years.”

And here’s what she says makes this movie different from other vampire movies:

“It definitely doesn’t glamorize the idea of a vampire; you see it’s not a fun thing to have in your life. She wishes not to have it; she wishes she could be a normal girl, but she can’t. And she would never put it upon anyone else to become a vampire. That’s why anyone who she does suck their blood, she kills. She does not leave them to become a vampire, because she knows how bad and how hard that is for them – and she wouldn’t want to put that on anyone else.”

Moretz has a ton of credits to her name, even though she’s only twelve (looks like her parents were determined to put her to work as soon as she could talk and stand). But this should be a particularly good year. She got things off to a start last year with a tiny part in the acclaimed (and painfully overrated) “(500) Days of Summer.” This year she is in the much talked about “Kick-Ass,” plus “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” based on the popular books. “Let Me In” is set to be released on October 1st.