LET THE RIGHT ONE IN FILM ANALYSIS

Film Analysis LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Synopsis: Oskar, a bullied 12-year old, dreams of revenge. He falls in love with Eli, a peculiar girl. She can't stand the sun or food and to come into a room she needs to be invited. Eli gives Oskar the strength to hit back but when he realizes that Eli needs to drink other people's blood to live he's faced with a choice. How much can love forgive? Set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in 1982 (Source IMDB)

Notable characters in relation to props theory:

“The villain” – LET THE RIGHT ONE IN differs from a lot of horror films in relation to the characters. The only noticeable villains in this film are the bully’s that provoke the antagonist. By the end of the film it can be argued that they are actually the victims as they get killed by Eli who could be argued to be a protagonist.

“The hero”: There are two characters you could argue to be heroes in the film and they are “Oscar” and “Eli”. Oscar is a kid that befriends a vampire (Eli) and end up loving her. The film is mostly set out through his actions. The other character you could argue to be a hero is “Eli” who is a vampire who befriends Oscar and protects him from the villains (The bullies). It goes against the codes and conventions of a horror film as usually a vampire would be seen as the abnormal villain. While having all the traits of a vampire (Can’t go in the sun, Drinks blood to survive, can’t go in a house unless invited) yet in the film we as the audience still get behind the character as a hero.

These are the only noticeable characters that fit a certain archetype as there is no donor/helper/princess/father/dispatcher. This suggests that the film tires to challenge those conventions and that his film does not prove his theory.

Narrative structure in relation to Todorov’s theory

At the start of the film the not a noticeable equilibrium as the hero, Oscar is pretending to stab one of the villains with a knife. This shows that he is not happy and that there is no equilibrium in his life or in the film. Despite this everything is still calm at the start of the film so it could be argued that there is in fact equilibrium at the start of the film. Later on the film there are 3 potential signifiers. The first is when Eli first moves next to Oscar with her protector which sets the story for the rest of the film. Another signifier that could be argued is when Oscar first meets Eli as these are the 2 main characters. The third signifier would be when Eli’s protector kills a man in the woods for her blood. This is the first scene of violence in the film and opens up the suggestion that Eli is a vampire. Throughout the film Eli and Oscar get to know each other and by the end of the film after a lot of killings Eli murders the bullies and Oscar and Eli leave on a train together. There is equilibrium for Oscar and Eli at the end of the film they are at peace despite all they have done/witnessed which shows how manipulative Eli is and how disturbed Oscar has become. Despite this they still have equilibrium  t the end of the film.