“LET THE WRONG ONE IN” (2021) GIVES US A NEW HILARIOUS TAKE ON THE VAMPIRE GENRE
Vampire movies have been pretty common when it comes to the horror genre. Dating all the way back to “Nosferatu” from 1922, “The Lost Boys” from the classic era of 1987, and even some of the more recent ones including the upcoming “Morbius” film. We have seen vampires bite the dust in so many ways over the 100 years of film portraying them on the silver screen. We have seen them explode due to sunlight, melt because of holy water in a bathtub, and even sparkle (which I don’t think counts. Sorry "Twilight"…..my kind of vampires burst into flames when the sun hits them…..except "Blade". He is the only exception).
I have always had a big fandom for vampire movies. I loved watching them even at a young age. I remember being the only 7-year-old in the movie theater when I got to see “Bram Stroker’s Dracula” and an excited teen when I discovered how many more vampire movies are out there. No matter if they are good or bad, vampire movies are enjoyable. Even the silly ones like “Once Bitten” or “Dracula: Dead and Loving It” are still some of my favorite vampire comedies about bloodsuckers and their undead quest to conquer what they want with their immortal life. There is a charisma about vampires.
They are the only supernatural creature I know that is polite enough not to enter your house without an invitation, which I always thought was fascinating. If you are dealing with a vampire, you just run home and tell them they are not invited like some pushy door-to-door salesman. I have never seen a werewolf or even Freddy Krueger have that. Most people in horror movies would be pretty safe if they just decline an invite. “Sorry Freddy, I am not inviting you into my dreams tonight. I’m doing a whole flying and sexual discovery thing here, maybe next time”. I have yet to ever see in a vampire movie someone blessing the rain and taking out a horde of vampires. Hopefully one day we will all get to experience that in a vampire movie.
Recently I got the chance to watch the 2021 vampire horror comedy “Let the Wrong One In” from Dark Sky Films. This movie stars Karl Rice, Eoin Duffy, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” icon Anthony Head, Lisa Haskins, and Laura Murray. This movie was also written and directed by Conor McMahon. The movie starts around Alison (portrayed by Laura Murphy) getting bitten by a vampire on the night of her bachelorette party. This sequence of her and her future bridesmaids running away from a bar and throwing dick inflatables at the angry bar owner was so hilarious right off the bat. The montage and music really added a nice touch to it.
We fast forward to years later where we are introduced to Deco (portrayed by Eoin Duffy) who is a junkie and all-around screw-up who wakes up on a bench but is burning due to the sunlight. We find out later in the film that Alison bit him the night before and turned him into a vampire. In hopes to find someplace nearby, he goes to his family’s home to try and convince his brother Matt (portrayed by Karl Rice) to help him in some way. Matt plays off as a quiet and “do what he’s told” type as you can see him making his mother breakfast at her command. The great thing about this character is there is such growth and confidence that he gains from the whole experience.
When Deco finally gets in touch with his brother Matt, a lot of hell ensues with Deco vomiting blood, trying to bite Matt, and all-around uncontrollable craziness while trying to get Deco to control himself. They decide to call a doctor and that is when we are introduced to Henry (portrayed by Anthony Head) who is pretending to be a doctor when he is actually a vampire-killing taxi driver. After a fight happens between them, he and Deco, Matt comes in to knock him out and tie them both to chairs. We find out that Henry was engaged to Allison many years ago and due to her being turned into a vampire, has dedicated his life to killing all vampires with his taxi co-workers guiding him to sightings.
Matt tends to go back and forth in this movie on whether he wants to kill Deco or help him. He even gets training from Henry on how to kill a vampire. This training montage between Henry and Matt was another favorite scene of mine. The music was great, the scripting and all-around was quite fun to watch. They get interrupted by another vampire of Allison’s clan trying to kill them and thankfully Matt ends up skillfully killing her with a shovel and some sunlight before staking her. There is also a bit of a side story with their neighbor Frank (portrayed by David Pearse) who is always sticking his nose in their business and barges in when Matt steals Frank’s pet rabbit as a way to help Deco stall his bloodlust.
The last bit of this movie is action-packed and hilarious. Things get complicated when Deco turns his girlfriend Natalie (portrayed by Lisa Haskins) into a vampire when she is geeking out on how cool it is. Sadly, there is a “Twilight” reference in there (look I get they are good movies and all but I for the life of me can’t get over the sparkling in the sunlight. It will always bug me) before she convinces Deco to bite her.
The two of them as a vampire couple are actually quite fun and hilarious. They even get a nice post-credit scene together. The final act is for Matt and Deco to save their mother (portrayed by Hilda Fay) from being raffled off to some random vampire at Allison’s nightclub opening due to her rare blood type. Matt’s plan to sneak in was very creative and I give him kudos for putting a plan together so fast. Be sure to keep an eye out towards the end of the movie involving a bridge. That is all I will say, it is too good to spoil but I am sure you will love it.
My overall thought of this movie was that it was a fun time. It has a “Shaun of the Dead” meets “Lost Boys” vibe to it that I think really works well for it. Not to mention the hilarious Irish humor. This movie is a high recommend for me considering the comedy, the cast, the writing, and overall, the enjoyment I got from watching it. The cast in this is really great and they play off each other very well. It seems that they are very close and you can tell that shows on screen.
“Let the Wrong One In” from Dark Sky Films comes out this Friday, April 1st in select theaters and VOD.
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