{"id":25203,"date":"2019-07-12T10:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=25203"},"modified":"2019-07-11T21:00:33","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T02:00:33","slug":"countdown-to-halloween-let-the-old-dreams-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/entertainment\/2019\/07\/12\/countdown-to-halloween-let-the-old-dreams-die\/","title":{"rendered":"Countdown to Halloween: Let the Old Dreams Die"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When John Ajvide Lindqvist\u2019s<\/a> novel \u201cL\u00e5t den r\u00e4tte komma in<\/a>\u201d was published back in 2004, it was his debut novel. A few short years later, he was referred to as the \u201cSwedish Stephen King,\u201d according to the New York Post, despite it being his only truly famous novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The novel in question took its name from a Morrissey song: \u201cLet the Right One Slip In<\/a>,\u201d and it, in many ways, rewrote one of the oldest horror stories in the cannon of the genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a re-imaging of the vampire myth that stressed realism, and took on deep, devastating subjects such as existential anxiety, social isolation, divorce, pedophilia and murder. The book is a harrowing read, not just for the terror therein, but for the layers it provided to horror. It became a horror of emotional honesty and pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The cover of Lindvist’s dark vampire novel. (Maven of the Eventide \/ YouTube) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The book obviously spawned a movie. Well, two to be exact<\/a>. So, I\u2019d like to talk about them both, because, for me, they are two of the saddest horror movies ever created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My initial experience with the films was through an article that had listed the original, Swedish version, \u201cLet the Right One In<\/a>,\u201d as one of the best horror movies of the early aughts. Obviously, as a horror fan I was intrigued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it was a Swedish movie, there was no way I\u2019d be able to find it at a video store around here. So, I put it on my Netflix DVD queue and promptly forgot about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t until trailers for the remake had started showing in late summer 2010 that I\u2019d even thought of it again. But, it was an American remake of a critically acclaimed foreign language film. Surely it was gonna be crap, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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