My first disappointment with Let The Right One In has nothing to do with Alfredson’s film, but rather a remake, titled Let Me In, that Overture Films decided they had the right to do. And secondly, now Magnolia has released a US DVD and Blu-ray version of the film completely lost in translation. Click over to Icons of Fright for the skinny. Snapshots are even included, pouring salt on the wound. And yes, it is horrifying.

Based on a best selling book from Sweden, the film is about “Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire feasting on his neighbours.”

Speaking of Cloverfield, Comingsoon.net rallied fans of the film together again over the weekend when they revealed there will be a sequel to the box office hit. The site spoke with producer J.J. Abrams of the film at the Wondercon in San Francisco who confirms they’re actually working on a second entry right now. Imagine my surprise because when the movie hit theaters, Abrams and director Matt Reeves rejected the idea of a potential sequel altogether. Read below or see Comingsoon.net for all the details.

“We’re actually working on an idea right now,” Abrams told the packed crowd. “The key obviously at doing any kind of sequel, certainly this film included, is that it better not be a business decision. If you’re going to do something, it should be because you’re really inspired to do it. It doesn’t really have to mean anything, doesn’t mean it will work, but it means we did it because we cared, not because we thought we could get the bucks. We have an idea that we thought was pretty cool that we’re playing with, which means there will be something that’s connected to ‘Cloverfield,’ but I hope it happens sooner than later because the idea is pretty sweet.”

NEW YORK – October 15, 2008 – Tomas Alfredson’s LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, the first film in Magnet Releasing’s SIX SHOOTER FILM SERIES, continues to accumulate prestigious awards from festivals around the globe as it approaches its New York and Los Angeles theatrical openings at the Angelika Film Center and Laemmle’s Sunset 5 respectively on Friday, October 24th. The film will expand regionally throughout November. Based on a internationally bestselling Swedish novel, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN tells the story of an introverted and bullied 12-year-old boy whose wish for a friend is answered when a young girl moves into the apartment next door. However, the girl’s arrival coincides with a series of grisly murders, and their relationship is understandably complicated when the boy learns that his new friend is a vampire. Alfredson weaves friendship, rejection and loyalty into a haunting and darkly atmospheric, yet poetic and unexpectedly tender tableau of adolescence which manages to breath fresh life into the vampire genre.

Recently adding Sitges’ prestigious Golden Melies award to the list, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN’s awards this year to date include:

Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia: Golden Melies Award
Edinburgh International Film Festival: Critical Consensus Awards
Tribeca Film Festival: Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature
Woodstock Film Festival: Audience Award – Best Narrative Feature
Austin Fantastic Fest: Best Film Award
Dead Channels San Francisco Festival of Fantastic Film: Audience Award – Best Feature Film
Calgary International Film Festival: Best International Feature
Neuchatel International Film Festival: Best European Fantasy Feature
Natfilm Festival Copenhagen: Metro Critics Award
Göteborg International Film Festival: The Nordic Film Award & Best Cinematography Award

Genre master Guillermo Del Toro is a fan of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, calling it “as delicate, haunting and poetic a film as you’re ever bound to see… a chilling fairy tale.” Hollywood has taken note as well, tapping CLOVERFIELD director Matt Reeves for a 2009 American remake. And director Tomas Alfredson has been attracting major Hollywood attention himself—rumor has it that he is very close to securing a deal to direct his first American feature. And while Sweden tapped Jan Kroell’s EVERLASTING MEMORIES over LET THE RIGHT ONE IN as their selection for the Best Foreign Film Oscar category, Magnolia has its eye on the Golden Globes for Awards season.

“This universal love and acclaim being showered on Tomas’ film would be taking us by surprise if it wasn’t so damn good,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “We’re pretty confident this film is going to wind up on a lot of ‘ten-best’ lists this year—we’re feeling pretty optimistic about its box-office and ancillary potential as well. It’s definitely an auspicious start for the ‘Six Shooter’ series, which is a labor of love for us.”

Let the Right One In is the inaugural film in Magnet Releasing’s Six Shooter Film Series that will feature theatrical releases of six films from the vanguard of quality worldwide genre cinema.  Alfredson’s Let the Right One In has been named winner of such film festival honors as Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival, Best Film and Best Cinematography at Göteborg, and Best Film, Best Director, Best Photography, Best European, North or South American Film at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal.

Official Plot Synopsis:
A fragile, anxious boy, 12-year-old Oskar is regularly bullied by his stronger classmates but never strikes back. The lonely boy’s wish for a friend seems to come true when he meets Eli, also 12, who moves in next door to him.

But Eli’s arrival coincides with a series of gruesome deaths and attacks. Though Oskar realizes that she’s a vampire, his friendship with her is stronger than his fear…

Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson weaves friendship, rejection and loyalty into a disturbing, darkly atmospheric, yet unexpectedly tender tableau of adolescence. The feature is based on the best-selling novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, which the UK press qualified as “reminiscent of Stephen King at his best.”

Screening Dates and Locations:
10/24/2008
West Hollywood, CA: Sunset 5
New York, NY: Angelika Film Center

11/7/2008
San Diego, CA: Hillcrest Cinemas

11/14/2008
San Francisco, CA: Embarcadero Center Cinema
Chicago, IL: Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema
Minneapolis, MN: Lagoon Cinema
Nashville, TN: Belcourt Theatre
Seattle, WA: Varsity Theatre

11/21/2008
Denver, CO: Mayan Theatre

11/28/2008
Santa Fe, NM: The Screen

“Remakes should be made of movies that aren’t very good, that gives you the chance to fix whatever has gone wrong,” Alfredson tells Moviezine. “I’m very proud of my movie and think it’s great, but the Americans might be of an other opinion. The saddest thing for me would be to see that beautiful story made into something mainstream. I don’t like to whine, but of course – if you’d spent years on painting a picture, you’d hate to hear buzz about a copy even before your vernissage!”

If you’ve been following our coverage of Let the Right One In (review), you will understand how furious this news makes me. I’ll agree that an English-language remake may expose the film to millions more fans, but potentially sacrificing everything we have loved about the movie seems too great of a risk (seems likely the way Hollywood is nabbing remake rights). Can we not read subtitles anymore? If the film gets proper exposure (something Magnet Releasing may want to reconsider), the film could be a potential masterpiece even in the states. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ring a bell? Alfredson’s stunning success in the film comes from being subtle and leaving more to the viewers’ imagination for the scare, something we used to see in the good ol’ Hollywood days.