This one was a very unconventional vampire movie. Set entirely in Sweden during the winter, this film just feels cold. When you've got the heat on in the house and you're still wearing layers (including wool sweaters), it is COLD outside! But there is more to it than just the temperature. The way the vampire in this movie goes about her life, as a little girl - despite her actual age, is also very cold... except for her occasional beast-like feedings. For the most part, there is no real passion in the girl, and she does not appear to feel the pangs of guilt that is common in a lot of current vampire films. She's a feeder, and she needs a companion. Period. Contrasting with the cold and calculating vampire is a young boy -- an outcast in his young community and often bullied by the neighborhood kids, he is a perfect innocent, and far too trusting of the young fem fatale.
The story, then is really about the budding.... romance? friendship? companionship? that emerges between these two apparently young children. That part of this story is very touching, and it is actually kind of moving to watch. But what you can't seem to get away from despite this innocent budding relationship, is the fact that only half of this relationship is innocent. The vampire here, it would seem, is actually quite a bit older than her young suitor. If that isn't creepy enough, there is also the issue that in a way, she is also training this kid to become a cold blooded killer and protector. It is an awkward juxtaposition that is really palpable throughout the movie. It creates an interesting tension that is really the heart of what makes the movie good.
That having been said, however, this movie feels really, really long. And it is long... probably much longer than is really necessary. There are several minor plot lines that don't have much to do with the main thrust of the movie, and the story meanders much longer on unimportant factors of the characters' psyche that don't add much to the story. It detracts from the overall experience and didn't do anything for me other than require me to read (the movie is not in English) more than I really wanted to.
Overall, a unique and sometimes sweet vampire flick, but with really creepy undertones that make this movie worth a watch.
Movie to Skip: 2012
You really, really, really need to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy this film. There are a LOT of action sequences in this movie that not only make even the most forgiving arm-chair physicist cringe, but also require the kind of luck that would make the Lucky Charms Leprechaun prespire heavily. Could the world as we know it crumble to pieces? Sure, I suppose so. I can buy that. But can the same guy perform the kind of driving miracles featured in this film in the same car without blowing out the tires or crushing his spine during his seventh outrageous jump in the same sequence? Probably not. No, make that, absolutely not.
Although billed as an action movie, really this one is just a silly explosive over-the-top version of a 1970's disaster film. It's full of eye rolling moments, and very little of it is believable. I mean heck, if we have to go through the same kind of crap that John Cusack has to go through in order to survive the coming apocalypse, none of us are going to make it. I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything more considering it was directed by the same nonsensical eye candy enthusiast that brought us Independence Day, but I was still hoping it would be a little more character driven... and have a little more realism. Oh well, it is still a 'fun' film to watch, despite the lunacy. But you can skip it entirely and still sleep well at night... trust me.
