Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2011

A geeky, often bullied 12-year-old (Kodi Smit-McPhee⎯The Road) is befriended and then defended by his mysterious young neighbor (Chloe Moretz⎯Kick-Ass) who only comes out at night and has unusual appetites. Call it an antidote to Twilight. This character-driven horror flick is a toned-down remake (by Matt Reeves⎯Cloverfield) of Sweden’s darker Let the Right One In, but these gifted young actors (aided by Richard Jenkins and Elias Koteas) make it work, and Reeves retains a good part of the original’s spare, tense edge. An intelligent, nicely ambiguous twist on the genre that’s well worth seeing.