Let the Right One In is a vampire television series that has had a long journey making its way to television. It started as a 2004 Swedish novel written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, was adapted four years later into a Swedish film directed by Tomas Alfredson with Lindqvist supplying the screenplay; in 2010 made into an American version directed by Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes, The Batman) and in 2012 made it to the stage in a play adapted by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, King Kong) and directed by John Tiffany. The new Showtime series version premieres on October 7.
The premise of the show is officially described as follows: “Mark and his daughter Eleanor’s lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Seemingly frozen in time at the age of 12, Eleanor has lived a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the human blood she needs to stay alive. Now they’ve returned home to New York City, desperate to find a cure. Inspired by the acclaimed Swedish novel and film, their emotionally charged and terrifying story turns a naturalistic lens on human frailty, strength and compassion.”
Here’s what the cast and show’s creator have to say about it:
ANIKA NONI ROSE (Naomi Cole): I loved the original movie and the book was exquisitely dark.
GRACE GUMMER (Claire Logan): I watched it in an empty house at night; I don’t know if that was a good idea.
NICK STAHL (Matthew): I just thought it was a great idea to turn this thing into a series.
MADISON TAYLOR BAEZ (Eleanor Kane): Let the Right One In is about Eleanor, a 12-year-old girl who was bitten by a vampire and the lengths her father goes to so she could feed and survive.
DEMIAN BICHIR (Mark Kane): Mark is a loving father, but he’s willing to cross any lines to protect his daughter.
ANDREW HINDERAKER (executive producer): Mark Nailed it. I think what sets the show apart is it asks how we can depend on one another and recognize each other’s humanity in really dark and terrifying times. It’s also about compassion and love and how human beings are willing and determined to do anything at all to protect our loved ones. You can see the human beings underneath these monsters. I wanted to create a series that would be a love letter to the film, but a story that would be entirely its own thing. The vampires in our show possess many of the qualities that are terrifying about being a vampire. The power, the violence, the darkness. But they are also incredibly human.