Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) © Overture Films
In a remake of the 2008 Swedish thriller Let the Right One In, writer/director Matt Reeves tells the story of a bullied schoolboy who befriends a new neighbor only to discover his new friend is actually a very old- and very hungry- vampire. Let Me In, which opens October 8th, stars Cody Smit-McPhee as Owen the alienated boy in question, Chloë Moretz as Abby, the innocent-looking vampire and Oscar-nominee Richard Jenkins as Abby’s mysterious father figure who enables his young charge’s thirst for blood.
Abby (Chloe Moretz) © Overture Films
Cody Smit-McPhee: I think the whole bullying thing does not help with Owen’s life at all. It’s a really big thing and he is so used to it that everything that happen, he knows it’s going to happen and he’s getting ready for it and when it happens, it’s the time, and when he gets home, he has these imaginary things where he can draw himself killing them and he has all these thoughts. When you’re watching him get bullied, it’s really disturbing and very real.
Richard, is your character in the film the next Owen, or is Owen the next you?
Richard Jenkins: I don’t think I was the original. If she’s 250 years old, I’m not the original, but I think I foreshadow [what happens] once the credits roll. That was always my feeling; because I’m probably not as good at what I do. But I think it’s actually fairly clear in the movie.
Chloë Moretz: Yeah, it definitely explains it.
Richard: Yeah, you do see it, which I think is a very cool thing.
There isn’t a huge amount of dialogue in the film, so did you discuss your characters in advance?
Chloë: It just happens.
Richard: It does. Film is film and sometimes people talk too much in movies.
Chloë: I hate that!
Richard: It’s what movies can do that theater really can’t. You can do a scene without dialogue and with camera, faces and music, so Matt was aware of that. But we did talk about it in that context.
Is there any glamorization to being immortal in this version of the film?
Chloë: You definitely won’t want to be a vampire. I definitely wouldn’t want one against me.
Richard: That’s kind of the message: I don’t think I’d like to be a vampire. It’s not a glamorous thing!
What are Abby’s feelings for the two men in her life?
Abby (Chloe Moretz) and Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) © Overture Films
Chloë: I think they’re definitely twisted and really messed up and that’s kind of the beauty of them. That’s what I’ve been saying about this film, is that the genre is so different than any other film, because there is a romantic side to it. And I wouldn’t call it gory, but there is blood in it and then there is the happiness and the sadness and everything is so different than what you would expect. I would definitely say there is a sad aspect to us but at the same time it’s romantic in a really twisted and creepy, messed-up sort of way.
Chloë, why is Abby still so dependent on human relationships?
Chloë: She’s so lonely. She doesn’t know herself anymore. Think about it: maybe if you’re just 50 or 60 years old, you still forget little things that you did when you were a kid. Imagine being 300 years old and forgetting your parents and your family and everyone you knew and loved. Everybody you know and love will die while you still live forever.
Did the fact that they changed your makeup and hair for the different versions of your character help you to play them?
Chloë: That happens with every character. My first experience with that prosthetic-type thing is when I did a film called The Eye. I played a cancer patient, and I didn’t have that much time to do a lot of research on girls who had brain cancer. By putting on the bald cap and becoming this girl with no eyebrows and no hair and it’s just your face, you have to show so much more. But it really does get you into character, because it puts you into a different light. You look at yourself in the mirror and you know you’re not Chloë. So it definitely helps.
Could you play the vampire version of Abby before the prosthetics went on, or did the makeup help do the job for you?
Chloë: That’s the thing I was just talking about, the whole three-dimensional thing. It’s weird, because yeah, some of that devil inside of her is in innocent Abby, but at the same time, she’s so raw and innocent that she doesn’t know how to control it. It’s hard to explain, because she’s so confusing. She’s so old, but so young and she’s so sad, but she’s also happy with her life. And she loves Richard but she loves Cody, so it’s a weird thing. It’s so hard to explain this character; she’s the most confusing character I’ve played by far.
Richard, you’re in the upcoming horror film, Cabin in the Woods?
Richard: I can’t tell you about it, because I signed a thing so I can’t tell you, but it’s really cool. Again, it’s not one of the things I usually do, but they said, ‘Read the script!’ and I loved it. Drew Goddard, who worked with Matt on Cloverfield, wrote it with Joss Whedon and he directed it and it was a great time.
Chloë, are you having fun right now, going from movie to movie?
Chloë: I am, yeah. It’s really amazing, because right now I’m doing a film with Martin Scorsese called The Invention of Hugo Cabret, so I go from an assassin to vampire to a little girl in 1931 Paris. Next, I’m playing this girl who her dad dies but she’s an archer and she has to survive in the woods and it’s really crazy. It is really fun; since I’m so young, I’m able to explore all these sides of my emotional self.
So is Kick-Ass 2 officially on yet?
Chloë: We don’t know yet. Right now, Matthew Vaughn the director of Kick-Ass is shooting X-Men. I’m actually going to be on this film I’m doing now until December.
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