Let the Wrong One In – Review [Fantastic Fest] (3/5)

LET THE WRONG ONE IN is a Vampire horror-comedy that works like a charm. The only setback is that it feels a tad too long. However, the comedy in this one more than makes up for it. Screened at Fantastic Fest 2021. Read our full Let The Wrong One In movie review here!

LET THE WRONG ONE IN is a Vampire horror comedy that was billed as doing for vampires what Shaun of the Dead did for zombie horror comedies. That is one hell of a tall order and a very big sell. However, it turned out to be a fairly accurate selling point – to some degree. The humor utilized is certainly along the lines of the iconic Shaun of the Dead (2004).

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Also, it is extremely bloody in a way that vampire movies should be – whereas zombie stories can often be yuckier in a different way. Blood is just unanimous with vampires, and it certainly is in this vampire comedy as well. Also, the title is clearly a take on the very dark vampire horror drama Let the Right One In (2008) which was Swedish but remade in the US.

Continue reading our Let The Wrong One In movie review below. We screened this at Fantastic Fest 2021.

How do you stop being a vampire?!

At its heart, Let the Wrong One In is about two brothers trying to stick together. Or rather, the younger brother needs to decide whether he will help his big brother, who comes to him with quite the predicament: He has become a vampire.

This is the starting point for a whole lot of craziness as the brothers quickly discover that a lot of vampires seem to be popping up in Ireland right now. When we see a bride-to-be and her friends out on the town at night, answers begin to arrive. However, not the answer: How do you get rid of this vampire thing and turn back to normal?

The two brothers in the lead are portrayed by Karl Rice (Matt) and Eoin Duffy (Deco). They are rather believable as brothers simply because of their love-hate relationship and obvious loyalty. Karl Rice was previously in the critically acclaimed Sing Street (2016). Eoin Duffy has been in an episode of Game of Thrones but he is brilliant in a comedy like this one.

Also, I have to mention that Anthony Head (yes, Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) plays a key character in Let the Wrong One In. Actually, he’s key to many elements of this story. Despite his character being much more interested in trains than anything having to do with vampires. More recently, he was in the Netflix series The Stranger (read our review here).

Watch Let the Wrong One In when you can!

Conor McMahon is the director of Let the Wrong One In and he also directed the 2004 clown horror-comedy Stitches. In recent years, most of Conor McMahon’s work as a director has been short films or episodes of the TV series Darklands.

Personally, I admit I have an almost desperate hope that Conor McMahon will focus on more feature films in the horror-comedy hybrid genre since he has a great feel for this. Yes, this one is a bit too long and some of the jokes fall a bit flat. However, this is usually the case with any kind of comedy. You can’t win over everyone with every part of your humor.

Still, Let the Wrong One In is exactly the kind of horror-comedy I enjoy. It’s over the top and features both likable and annoying characters. After all, you need someone to annoy you, so you can celebrate when the vampires get their fangs in them. So to speak. Also, I admit that the Irish dialect makes everything seem even stranger – in a good way!

LET THE WRONG ONE IN had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2021. It will be out in select theaters and on Digital on April 1, 2022, in the US via Dark Sky Films.

Details

Director: Conor McMahon
Stars: Karl Rice, Eoin Duffy, Anthony Head