Owen and Abby



A Love Story?
Or not?


Question: Did Abby actually have feelings for Owen? Or was she just manipulating him, grooming him to be her next Renfield?

After watching Låt den rätte komma in this became a hot topic of debate on every forum, including the IMDB forums and the Facebook fan site. Most folks who had read the book thought they knew better. But did they? After all, the movie was quite a bit different from the novel in many ways.

The Novel: Elias, a 220 year old vampire castrato, who masquerades as a girl, meets the young Oskar, who is so horrendously bullied at school that he starts to exhibit some symptoms of paraniod schizophrenia, including acting out revenge fantasies and hallucinating. Elias avoids him at first, but one night, looking for a quick meal, he starts to nom on Oskar, stopping when the boy startles him with a small act of affection. Elias reconsiders their relationship and they form a bond that is rather unique. The novel, because it can get inside of both their heads, clearly shows both of their intentions. Elias becomes desperate to have this relationship, especially after his caretaker dies. (Well, he thought he died.) Oskar is more ambivalent about Elias, as the more he finds out about his new friend the more his feelings go from one extreme to the other. But the way his mind is finally made up (Elias acts like he's leaving for good, but shows up in the nick of time to rescue him) could leave some suspicious types wondering if this wasn't a ruse of this immature but experienced creature to seal the deal.

Låt den rätte komma in: Here, there is more ambiguity, although I am uncertain whether this was intentional. After all, the novelist wrote the screenplay, so we would have to ask him to be certain. This part of the plot is the same, although the vampire's gender is very downplayed. It is noteworthy that in the movie, she visit's Oskar's room right after her Caretaker dies (different from the novel) and climbs naked into bed with him. Later, she offers him money. Her seduction is interrupted by her bloodlust and she flees him, attacking another human instead. When Oskar confronts her, she is shy and contrite. Later she visits his apartment and puts her life in his hands by entering uninvited. Was this an act, designed to gain his trust? Or was it a desperate attempt to regain his friendship? And again, she tells him she must leave, but manages to show up in the nick of time to save his life; was this sincere or another trick to seduce him to her evil side?

Let Me In: The same ambiguity exists in this film as the other, except that we know the Father had been with Abby since he was a child. All of the plot points remain, but a question that has plagued me is: Why did Abby leave that picture out where Owen was sure to find it? That she had some affection for her former caretaker seemed clear; was she mooning over that old picture and accidentally left it out? Or did she let Owen find it, in a bit of honesty, to let him know the truth about how she lived?

Comments: I welcome discussion on this. However, just saying, "Clearly, Abby was just using him," or "I think she loved him! How can you be so cynical?" and the like are not discussions. I tried not to come to any conclusions above; I prefer that you come to your own.

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