International Trailer Is Here!

[gareth1971]

It was alright. I might have been more impressed if I hadn't seen the original.

Still not convinced enough to see it - yet!

[Crow-453]

Well, personally, I liked how it looked! I was always gonna see it, but this has raised my hopes a little bit (not too much, though, just in case).

I'm very pleased by the fact that it looks like they're not trying to Twilight it up. They seem to have kept the grime and dirt that makes the story what it is.

I've been convinced by the trailer to give the movie a chance.

[Wolfchild]

Well, it's pretty fast-paced, but I love the morse code at the end.

Yes, me too. That bit was pretty cool.

Looks all dark and scary.

Sure does look more scary than LTROI.

Then again, the trailer for LTROI made it look scarier than it was. I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing is going on here.

Besides that glimpse of what may be the Monster, I noticed a religious picture of the Sacred Heart (at .30) and a bit of a twist with Owen kind of looking like a Leatherface.

Or maybe that was a melty-faced Richard Jenkins?

I don't like the blood on her face in this scene. I didn't like it on Lina's face when she visits Oskar's bedroom, and I like it even less here.

I loved it on Lina's face. To me it was Eli wearing on her face what she really was. It symbolized her being sharing with Oskar her true self - both the good and the bad. The entire child/vampire duality captured in one compelling image. It appears that Matt Reeves will also be using this image with same sort of visual power.

Although I do agree that Lina's bloody face was done more artfully than Chloe's bloody face (at least as shown in this trailer).

[Wolfchild]

Looks all dark and scary.

Sure does look more scary than LTROI. Besides that glimpse of what may be the Monster, I noticed a religious picture of the Sacred Heart (at .30) and a bit of a twist with Owen kind of looking like a Leatherface.

But in that same shot, look at Owen. He has the wound on his face and he is looking at himself in the mirror with some intensity. Could this be the scene from the novel where Oskar is looking in the mirror chanting to himself, "Kill them all! Kill them all!"? Is Owen going to be darker than Oskar from the film?

And then 00:45, I don't think that is a melty-faced Richard Jenkins. I think that is Owen wearing a partial translucent mask of sort, while role playing with his knife. You see the same mask on top of his head at 00:54 as he looks through the telescope. Yes, I think Owen will be darker than than Kåre's Oskar. Perhaps even darker than Oskar from the novel.

[SergioB97]

And then 00:45, I don't think that is a melty-faced Richard Jenkins. I think that is Owen wearing a partial translucent mask of sort, while role playing with his knife. You see the same mask on top of his head at 00:54 as he looks through the telescope.

That scene with the mask in front of the mirror is in the script draft that was leaked online. I think it's meant to hint at how troubled Owen really is. As for the trailer, I hated the crappy rock song they used as accompaniment, but aside from that, it looked really good. I'm glad that they apparently retained some of the cold, bluish palette, as well as the grimness, of the original film. Hopefully, there will be another trailer that plays up the love-story angle a little bit more.

[gattoparde59]

I loved it on Lina's face. To me it was Eli wearing on her face what she really was. It symbolized her being sharing with Oskar her true self - both the good and the bad. The entire child/vampire duality captured in one compelling image. It appears that Matt Reeves will also be using this image with same sort of visual power.

I agree with all that. I was complaining about the bedroom scene where Eli (and Abby) have dried blood on the face. Oskar never sees that blood, only we do, and I think at this point we know what Eli does for a living. It seems like the new version over does it, but I think in the original it was a little too much as well.

That is creepy, having Owen playing in the mirror with his knife and a Michael Myers type mask.

[Microwave Jellyfish]

That is creepy, having Owen playing in the mirror with his knife and a Michael Myers type mask.

It's (or it feels like) just another "The Good Son" (1993) rip-off/homage, just like the bit when he asks someone about evil.

We can see this is going to be another slow-paced and low-key movie, but they are trying real hard to sell it as a frightening horror film - and you can make everything look scary and intense, just cut to a black screen twice in every second. I found it kinda cheap, actually.

[Crow-453]

Well, to be fair, I didn't mind the way they presented the trailer. They did it in a way that will clearly draw more people in, but without "Twilighting it up", as I said before, which I respect. Many movie trailers do this, after all. For instance, Bridge to Terabithia's trailer presented the movie as a Narnia-esque fantasy movie, when in reality, it's an emotional drama that delves into the lives of two bullied kids. Pan's Labyrinth's trailer also presented it as something it wasn't, only it went a step further and actually managed to make it look like it wasn't even a foreign film, which, you gotta admit, is pretty darn clever.

[Wolfchild]

I loved it on Lina's face. To me it was Eli wearing on her face what she really was. It symbolized her being sharing with Oskar her true self - both the good and the bad. The entire child/vampire duality captured in one compelling image. It appears that Matt Reeves will also be using this image with same sort of visual power.

I agree with all that. I was complaining about the bedroom scene where Eli (and Abby) have dried blood on the face. Oskar never sees that blood, only we do, and I think at this point we know what Eli does for a living. It seems like the new version over does it, but I think in the original it was a little too much as well.

Oh, but I especially loved it there. Oskar is utterly vulnerable with his back turned to a vampire in his bed. The tenderness of the scene is in stark counterpoint to the horror that accompanies Eli, and that horror is symbolized by the dried blood on her face. From the trailer, it doesn't look like like Matt has Owen with his back to Abby, but the blood on her face for me would bring the same symbolism. In fact, as I look at the shots in the trailer, I can't even say for sure that Owen is present, but I suppose he must be.

I do notice, though, that Abby's forearm looks burned and blistered. Kewl.

That is creepy, having Owen playing in the mirror with his knife and a Michael Myers type mask.

Trivia: The original Michael Myers mask was a William Shatner mask spray painted white.

[jellmoo]

If that music is very prevalent throughout the movie it is very likely I will walk out. That was absolutely horrid.

Otherwise it is just way too fast paced for me to gather a strong opinion, one way or the other. I agree about the blood, there was something about it that didn't sit right, whereas I thought it worked great for Lina.

I have three worries at this point, two of which are admittedly somewhat contradictory:

1) What they've changed will be too much. Even minor alterations to the character dynamic can radically change the relationship between the kids.

2) Some things are just too similar. A straight shot for shot reshoot of a scene accomplishes little. Even a different camera angle could make a scene have new life.

3) Very premature to say this I admit, but Chloe's face did not have "it". Part of what made Lina's performance so amazing was what she could convey in a glance. In the few scenes here, Chloe simply did not show me that.