A new film that has received quite a bit of buzz since it was released a couple of months ago here in the US, this Swedish vampire thriller is a strange little film – half vampire lore, half small domestic child drama. We follow a young boy, Oskar, 12, who is routinely bullied at school. His mother and father are separated. He’s miserable, and possibly turning violent through the abuse of his fellow classmates. Then a young girl, Eli, moves in next door.

She and Oskar get off on the wrong foot, with her witnessing him pretending to stab people with a knife, but soon they start a tentative friendship. She sees how unhappy these bullies make him and wants him to fight back. The other side of the story is the gradual reveal that Eli is a vampire. No spoiler there. What makes the handling interesting is how so little is explained. The title – SPOILER ALERT – refers to how vampires need to be invited into any home, or they start… well, you’ll just have to see it. This is part of traditional vampire lore but dealt with in such a way that feels so natural. Other parts of vampire mythology are explored in very tangential ways, just touching on them. If you don’t know a little something about vampires, some of what happens might be confusing, but it’s all based in historical “knowledge.”

The setting is a small village in Sweden where the cold, and its effects, are overpowering. People move slowly, impeded by their many layers of coats. White landscapes contrast with dark, depressing shadows. Sounds are muted, voices quiet, and any sound that upsets this quiet are deeply unsettling. Vampires, however, move with such speed and grace, and sound so animalistic, their presence is as shocking on the screen as it would be to the characters in the movie.

The final scenes, while somewhat predictable, keep everything very personal without wrapping the whole thing up neatly. People die, often, and the filmmakers don’t really care about the hubbub that would result over these killings. They only care for Oskar and Eli, and how their friendship changes, evolves, and eventually leads them. And that’s a good thing.

A good film, if not as brilliant as some reaction has indicated. And Hollywood is paying attention: a production company has already bought the remake rights for the US and Cloverfield director Matt Reeves is attached. Shocking, I know.