Let The Right One In To Be Remade Again For TV

The trend for adapting popular horror movies for the small screen continues unabated, but this latest film-to-TV transfer is a particular surprise: US network A&E have announced plans to adapt ‘Let The Right One In’ as a series.

The Hollywood Reporter have revealed that producer Jeff Davis and screenwriter Brandon Boyce - the team behind existing TV remake of a somewhat less auspicious supernatural adolescent movie, ‘Teen Wolf’ - will be responsible for this latest take on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s 2004 vampire novel.

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What makes this especially unexpected is that Lindqvist’s novel (entitled ‘Låt den rätte komma in’ in its original Swedish) has been adapted twice for the screen already, in Tomas Alfredson’s highly acclaimed 2008 film of the same name, and Matt Reeves’ 2010 English language remake ‘Let Me In,’ which starred Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

This will be the latest in a long line of big screen horror properties to move to the small screen in recent years, along with the likes of ‘Hannibal,’ ‘From Dusk Till Dawn,’ a recent mini-series of ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’ and the aforementioned ‘Teen Wolf.’ TV spin-offs of ‘Scream,’ ‘The Evil Dead’ and ‘Friday the 13th’ are also known to be in the works.

The A&E Network has two other such properties on its roster already, with ‘Psycho’ prequel series ‘Bates Motel,’ and a remake of French series ‘The Returned’ - itself adapted from 2004 film ‘They Came Back’ (AKA ‘Les Revenants’).

Given that many horror aficionados rate ‘Let The Right One In’ as one of the very best horror films of our time - and more so, among the most sensitive coming of age dramas of recent years - the idea that the people behind the glossy, sexed-up ‘Teen Wolf’ series will be remaking it seems practically guaranteed to rattle plenty of cages. It would also seem somewhat arbitrary given it was already remade in the US only five years ago.

Still, from a business point of view (the basis on which decisions are of course made in film and TV), it’s not hard to see why ‘Let The Right One In’ might be deemed a resource worth mining. The original film only grossed a little over $11 million worldwide, whilst the remake - though surprisingly well-received by the often remake-averse horror crowd - managed only $25 million. As such, while the title has a degree of brand name recognition, the property is not necessarily that familiar to the wider audience.

As to whether this justifies yet another redo, or gives much hope that it will do the material justice - again, we have our doubts, and strongly suspect fans of the existing films will too.

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Picture Credit: Bavaria Film International, Hammer Films/Overture Films