I haven't seen the vampire phenomenon masquerading as film Twilight--its in my online rental queue more out of some sort of pop culture obligation than anything else--but I seriously doubt that it can be as beautiful, sublime, and just plain excellent as the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In. It's a wonderful cinematic vision and a unique spin on an ancient genre. The core of the film is the relationship between a boy and his strange new neighbour, a slight 12-year old who has lived for eons, protected by a human familiar, stalking victims to slake her blood thirst.

The winter setting is effectively used in all its cold bleakness, and the two leads engage us immediately. There are some sequences that are as visually impressive as anything in the past ten years, including a finale shot from under the water of a swimming pool that rivals early Spielberg in the perfection of its execution. Director Tomas Alfredson is clearly someone to watch, and this poetic and scary film is worth seeking out before the American remake descends.