Let the Right One In is a Swedish vampire movie that everyone seems to love that I’ve been meaning to see one of these days.  Unfortunately, I may have blown my chance forever, because it’s now being reported that the subtitles for the US DVD version have been badly butchered. Think the TV edit of Big Lebowski in which John Goodman warns about what happens “when you find a stranger in the Alps,” or when Bruce Willis in Die Hard screams “Yippie kai yay, Mr. Falcon.”  It’s like that, only you’d have no way to know the difference.  IconsofFright took some screen shots of both versions for comparison.

Original screener:

Same scene, on the US DVD

Another scene, original screener:

Same scene on the US DVD:

IconsofFright has a few more scene comparisons, but naturally, people who liked the original are pissed and demanding a re-release.  No one knows exactly what the deal is, but the speculation is that Magnolia/MAGNET either didn’t want to pay or couldn’t come to a deal with the original subtitle translator.

Me, I say this is perfect.  As anyone who’s seen one of George Lucas’ hit movies can attest, we Americans don’t want nuance and detail in our dialog.  Just give us the Cliff’s notes of whatever’s going on on the screen at the time. Like “Look out, R2!” and “Me go this way now.”  Simple good. Complicate only make sad.