Meanwhile, the gender ambiguity in Let Me In is barely hinted at.

Some have said that it’s clear that Eli is a boy because of how that area is sewn up, but I didn’t exactly stare at the area so I will leave that up to yall to argue about. Obviously, in the Swedish film, there is a shot of Eli’s private area that hints at the ambiguity of the character’s gender identity. Is this a love story for Abby, or just moving onto the next protector? And why didn’t Alfredson’s version go as far as the novel? I think in the context of the American film, while not as dark, there is an eerie quality to that relationship and what the future holds for Owen. This takes the edge off of their relationship, but sets up a unique outlook on Abby and how her relationship with Owen will end up. In Let Me In, the father figure is clearly shown as having grown up with Abby. Of course, when Hakan returns as a monster, he clearly penetrates Eli, which seems like a cruel twist of fate.

Perhaps he has slept with Eli, but it’s never clearly mentioned in their normal relationship. Meanwhile, in the book, Hakan is clearly a pedophile and Eli has come to get him out of the ruined state he was in and to set him up as a protector, but there is a constant battle of how much touching Hakan is allowed. There is an implication in the Swedish film that this isn’t the purest of relationships, but that is as far as it goes. ”The Father” in Let Me In is not given an ambiguous history.

Let the right one in novel