Let the Right One In is a Swedish horror movie about vampires that took film festivals by storm and received countless amounts of gushing praise. As with most foreign horror movies that become incredibly popular (The Ring, The Grudge, Quarantine), the movie was immediately pursued for U.S. remake treatment. What we already knew about the remake is that it will be called Let Me In, and it will be directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield); what wasn’t yet known is who would star…until now. It’s being reported that the first three cast members that have been hired are Richard Jenkins, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz.

The movie tells the story of two children who bond through some very difficult times in the cold winters of Sweden. One is a 12-year-old boy, and the other is a 200-year-old vampire child. The original film is directed by Tomas Alfredson and based on the book of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It focuses on the story of these two kids’ relationship and many real-world issues like drugs and prostitution while keeping the unique vampire elements in-tact as well.

Jenkins has been around for a while now, but has been really making his mark as of late. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Visitor, and has also been seen in movies like The Kingdom, Step Brothers, and Burn After Reading. Along with Let Me In, some other well-known projects that he’s attached to include Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods, and The Rum Diary. While Jenkins is the recognizable face, Smit-McPhee and Moretz will be leading the charge as the two children at the forefront of this story. Both haven’t done much, but both are involved in projects that have been getting a lot of attention. Smit-McPhee is in post-apocalyptic thriller The Road, which stars Viggo Mortensen; Moretz will be in Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass, which netted her attention due to the fact that her role in that is as a young girl who cuts people up with a Katana sword.

It can’t be stressed enough, but be sure to see the original movie first. Most times, an American remake will be un-watchably bad compared to the original foreign film. Although, in this particular case, Let Me In seems to be putting together an impressive little group of people. Best case scenario: we’ll have two great horror movies come away from this book when the remake is released some time in 2010.

[Source: Variety]