One night, 12-year-old Emily (Makenzie Moss) is nearly abducted by a mysterious group of teenagers. She and her bestie, Christopher (O'Neill Monahan) get caught up in an extraterrestrial whirlwind as they begin investigating a string of missing persons that devastate their sleepy town.
To be honest, Let Us In is chaotically displeasing. A lot is going on that doesn’t make sense, setups yield weak payoffs and it just falls flat. In terms of family movies, it’s decent; the horror is tame, the story moves quickly, and kids will have a great time, however, the lack of camp bogs the film down for adults. There was fun to be had here — Moss and Monahan give a Stranger Things vibe, but the culmination of their adventure doesn’t leave much satisfaction. The biggest issue with Let Us In is that the script is predictable - we have seen this story many times. If you’re going to do it, give it nuances to stand on its own feet, otherwise, it is a derivative of every YA adventure film. Bring something new to the genre, subvert our expectations — don’t just hit all the major plot points, throw a twist in the end and expect us to clap.
From the guy that brought you The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It. Let Us In is exactly what you expect it to be: bad, but I love that Craig Moss doesn’t give a shit and continues to spit out movies. His ability to milk producers for money, despite his lackluster filmography, is truly incredible. As a massive horror fan myself, I admire Moss’ love for the genre and do hope he continues to keep making films, regardless of how much I think they suck. Moss should certainly keep casting his daughter, Mackenzie. She carries the film and really shines throughout, as does O' Neill Monahan — that kid steals every scene he’s in.
Moss refuses to break new ground,
and delivers a lukewarm rendition of a classic subgenre.
