Other events, such as Hakan’s death, are simplified-in the book he is vampirised and becomes a menace to Eli and Oskar, while here he commits suicide to avoid betraying Eli. The book’s supernatural elements are muted, although one scene where a nascent vampire is attacked by dozens of cats is an addition. A brief shot of Eli’s scarred, genital-ness groin also features, but to the unwitting viewer just muddies the waters. As Eli, Swedish-Iranian actor Lina Leandersson is androgynous enough to indicate her gender may not be what it seems, and she explicitly tells Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) “I’m not a girl” at one point, although this could be read as being a reference to her supernatural condition.

For those familiar with the more oblique film versions, reading the book can be a real eye opener what the movies allude to, Lindqvist makes plain.Īlfredson’s film, a chilly masterpiece, necessarily condenses the novel, eliding away some of the complexities and side-plots but managing to imply a lot. The relationship between Eli and Hakan is pedophilic in nature Hakan was fired from his teaching job for possessing child pornography.

Novel let the right one in