Don't Let Him In (2011)

Sadly Over-hyped

Fantastic!

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

At first glance, DON'T LET HIM IN is an intriguing slice of low budget British horror. The plot sees a group of four 20-somethings travelling to rural Devon for a restful weekend, only to get caught up in the ferocious antics of the 'Tree Surgeon', a serial killer who enjoys hanging the body parts of his victims from trees. What follows is a tale packed with twists and turns as character motivations and hidden secrets come to the fore.In terms of production values, DON'T LET HIM IN is a perfectly serviceable slice of low budget entertainment. The setting is atmospheric and the performances are decent, even though a couple of the characters are completely annoying. The film isn't outrageously gory but there are some bloody moments along the way. So what, then, is the problem? Well, it lies with the script, which relies on contrived situations and unbelievable actions on the part of the characters for effect. These people do the dumbest things imaginable to further the story, and at a certain point you just stop buying it. The story also ends about 20 minutes before the running time, leading to a boring extra scene tacked onto the end. Not great.

Saw this at random, didn't know anything about it. I don't usually write any reviews, but I had to for this, since it was so awful! From the first few minutes, I could tell that the actors were terrible and the script was awful! I have honestly seen better acting and production values in a home movie. I was surprised at how long the end credits were, I thought it was going to have things like 'Sound by my Uncle Terry' and 'Blood Provided by Heniz'.From the outset, you know who the killer is...no imagination there. There is one 'plot twist' that was original, but the rest of it was as cliché as they come. In fact, I was laughing out loud at how bad some of them were.This is a real testament to why British cinema isn't doing very well!

I was shocked just how bad this movie was. It was well made, well acted, great scenery, and like a said, you can polish a turd, but its still a turd. As well made as this movie was it was terrible. It was a typical slasher movie except all of the characters have had their brains surgically removed. None of the characters do things that people in real life do, nor do they react to situations like a normal human being. Two scenes that jump out at me are when the 'mysterious' hitchhiker shows up at the main characters remote cabin with a stab wound. The main female character is a nurse and immediately begins to give him medical aid (I with the scene so far), so the tertiary blonde bimbo say in the background, I will call an ambulance. The nurse lady tells her that there is no time for that. Then the blonde watches impotently as the main character saves his life. What the 'f' do you mean that there is no time to call an ambulance, the blonde wasn't helping anyway, so call the effing ambulance. But here's the kicker, after the mysterious stranger is going to live, they don't call the police, an ambulance, they are going to let this wounded guy stay in there remote cabin without an explanation to why he was stabbed. I don't know about you, but if a guy shows up at my door with a gushing stab wound, granted I am going to do everything that I can to save his life, but the ambulance and police are going to be called. The second unforgivable scene is when the protagonists now know who one of the killers are, and still let him back into the house. The movie was so terribly written it begs for an explanation. How could you have gathered a group of intelligent actors and not have anybody say, 'you know this doesn't make any sense'...

Since my viewing of "Don't Let Him In", I deliberately waited two days to write this comment, allowing for the film to sink in a bit deeper. My very first impression wasn't overly positive, but there were a few aspects that I felt were worth pondering about. For example, some of the principal characters are very identifiable and sympathetic, but the killings are cruel and extremely sadistic. This combination leaves a rather unpleasant aftertaste in your stomach just after finishing the film, but the memory that sticks permanently is that "Don't Like Him In" is a new horror movie that dares to shock and provoke the audience perhaps? The premise of the film is rather basic. Calvin and Paige, a joyous young couple, have planned a weekend in the Southern British countryside where Calvin grew up. They also invite Calvin's baby sister Mandy, a little troublemaker who always picks the wrong guys to date. She just spend the night with the extremely arrogant and obviously up- to-no-good bloke Tristan; who reluctantly accepts the invitation but mainly because he has to hide from authorities. Upon arriving in the cottage, the foursome also immediately receives warning that the neighborhood is under the reign of terror of a crazed serial killer with a peculiar modus operandi. The aptly nicknamed "Tree Surgeon" dismembers his victims and hangs the body parts in trees. Obviously they will confront the killer eventually, but there's a fair chance the group will already be traumatized by then. Director/co-writer Kelly Smith – usually an editor – assures a logical unfolding of the plot, complete with some clichés and red herrings, and she (at least I assume Kelly is a female) often even manages to generate a morbid and deeply uncomfortable ambiance. The acting is remarkably good! As stated above, the good- natured characters are genuinely amiable and the ill-tempered ones are, in fact, very despicable. The murder sequences and make-up effects are raw and grisly, but I guess that could also be seen as an additional recommendation for horror fanatics.