MovieChat Forums > Let Me In (2010) Discussion > Why did they delete this scene

Why did they delete this scene

posted 9 years ago by menippus_lycaon
8 replies | jump to latest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_wVExyVmu0

from the final version of the movie?

The real motivation of Abby is open to interpretation, I guess one could say she is a manipulative, old vampire, but I personally saw in her a conflict between horror and absolute innocence, especially since she took quite a risk by entering Owens home uninvited. The movie is to me also more than a horror story, it can be seen also symbolically as the friendship between two lonely and traumatised children.

This scene would make Abbys character more tragic and layered by exposing her trauma. Or did they think it would be too much spoon feeding?

[–] HarpoSpoke 9 years ago

I share your interpretation of Abby.

Reeves said the reason he took out the scene was because he felt it was backtracking. He said Owen had already accepted Abby and this would be redundant. I get what he was saying with that scene.

But I think the scene would have worked later.
Owen was clearly distraught at seeing Abby kill the cop. That's not surprising. Accepting Abby as a vampire in his apartment is one thing...seeing the horror up close and personal like that is entirely different. Of course Owen is going to be traumatized. His reaction to what he saw is not backtracking, it's a new reaction to something different. Or...you could even say it IS backtracking due to this being new information about Abby which of course alter his feelings just like we all alter our feelings about people upon acquiring new information about them. Acceptance one day doesn't mean you accept someone forever.

And no matter what your interpretation of Abby, it makes perfect sense that she would seek to comfort Owen in that moment. Either because she truly cares about him or that she is trying to manipulate him. And if she has the power to share previous experiences with Owen, it also makes sense that she would do this with him at some point no matter what. There would be no more logical time than then when Owen was so upset about the things she has to do.

The problem is that the scene was filmed in Owen's apartment with Abby wearing the bloody KISS shirt so the costuming is all wrong. A simple reshoot of the opening to the scene would have solved that problem. A lost opportunity on several levels imo. (Moretz's performance being lost was the other)

[–] menippus_lycaon 9 years ago

Thanks for your thorough reply and the information, I didn’t know Reeves said that. But if the argument is redundancy then its disappointing and I strongly disagree with him.

The scene would have worked also if they would have add it after Abby was exposed as a Vampire and attacked the young woman. We just see in the movie the conflict of Owen and how he visits her after that. As you mentioned, this is a new situation and its not self-evident that he would still accept her. For the scene she could have visited him immediately after the attack.
But I agree the best insert would probably be after Abby killed the cop. That was something that for sure seriously troubled Owen, in fact it was a pre-decision if he would agree to become her accomplice. The only problem might have been that shortly after that Abby left, but as we know she kept an eye on him. Filming details like cloths or location should not have been a problem to modify.

Either way, I absolutely agree, a lost opportunity for more depth and tragic in the movie and also regarding the great performance of Chloe Moretz.

[–] cassbtt 9 years ago

Glad they left it out.

As it is now, Owen accepts her as a result of the bleed-out scene.

We the audience may wish to have seen some prequel info, just like lots of us might like to see sequel info after the train scene at the end, but we recognize she was a victim (a 12 year old couldn't be anything else, to the vampire that converted her), and so does Owen. He's a bigger "man" for not having to "see it".

Now, on the other hand, whether Abigale's bringing on Owen as a replacement "father" and therefore condemning him to a life of misery is another story, and subject to much debate!

http://www.catconsulting.ca/themanyfacesofabby/index.htm

[–] menippus_lycaon 9 years ago

Ok, if your argument is that Owen was mature enough to understand the situation anyway and that to us it would be spoon feeding, its definitely better than the redundancy argument.

However, Owen is still a child and seeing your best friend turning into a vampire and attacking a young woman or killing a cop can be very traumatising. You could say that their bond is strong enough, but his conflict with the situation was also visible in the movie and that was necessary. Its still always one thing to imagine something and another thing to be directly confronted with the pain, especially for a child. We often change our minds only when another person states his point of view about a situation, in this case Owen was a part of the traumatic experience.

I agree, however, that they should in no way mess up the great bleed out scene. But that scene was more the result of Owen being confronted with the fact that Abbys protector was also a child-friend. It was a sort of view to his possible, tragic future. I rather felt that his visit to Abby after she turned to a Vampire and attacked that woman was a bit too rushed. Maybe it would have been better if after the attack Abby would try to comfort him somehow and he visits her after some time of evaluating the situation. The scene would fit good into that.
But she would work also (perhaps even better) after Abby killed the cop.

As mentioned, I understand that one could consider the scene as spoon feeding (I also don’t want to have explained or shown everything), but this was a very strong, very well performed scene that I think would enrich the movie by exposing Abbys trauma and making her even more likeable. But its of course also a subjective matter of personal preference what one wants to see in a movie and what not.

The future of the two children and the role of Owen in that matter is of course open to interpretation.

[–] cassbtt 9 years ago

Sheesh, I watched LMI 25 times in a year, but not for a full year now, so it's getting hard to remember everything at-hand.

But you do seem to lump the "attack on the woman" scene in with the "cop attack" scene, and their contribution to Owen's understanding.

But the chronology is off when tied together to the bleed-out/deleted scene.

Anyway, by the time of the "cop attack" scene, Owen's all the way there, as an ally. He participates, in a way, or is an accessory - certainly to the cover-up.

By the way, Owen didn't see the "attack on the woman" scene; we only see him staring out the window at the ambulance/police activity. This is a smart cookie, so he's probably figuring it out, based on her march out of their "secret room" as something not-quite-human. But I've always granted him some plausible deniability here.

Remember before she shows up for the bleed-out scene, he's watching the news report over a TV dinner, about the fire at the hospital. He doesn't react as if he's put two-plus-two together, there.

Others can chime in if I have my memory/facts wrong.

http://www.catconsulting.ca/themanyfacesofabby/index.htm

[–] menippus_lycaon 9 years ago

No, I didn’t lump the attack of the woman together with the cop scene, I think I stated clear that the deleted scene could fit for both occasions.
The cop scene was of course after the bleeding scene, but as explained it was a dramatic situation in which Owen may need to re-evaluate his loyalty and decisions. I wouldn’t take it as certain that he is an ally at that moment, he much more acted on impulse and was shocked and seriously troubled by what happened.
Regarding the woman attack scene, ok, he might not have seen it, although he could have followed her outside and if not he for sure noticed what happened, such an attack is not something that goes unnoticed in such a residence block. I think a sort of comfort or commitment from Abby after that would have been suitable before he visits her and discovers the pictures.

[–] HarpoSpoke 9 years ago

Anyway, by the time of the "cop attack" scene, Owen's all the way there, as an ally. He participates, in a way, or is an accessory - certainly to the cover-up.

I don't think I totally agree with that. "All the way there" doesn't really happen in relationships. He does participate...but only after Abby comforts him.

The fact that she comforts him with a hug is why I think the flashback scene would have worked there. There is a reason why she needed to comfort him....because he NEEDED comforting. Watching that scene, Owen is traumatized by it. He has to shut the door, turn away, and cover his ears. As you pointed out:

By the way, Owen didn't see the "attack on the woman" scene; we only see him staring out the window at the ambulance/police activity. This is a smart cookie, so he's probably figuring it out, based on her march out of their "secret room" as something not-quite-human. But I've always granted him some plausible deniability here.

So knowing about something second hand and actually seeing it up close like that are far different things.

Really Owen looks far more traumatized in the Cop scene than the scene in Abby's apartment with the photo. So "all the way there" is never a permanent thing in life. We "make up our minds" about someone...until we get new information and then we "make up our minds" again. 😀 We see this happen many times in the movie. When Owen first meets Abby, he is drawn to her, intrigued, and wants to like her. Then he likes her less after she rebuffs him. Then he likes her more after she solves the rubik's cube. Then he likes her less after seeing her transform into the vampire. Then he likes her even less after seeing the photo of Thomas. Then he likes her more after she is willing to put herself at risk in his apartment.

So no position is permanent....we change our position with new information. And I would argue that no event is more dramatic and powerful than the Cop killing. That is going to effect Owen's view of Abby more dramatically and powerfully than any other event.

Given that, I have to imagine there was more than just a hug to reassure Owen about Abby. I like to think the flashback scene happened off-screen. If I did my own edit of the movie, I would just put it in right after the hug and before the "I have to go away" scene.

[–] koffeenkreame41-1 9 years ago

Agreed, great points. 

"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬