The next time you find yourself about to go see Twilight, see this instead.

Do your poor brain cells a favour and see Let The Right One In if you want the exact opposite of Twilight: genuine moments of bloodsucking terror mixed with a thoroughly compelling tale of preteen drama.

Set in Sweden (and not Iceland as I originally thought - what the hell is wrong with me? This is what happens when my university goes on strike and my brain switches to autopilot) and based on the book of the same name, the film tells of the not-so-particularly-heartwarming tale of Oskar. He's a socially-awkward twelve year old who is constantly tormented by his peers and fantasizies about stabbing them, collects newspaper reports of grisly murders, has an alcoholic father and a mother who barely notices him, and looks vaguely like an albino. However, despite his almost creepy paleness, he's not a vampire - but his new best friend Eli is. She lives alone, except for a strange old man who carries out some disturbing deeds for her, and she genuinely wants to be Oskar's friend. But, when you drain people's blood literally for a living, friendship is often put aside for other, more deadly endeavours.

Let The Right One In was hyped as hell at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival in October, but due to the fact that tickets sold out almost immediately then, I didn't get a chance to see it until this week. Perhaps partly because of the hype and partly because of a certain plot twist regarding Eli (I won't spoil what it is, but I didn't think it added anything new to the story and its potential was never fully realized), I wasn't sure if it really was as fabulous as critics said. However, this doesn't mean it wasn't an amazing film. I was constantly floored by the cinematography; some of the shots were nothing short of gorgeous, and the score was appropriately haunting and beautiful at the same time. When it comes to storytelling, though, Let The Right One In really shines. Although it brings no new developments in terms of vampire mythology, there is both humanity and monstrosity in Eli, the likes of which haven't been seen before. She defends Oskar from bullies and shows him how to solve a Rubik's cube just as easily as she faceplants herself onto victims and sucks them dry.

I couldn't help thinking as I watched it, "Why the hell are people watching Twilight instead of this?" Then I realized that Twilight, quite simply, is the fast food version of the vampire film. It's quick, it's easy, it satisfies a little but is almost totally devoid of nutritional value. In that vein, Let The Right One In would be a steak, thick, deep, full of substance and leaves you absolutely satisfied.

Great, now I'm hungry.