In July 2009, audition tapes were leaked to the Internet, showing Chloë Moretz, Mary Mouser, and Ariel Winter auditioning for the role of the vampire, Abby. Smit-McPhee, in an interview with The Herald Sun, hinted that he may have landed the role as Owen. The casting of Moretz and Smit-McPhee in the leading roles was confirmed on October 1, 2009, along with the addition of Richard Jenkins as Abby's adult companion. In a press release, director Matt Reeves described Smit-McPhee, Moretz and Jenkins as his "absolute dream cast", and added that he "couldn't be more excited to be working with them."
The rights for the English-language film adaptation were acquired at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where the original won the "Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature," and Matt Reeves was quickly introduced as the director. Hammer Films producer Simon Oakes has referred to the project as a remake of the film and not an adaptation of the novel. He has also said, "I call it his [Reeves'] version. I don't call it his remake or his re-imagining of it." The decision to make a new film adaptation has been criticized by Tomas Alfredson, the director of the Swedish film. He has stated on numerous occasions that he is not in favor of remaking his film. "If one should remake a film, it's because the original is bad. And I don't think mine is", he said. He also opined that "remakes should be made of movies that aren't very good, that gives you the chance to fix whatever has gone wrong. I'm very proud of my movie and I think it's great, but the Americans might have another opinion. The saddest thing for me would be to see this beautiful story made into something mainstream. I don't like to whine, but of course – if you spent years on painting a picture, you'd hate to hear buzz about a copy even before your vernissage!"
Writer Ajvide Lindqvist, on the other hand, says that Reeves told him that he "will make a new film based on the book, and not remake the Swedish film" and so "it'll be something completely different, but it's going to be really interesting to see."
Reeves has expressed his intent to retain the book's early 1980s setting and his admiration for the book and Alfredson's adaptation. "It's a terrific movie and a fantastic book. I think it could be a really touching, haunting and terrifying film. I'm really excited about what it could be", he said. In response to the criticism he said, "I can understand because of people's love of the [original] film that there's this cynicism that I'll come in and trash it, when in fact I have nothing but respect for the film. I'm so drawn to it for personal and not mercenary reasons ... I hope people give us a chance."
When Reeves was initially approached, he at first was against the idea but after reading the novel gained a better appreciation for the story. "I said... that we shouldn't remake it. I read the book too and was completely taken with it and I was really intrigued how personal the story felt. I thought John Lindqvist had written this terrific story, and he also adapted it for the film... I wrote Lindqvist and told him that it wasn't just that I was drawn to the story because it was a brilliant genre story – which it is – but also because of the personal aspect of it. It really reminds me of my childhood."
Reeves was also asked to change the ages of the main characters, but he refused, saying that "would ruin the essence of the story and change everything completely...we need that childlike innocence." He also told his actors to not watch the original film beforehand so "we could make our own version but stay very true to the essence of the story." The filmmakers have noted that "they intend to forge a unique identity for Let Me In, placing it firmly in an American context", while at the same time paying respect to the original. Producer Donna Gigliotti said, "We're incredibly admiring of the original, but to be honest with you, that picture grossed $2 million. It's not like we're remaking Lawrence of Arabia."
Principal photography began in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 2, 2009. Filming is scheduled to take place in several different New Mexico locations, before concluding in Albuquerque in January 2010. A large section of the film is being filmed at Los Alamos High School in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
It was announced on August 17, 2010 that the film will have its world premiere at The Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2010, and its U.S. premiere on the opening night of Fantastic Fest on September 23, 2010.
The film is scheduled to be released on October 1, 2010 in the United States. Overture Films released the promo version with some specials in small plastic evidence bags.
Let Me In has received positive reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 12 reviews, with an average score of 8.2/10. Metacritic has reported an average score of 93 out of 100 based on 4 reviews.
In April 2010, it was announced that Hammer Film Productions and Dark Horse Comics are producing a graphic novel based on the film. Marc Andreyko will write the comic. Original author John Ajvide Lindqvist said "Nobody has asked me about [doing a comic] and I think that the project stinks. I am looking into this matter and hope that they have no right to do this."
The score was composed by Academy Award winner Michael Giacchino.
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