You Shouldn’t Have Let Me In (2024) – Film Review

You Shouldn’t Have Let Me In is an American horror movie filmed in Italy. It’s about a group of friends who cross the Atlantic to attend a bachelorette party and fall into the clutches of a very old vampire.

The film begins with a short introductory segment where one of the girls, Briana (Giulia Nunnari), has gone out alone and enjoying a smooching session in the entrance to a nightclub. Briana is very drunk but remembering her responsibility to her friend and bride-to-be Rochelle (Isabella Egizi), she manages to drag herself away.

After she leaves the club, Briana realizes she is being followed, ditches her heels and makes a run for it but her pursuer corners her outside the gate of the Italian mansion she and her friends are staying in and slices her face with knife-like blades that protrude from the end of his fingers. The blades grow out of his fingers in a similar way to those of Wolverine in The X-Men, signalling You Shouldn’t Have Let Me In is not a film that remains true to vampire lore.

The following scene introduces Kelsey (Diana Gardner) and her gay friend Blake (Nathaniel Ansbacch) travelling through the Italian countryside by train. Both of them are old friends of Rochelle, who appears to have drifted apart from them somewhat since becoming a popular social influencer.

Rochelle is getting married to Kelsey’s former boyfriend so it’s fair to say their relationship is a little strained.

When Kelsey and Blake reach their destination, they are surprised to see Briana isn’t there but presume she’s with a guy. They also become reacquainted with Rochelle’s friend Jenny (Anastasiya Bogach) who is organizing the wedding and, in common with Rochelle, she expects everyone to look the part because much of what happens will be posted on social media.

Not presenting the right look to join the game of volleyball, Kelsey wanders into town alone, where she meets local store owner and craftsman Gianni (Mauro Massa), who thinks she looks familiar and gives her an old necklace as a gift, telling her it has protective qualities because it contains the blood of a martyr. Blake arrives just as Kelsey is leaving and, feeling an instant attraction to Gianni exchanges phone numbers with him. Whether Gianni is genuinely gay or simply in need of an excuse to be around Kelsey is hard to say.

Later that evening, Rochelle, Kelsey, Blake, and Jenny get a message from Briana, asking them to meet her at a nightclub. The club is owned by Victor (Fabián Castro), who also owns the mansion they are renting. However, Rochelle and Jenny ask Kelsey to remove her necklace because it doesn’t look right for the occasion. When they arrive at the club, none of the friends appear to find it strange that Briana isn’t there and, minus her necklace, Kelsey quickly falls under their host’s spell. Strangely, Rochelle is the one person who finds the good-looking Italian man creepy and tries unsuccessfully to wrench her friend from his clutches. However, when the gang returns to the mansion, Kelsey invites Victor who brings a couple of friends and is reluctant to enter unless Jenny invites them in because her name appears on the rental agreement.

Right from the start, it’s easy to see where this film is going, so I’m not giving much away when I say, Kelsey resembles the only woman Victor has ever loved and Gianni is the last in a long line of vampire killers. The idea of an immortal being waiting for the latest incarnation of a lost love is nothing new. It’s been done many times before. The first example that springs to mind is She (1965). The second one is Fright Night (1985).

You Shouldn’t have let me in, is likely to appeal to most people who enjoy watching films about vampires and the Italian setting makes a refreshing change from the Eastern European countries that are more typical settings for films of this nature. However, the idea of a vampire having Wolverine-like killing apparatus takes things too far. The vampires in The Hunger (1983) use small blades hidden in Ankhs, while the vampires in Near Dark often use knives to bleed their victims or even, in the case of one of them, the wheels on his spurs. These things fit well into the vampire genre but growing blades from the fingers does not.

The focus on social media is also a little annoying. Although it fits with the concept of the story, in my opinion, the film would have been better if this slice of modern-day living had been omitted but younger viewers may disagree.

However, overall, You Shouldn’t Have Let Me In is a pretty good film. The characters are likeable (mostly), the acting is believable and, even though it’s generally easy to guess what’s coming next, it’s still worth going along for the ride. A word of caution though, the film contains a couple of scenes where throats are slit. The camera doesn’t cut away, and there is quite a lot of blood on display. If scenes like this are likely to distress, you may want to give the film a miss.

You Shouldn’t Have Let Me In is a Tubi Original horror film that can be streamed for free via the Tubi website.

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