31 Days of Creepy Scenes, #21: Swimming Lessons

They've given us nightmares, given us chills, made us cringe, made us laugh, made us gag, and made us stare at the screen in awe: these are the scenes that pop into our minds when we think of great Horror Films, and we love them all.

*We recommend that if you've never seen these scenes before, that you experience them for the first time unspoiled in the movies that they come from, if you can. With that in mind, we'll try to be as spoiler-free as possible while discussing them; try, being the key word here. 

This gem of a scene from Let the Right One In (2008) is more of a "Holy shit!" type of moment than it is a creepy one, but it's such a great moment that we just had to include it in our 31 Days of Creepy Scenes celebration. 

Let the Right One In is the story of Oskar and Eli; Oskar is an awkward little kid who is bullied and has no friends until he meets the odd and mysterious Eli, who turns out to be a sexually ambiguous vampire (she has a penis.) They end up forming a close bond, and their unconventional friendship is really the backbone of the film. It's a coming-of-age story, folks.

The scene in question involves the group of bullies (who have been tormenting Oskar over the course of the film) showing up at the school pool while he's swimming, and holding him under the water at knifepoint. It's pretty clear that the sadistic prick with the knife is either going to let Oskar drown, or take his eye out with the blade, and so either way it looks pretty hopeless for the kid... until a commotion from above the water changes things for all of them...


It's such a powerful and triumphant moment, that you cant help but cheer for Oskar's rescue at the hands of Eli, even amidst the horrifying decapitation and dismemberment of three kids. Had the scene ended with a freeze-frame of Oskar pumping his fist in the air to Tina Turner singing "You're simply the best," it may have been the best movie ending of all time. Kinda like John Bender at the end of The Breakfast Club, you know?

Great scene, great movie, and if you've never seen it, it's streaming on Netflix right now.

Read our full review of Let the Right One In here.