This is one of the few American remakes of foreign films which is a triumph, not the usual dumbed-down travesty. The Swedish original Let The Right One In was a classic in the genre of vampire films. Actually the Swedish original was more importantly a classic in the genre of coming-of-age films (albeit with one of the protagonists having been "twelve for a very long time"), and this coming-of-age focus is heightened in Let Me In.

David gave four stars to both versions, but Margaret slightly downgraded Let Me In to three-and-a-half stars because she thought it too similar to the original. I disagree with Margaret. Although Let The Right One In was a "better" film because it more closely rendered the details of the truly disturbing novel, Let Me In is a "better" film because it tightens the plot with the introduction of a police officer in a supporting role.

The mysterious girl Abby is effectively played by Chloe Moretz (Hit Girl in last year’s cult success Kick Ass). But the film is stolen by the poignant performance of the bullied boy Owen (Smit-McPhee). Despite his extreme youth, Smit-McPhee has a glittering film resume, with critically acclaimed roles in Romulus, My Father and The Road.

Ryan Reynolds in a box for 90 minutes. No, that’s not my wife’s ultimate escape fantasy. It’s a cracking indie thriller.

Contract convoy driver Paul Conroy (Reynolds) wakes up in the dark inside a pine box that is very slowly leaking sand. The last thing he can remember is getting ambushed as he drove through the Iraqi desert. After some panicked fumbling in the dark he finds a lighter and a mobile phone. A phone that soon rings. Calling is a captor who demands 10 million dollars to free him. Thus begins Paul’s frantic, claustrophobic attempt to convince US authorities to negotiate his release. Unfortunately the military don’t negotiate with terrorists...

The concept sounds too simple to pan out to a feature length film but, amazingly, it really works. Buried is a tightly written thriller that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats for the duration. Reynolds’s performance is brilliant. He is the only person on screen throughout the film and he manages to believably run the gamut of emotions, anchoring every twist and turn along the way. Who would have ever thought you could be so exhilarated in the dark? Well, in a cinema at any rate.