The original Twilight Zone is one of those classic shows that will always be considered as creepy and intellectual as it was back when it first aired. Several reincarnations of the series ended up falling flat to the episodes that Rod Sterling himself presented back in the early 1960s.

For many, the franchise was rejuvinated in 1983 when a series of directors collaborated together to put together a massive anthology film. Warner Bros. is hoping to jump start the franchise’s popularity once again with a new film, helmed by Cloverfield director Matt Reeves.

Here’s the catch: It won’t be an anthology. Deadline has the exclusive:

Let Me In and Cloverfield director Matt Reeves has been chosen by Warner Bros to direct The Twilight Zone, the Jason Rothenberg-scripted thriller based on the classic Rod Serling TV series. Negotiations will get underway early next week, but this is an assignment that was coveted by a number of top directors.

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While I’m not always a fan of Hollywood’s penchant for remaking excellent foreign films almost as soon as said films have been released, I have to say I’m pretty interested in Matt Reeves’ upcoming film Let Me In. Sure, it’s an Americanized version of a film that was only released in 2008, but judging from the trailer I’ve seen and this brand new scene from the film we’ve got for you today, it looks pretty damn good and quite scary.

In case you’re not familiar with either this new film or the original Swedish version, Let Me In concerns Abby (Chloe Moretz), a mysterious 12-year old girl, who moves next door to Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Owen is a social outcast who is viciously bullied at school and because of this he forms a bond with his new neighbor.

As time passes Owen can’t help noticing that Abby is like no one he has ever met before. As a string of grisly murders occur in the town, Owen has to confront the reality that this seemingly innocent girl is really a savage vampire.

Check out the new clip from the film after the jump. Let Me In arrives in theaters on October 1st.

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At the risk of repeating myself too much I will again express my love for a film festival in Austin, TX known as Fantastic Fest. It features some of the best and most innovative programming and events of any festival I’ve been to and is also a whole lot of fun. So naturally, whenever there’s news from the fest, as their is today, I’m going to share it.

With that in mind comes today’s news. Fantastic Fest has announced its opening night film and, drum roll please, that film is the vampire thriller Let Me In. The film, directed by Cloverfield‘s Matt Reeves, stars Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Elias Koteas and Richard Jenkins, tells the story of an alienated boy named Owen (Smit-McPhee) who spies on the other residents of his apartment complex. His only friend is his new neighbor, a young girl (Moretz) who lives with her silent father (Jenkins) and who turns out not to be at all what she seems.

The film will screen following a red carpet event and kick off the fest on Thursday, September 23rd at The Paramount Theater in Austin. Knowing the fest as I do this seems like a perfect film to kick things off. Sure, some people may not be into this upcoming remake of the terrific Let the Right One In but as a fan of Reeves’ earlier work on Cloverfield and after having seen some info about this new film, I’m convinced this was a great way to go.

Fantastic Fest runs from September 23-30 in Austin, Texas. Check out the full press release after the jump.

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When it comes to Americanized remakes or reboots of other country’s films I tend to think we should wait at least a few years before launching said remake. After all, other countries do have a film production business as well and we don’t always do it better here in the USA. Still, with Hollywood struggling to find ideas that work, we do end up remaking other country’s movies pretty frequently.

Case in point is director Matt Reeves remake of the 2008 Swedish horror film Let the Right One In. His version, known as Let Me In, covers pretty much the same ground as the original as you can see from the new international trailer that has appeared and we’re bringing to you today.

The trailer, courtesy of Deadline, gives us some insight into the film’s story of a boy who realizes the pretty girl next door is actually a vampire and let’s us know this one is going for the scary, moody, suspense of the director’s first film Cloverfield and the original film. And, in spite of my feelings on remakes like this, this trailer actually looks pretty good.

Check out the new international trailer after the break. Let Me In hits theaters on October 1st.

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You’re writer/director Matt Reeves and you’ve just finished your first big monster movie for the next generation Cloverfield. The movie was pretty well received and ended up making a decent amount of money, which is good. Now, you’ve got to figure out what to do next. Apparently, according to the LA Times, it didn’t take Reeves very long to make that decision.

According to an interview with the paper, Reeves is gearing up to make an English language version of the Swedish vampire thriller Let the Right One In. The film, which is the story of a lonely 12-year-old boy who realizes the kind girl who moved in next door is actually a vampire, was shown to Reeves before it was released with the intent of gauging his interest in a remake. According to the paper, he had a lot of interest.

“I was just hooked,” Reeves said in the interview. “I was so taken with the story and I had a very personal reaction. It reminded me a lot of my childhood, with the metaphor that the hard times of your pre-adolescent, early adolescent moment, that painful experience is a horror.”

As for reaction from fans of the original film who are concerned about the “Americanization” of it? “There’s definitely people who have a real bull’s-eye on the film,” Reeves said in the interview, “and 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, my feeling about it is if I didn’t feel a personal connection and feel it could be its own film, I wouldn’t be doing it. I hope people give us a chance.”

Reeves recently finished a second draft of the script, now known as Let Me In, and is also scouting locations. He expects to begin filming later this year for a 2010 release.