“Fright Night strikes just the right balance between horror and comedy, which I
think even fans of the original film will appreciate.”
Horror
and Comedy
Starring
– Anton Yelchin/Charley Brewster, Colin Farrell/Jerry Danridge, Toni
Collette/Jane Brewster, David Tennant/Peter Vincent, Imogen Poots/Amy and
Christopher Mintz-Plasse/”Evil” Ed Thompson
Director
– Craig Gillespie Writer- Marti Noxon
Rated
R – for bloody horror violence and language
1
hr, 46 min.
There
have been a slew of genre movie remakes in the past ten years and more often
than not, the original is superior to the remake. The few exceptions that
spring to mind are: Death Race (2008), the Paul W. S. Anderson remake of the
1975 Death Race 2000 and Dawn of the Dead (2004) directed by Zach Snyder which
is a remake of the 1978 Romero classic of the same name. Now another film can
be added to this rare list of respectful remakes: Fright Night (2011).
While
I enjoyed the 1985 film at the time, more recent rewatchings have not been as
much fun; although I must admit I still like Roddy McDowall’s portrayal of
Peter Vincent as a horror host. Because I’m not an uber-fan of the original, it
probably allowed me to be more open to enjoying the remake.
The
2011 Fright Night follows the same basic plot of the original, with a few minor
character, plot and mythology changes. One of the major changes from the
original film is that Charley’s friend Ed is the one who discovers that
Charley’s neighbor is a vampire and not Charley himself. The other slightly
less important change is that Peter Vincent in the remake is a Los Vegas
magician and not a TV horror host as in the original. I didn’t think either of
these changes affected the overall tone of the film, which is still like the
original a blend of horror and comedy.
Charley
Brewster is a reformed nerd, who now has a girlfriend and has begun hanging out
with the cool kids in High School. Charley’s former nerdy friend “Evil” Ed Lee
tells Charley that their old friend has gone missing and they check in on the
his house only to find it abandoned. Ed tries to convince Charley that his
next-door neighbor Jerry is a vampire and that he is the one responsible for
the recent rash of disappearing students. Charley is convinced only that Ed is
delusional and is just desperately trying to get his attention.
Ed
continues his surveillance of Jerry, until Jerry catches Ed and seemingly kills
him. Charley now notices Ed missing and eventually begins to believe that Ed
may have been right about Jerry being a vampire. Charley sneaks into Jerry’s
house, where he finds that Jerry is storing victims in rooms hidden upstairs to
feed on. After narrowly escaping Jerry’s house, Charley goes to Ed’s house to
look for Ed’s research on vampires. It is there that Charley sees Peter
Vincent’s web site on Ed’s computer, which claims that Vincent is an expert
vampire hunter. Charley goes to Vegas and attempts to gain the aid of the
flamboyant magician, but Vincent pretends not to believe Charley’s story and
sends him on his way.
Charley
attempts to barricade his home from Jerry the vampire, but Jerry attacks
Charley, his girlfriend Amy and his mother Jane in his home, which they flee
from in their mother’s car. Jerry chases after them and they survive, but Jane
is injured in the fight. Charley once again pleads with Vincent for help and
this time Vincent joins Charley to hunt down the vampire and stake him.
There
is a lot to like about Fright Night. The direction by Craig Gillespie, who
previously directed Lars and the Real Girl (2007) and Mr. Woodcock (2007),
shows off a real talent for comedic pacing those other films did not. There are
some scenes that stretch out to create tension and then speed up for the
inevitable violent confrontation, which are then punctuated by well-timed
humor. Some of this clever plotting and humor should be attributed to
screenplay writer Marti Noxon, who wrote dozens of scripts for the similarly
themed Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV program.
Anton
Yelchin, who plays the teenage Charley and is best known to genre fans for
playing Chekov in the 2009 Star Trek film, does a fine job playing a former
nerd and growing teen, trying to fit into his new social situation. Colin
Farrell plays the part of the vampire Jerry with a quite cool air in his human
form. But as a vampire, his vicious and malicious ferocity is truly
frightening. I also liked Toni Collette as Charley’s understanding Mother Jane
and Imogen Poots as Charley’s sweet and strong girlfriend Amy. The standout performance
for genre fans is David Tennant, who is best known for playing the Doctor on
Doctor Who for three-plus seasons. Tennant as Peter Vincent the Goth Vegas
magician is fantastic; playing both the drama-queen stage magician and the
slightly cowardly vampire hunter!
Fright Night strikes just the right balance between horror and comedy, which I
think even fans of the original film will apreaciate. While this version of
Fright Night is definitely more adult in its language and levels of violence
than its predecessor, I never felt that any of it was gratuitous or
unnecessary. If you’d like a break from the dark and dismal horror films of
late, you should give Fright Night a try.
TECHNICAL: Acting – 9 Directing – 9 Cinematography – 8 Script – 10 Special effects – 9
VISCERAL:
Visual – 9 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 7 Emotional – 9 Involvement – 9
TOTAL
RATING: 88
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