Fright Night (2011)/Movie Review

Release Date: 19 August 2011 (USA) Runtime: USA: 106 min

Genres: Comedy | Horror

Taglines: You can't run from evil when it lives next door.

Director: Craig Gillespie

Writers: Marti Noxon (screenplay), Tom Holland

Storyline

A remake of the 1985 original, teenager Charley Brewster (Yelchin) guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Farrell) is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths. When no one he knows believes him, he enlists Peter Vincent (Tennant), a self proclaimed vampire killer and Las Vegas magician, to help him take down Jerry.

Production Co:Albuquerque Studios, DreamWorks SKG, Gaeta / Rosenzweig Films

Budget: $17,000,000 (estimated)

Casts

Anton Yelchin , Colin Farrell , Toni Collette , David Tennant , Imogen Poots , Christopher Mintz-Plasse , Dave Franco ,Reid Ewing , Will Denton , Sandra Vergara , Emily Montague , Chris Sarandon , Grace Phipps , Chelsea Tavares , Lisa Loeb

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Review

To be honest the 2011 update of FRIGHT NIGHT stands perfectly on its own even without the familiarity of the original. As a film the remake gave me everything the original struggled to give me- a fun and engaging movie experience.

Anton Yelchin stars as Charlie, a teen trying to leave his geek past behind by blowing off his former best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) in order to stay connected with his attractive and popular girlfriend Amy (Imogene Poots). Ed turns Charlie’s attention to Charlie’s brooding neighbor, Jerry (Colin Farrell), accusing him of being a vampire.

There you go- if you’re familiar with the original you know the story, if not, then that’s all you really need to know. I have seen the original and I do like it, but in all honesty I may have come late to the party. I didn’t understand all the love I’ve seen regarding it and then when I saw the update all I could think was how much I enjoy the remake infinitely more. There’s very little in the remake I had issues with and the stuff that I did have issues with are minor and will likely grow on me after subsequent viewings. Multiple viewings is the other key factor- where I have no desire to watch the original on a regular basis, I could have sat and watched his version a few more times and be delighted to do so.

What I believe FRIGHT NIGHT gets right was the decision to cast Colin Farrell. From beginning to end Farrell’s performance as Jerry is nothing short of awesome. Jerry as a character is menacing yet playful at the same time- a mix that Farrell plays almost flawlessly, making both aspects of the character a ton of fun to watch. Anton Yelchin also does a great job playing off the awkwardness of trying to leave behind his geeky childish days in exchange of popularity and hot girls. Yelchin adds in another layer when he has to convey the absurdity of his neighbor being a vampire to others. As far as cast goes the only one that didn’t fully work for me was Christopher Mintz-Plasse- I didn’t hate him, but there are moments where I could have easily done without him. I also love David Tennant as Peter Vincent- updated as an egotistical Criss Angel type of Vegas performer. Tennant lends to the goofier side of the film, but I found him to be quite hilarious.

With all the different aspects and characters at play the film is edited together tightly. Not a second of the film felt wasted and even the quiet moments have a distinct sense of purpose but are incredibly subtle. FRIGHT NIGHT has maintained the fun and playful comedy as well instead of opting for a darker overall tone. Make no mistake there are some sinister moments to the film, but they are all done with a certain playful attitude.