Sunday, December 18, 2011

Movie Review: Fright Night (2011)


Okay, I can't resist. I have to say it... WELCOME TO FRIGHT NIGHT! I've still only seen the original 1985 version of Fright Night once, but that was enough to make me fall in love with it. News of remakes don't shock me anymore, in fact they rather bore me, so I was neither hopeful nor skeptical of this remake. And I have no shame in saying that I loved 2011's Fright Night just as much as the original.

When teenager Charley Brewster's old friend Ed tells him that his new neighbor Jerry is a vampire, Charley of course doesn't believe him. But after witnessing some of Jerry's strange behavior on his own, Charley is convinced and soon enlists the help of a local magician and vampire expert named Peter Vincent to take Jerry down for good.

The film is very fast paced and after the first throwaway scene and some setup with Charley, his mother and his girlfriend Amy, we get right into the vampire action. I was glad for the lack of lulls, so to speak, because what I wanted out of this movie was just some good old-fashioned vampire comedy and fun, and boy howdy, did they ever deliver here.

I didn't find out until after watching the movie that the wonderful Marti Noxon, one of the main writers from the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer TV series, wrote Fright Night, but I completely believe that her talents helped make the film as good as it is. It's full of subtle hilarity and smart jokes (and maybe one reference to Buffy when Peter describes Charley and Amy as a "Scooby gang"), not to mention the best line from the original film... "You're so cool, Brewster!" This line was perhaps not as well used as in the original movie - I probably would have missed it if I wasn't paying attention - but it was still good to hear it.

All of the actors were pretty much perfect in their roles, even Colin Farrell as Jerry, the one I was the most unsure about. I knew he would be a great charmer like Chris Sarandon was, but I wasn't sure how he would do with the comedic side. However, Farrell played Jerry as a much more sinister and cunning vampire with a hint of comedy here and there, and I think it made the movie all the better. The real star of Fright Night, though, was Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Ed Lee. My favorite line from the whole movie was at the beginning when Ed says to Charley, "...and I'm really so angry that you think that I read 'Twilight.'" His performance is nothing short of genius with every line that he delivers, even something as simple as that line. One of the movie's shortcomings is that they severely underused Ed's character. For shame!

Also, did you love Chris Sarandon's cameo? I did. Very happy that he agreed to do that. I also thought that I would hate the new Peter Vincent, changed from the aging Roddy McDowall to the more modern Criss Angel-wannabe guy with black hair and leather pants. However, David Tennant was equally fabulous in his role and played it with hilarity and ease.

As the movie was made for a 3D experience, there are a few shots of things flying at the screen and some very unnecessary use of CGI blood. Argh! I hate CGI blood! In fact, CG is used quite a lot here where more practical effects would have been undoubtedly better. Other times it works pretty well. Loved the part where Doris explodes in the sunlight and Ed's death (though not as sad as the original). One of the scenes I was not too crazy about was the part with Charley, his mom, and Amy in the car as they are running from Jerry after he tries to blow up their house. It is one continuous shot weaving in and out and around the car as various things are happening all around them, and it is so obviously fake - meaning green screen - that it took me completely out of the moment.

Classic scenes from the original are not exactly copied, everything is just more updated and modern. Not a bad thing here. The story works well in the new setting, and speaking of sets - loved them. Peter Vincent's loft was a great place for the showdown with Evil Ed and I loved at the end where all the vampires come out of the dirt, plus Charley's final fight with Jerry was very well done.

Despite its relative lack of attention at theaters, I think they hit a slam dunk with Fright Night. It was good vampire fun with lots of humor and some terrific performances.

11 comments:

  1. This one left me extremely disappointed. It was neither scary not much fun. It was just plain stupid.

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  2. I was pleasantly surprised, as I'm a big fan of the original. Just something about it wasn't as memorable as the 1985 version.

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  3. Too many twilight puns in this. The apple thing was enough.

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  4. I didn't like this movie much at all. But I'm a huge fan of the original and grew up on it. I felt this one was missing all the "charm" the original had. Colin was a great menacing sexy vampire, but I didn't think he could save it :(

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  5. Nice review. The tone may be all over the place, but it still has a lot of fun to it with blood, guts, and gore flying at you with good performances from the cast, especially Farrell who seems like he’s just having a ball with this role.

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  6. Still looking forward to seeing this. Your review gives me some hope, despite the bad things I've heard elsewhere.

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  7. Glad you enjoyed i, I personally dug it as well and Im a die hard fan of the original! Die hard fan! My only gripe with the new one was Evil Ed, to me they shouldve left his transformation into a werewolf and made it even more horrifying than the original, to me the original one is scarier looking than this update. The vampires look more evil, but still, this new "softer" version of Fright Night was still fun as hell. And I agree with you, Chris Sarandons cameo was so awesome!

    Glad you enjoyed it.

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  8. I'm still on the fence about this one but I'll give it a chance.

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  9. Hmm, such divisive views. I guess this is one of those 'like it or hate it' movies now, depending on how it stands up to the original. I love and respect the original with all my heart, and while to some this remake is inferior (and I certainly understand why some of you don't like it) I just turned off my brain and went into it with an open mind. When you do that, it gets a lot better!

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  10. I think one thing that really annoys me, is the overuse of CGI, now maybe thats because it was in the theater in 3D, but home viewing...it just looks bad. I prefer latex and makeup over computer graphics.

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  11. Thanks for your review, Michele. I haven't seen this yet, but I'm very curious to. Most haven't been as kind to it as you--it's very refreshing to get a different viewpoint.

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