Review by by Matthew Fong on
http://advancescreenings.com/2011/08/comic-con-2011-review-fright-night/
Fright Night is yet another remake of a Hollywood classic. However, writer Marti Noxon modernized the story and added just enough new elements to make it her own and produce something fresh. Just like the original 1985 film of the same name, Fright Night forgot to frighten but it offered up a funny, well-crafted, character-rich vampire tale…without the sparkles. This version kept many of the same plot points and intricate relationships which makes this story so enthralling. They added 3D, of course, which love it or hate it, seems to be on every upcoming horror film slated. Still, the heart of Fright Night was kept intact and the addition of a star-studded cast didn’t hurt.
Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) lives with his mom (Toni Collette) in a suburban development just outside of Vegas. Charley has a ridiculously cute girlfriend (Imogen Poots) and an annoying old buddy named Ed…”Evil” Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who can’t take a hint to get lost. Ed has been noticing that kids from school have been vanishing…but not just kids, their families too. He believes that Charley’s next door neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is actually a vampire. “Jerry!? That’s a terrible vampire name!”
The performances all around were wonderful in Fright Night. Christopher Mintz-Plasse was hilarious as “Evil” Ed and I enjoyed every single scene he was in. There was no way he was going to compete with Stephen Geoffreys’s 1985 Ed so he spun the character and took a new angle on it. David Tennant stole the show as the glamorized Peter Vincent, a self proclaimed vampire hunter who has a resident show in Las Vegas (think: Cris Angel). At first, you won’t even recognize Tennant but you sure will recognize his comedy! I would watch the movie again just for Christpher Mintz-Plasse and David Tennant. Colin Farrell plays a great vampire and will pull in the Twilight tween crowd as well as the True Blood women but still pull off a convincing demented blood sucker.
There’s one long car chase scene that we mentioned in our Comic-Con panel post which is amazing. The cinematography and angles that they used were quite stunning and a departure from the rest of the movie which is mainly shots of the characters and a focus on dialogue. Fright Night traded in the animatronics for computer generated effects and 3D. You better get used to 3D because it’s here to stay…especially with horror films. I think every upcoming horror flick is scheduled to be released this way. Fright Night uses it for the redundant gimmicks of shoving something in the audience’s face. The technology was so seldom utilized that they could have flashed “Put on your 3D glasses on now” messages like they used to years ago or on TV. The best 3D effects were the completely computer generated fire effect where the embers flew around and also the effect when a vampire blows up in sunlight…those parts looked really cool!
If you’re a fan of the original, you won’t be disappointed but don’t expect much newness. In terms of remakes, this one was really well done and had a satisfying mix of new and old. Fans are going to notice tidbits from the original as well as a cameo from one of the original cast members. In terms of a quality movie on its own, this Fright Night has pieces of a great entertaining movie but all together doesn’t add up to much more than a Friday night rental. If you’re a fan of any of the cast, then you should definitely go see it because their performances were killer. If you’re looking for a scary movie, this one isn’t it…Fright Night a comedic action horror sans much horror. If you’re a vampire fan, you must be having the time of your life because there are just so many movies and shows for you…this is another good addition to satisfy your vamp addiction.
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