By Joshua Knopp/managing editor
Fright Night is exactly as described — a good old-fashioned monster movie.
A remake of the 1985 cult classic, the story follows Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin), who discovers that his new next-door neighbor, Jerry (Colin Farrell), is a vampire. When it becomes apparent that no one will believe his story, Brewster enlists the help of actor Peter Vincent (David Tennant) and takes it upon himself to kill Jerry.
Whether it is technology or acting, Fright Night tells its story in a way that its predecessor just couldn’t. The ’85 version seemed to have its special effects taken from the ’60s, and William Ragsdale’s iteration of Brewster is almost unwatchable. The classic will always have its audience, but not because it was a particularly well-made movie.
This remake, on the other hand, is. CGI is used to push makeup and vivid gestures beyond their past limits. There is enough gore to satisfy splatter-gore fans, and enough genuine scares to satisfy the rest of the world. Awkward humor is placed sparingly and precisely to give Fright Night just enough of a snarky flavor.
Acting is also a prevailing reason for the film’s quality. Yelchin and Christopher Mintz-Plasse take roles originally portrayed as overly acted nerds and turn them into real people. Tennant makes himself hard to recognize as a man-child with a vampire obsession.
Surrounded by good performances, Farrell breathes life into the film. He is syrupy, sadistic and beyond malevolent in his role.
Fright Night is far from perfect. It offers nothing new to horror or any applicable subgenre, even beyond being a remake. Also, it continues the trend of casting minors that are conspicuously physically mature. Yelchin and Mintz-Plasse are seniors in college, not high school.
Still, it’s good to see a remake that is designed to tell the story in a different way than the original, rather than eclipse it entirely.
Final take: An ’80s style movie with ’10s style acting and visuals
Those who would enjoy it: Monster movie fans, Colin Farrell fans, horror watchers in general
