Since the Fright Night remake starring Colin Farrell is now out on DVD I was finally able to give it a watch – and I wasn’t disappointed.
A remake of the 1985 original, Fright Night tells the tale of teenager Charley Brewster, who guesses that his new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige, is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths. When no one he knows believes him he enlists Peter Vincent, a self-proclaimed vampire killer and Las Vegas magician, to help him take down Jerry.
Ok, I’ll get this out right away – I have never seen the original Fright Night (I know, tsk tsk), so if you’re hoping for a comparison of old and new, you won’t get it. Now onwards!
The film starts off to a bloody and horrific start, which lets you know right off the bat that the vamp in this movie is not a sweet angst-ridden romantic, but a cold-hearted killer. So if you’re looking for badass vampires, you’ll get it Fright Night.
The eerie tone continues through most of the movie, there are a few funny one liners thrown in between to lighten the mood, but for the most part they keep it dark and haunting, building up to the big bad drama. The chilling music adds to the effect. While a new movie, Fright Night still had that classic horror flick vibe.
One thing I really didn’t care for in the movie was the occasional cheesy and cliché dialogue. It wasn’t all bad, but there were a few scenes that had my eyes rolling. Fortunately, those lame lines were limited and the rest were much more fitting for a horror movie.
As for the actors – Colin Farrell was excellent as Jerry! He pulled off the awkward guy next door act and the role of terrifying killer flawlessly. I love how he played the part, he really was believable as a ruthless vampire trying to appear normal. David Tennant was also amazing. His character, Peter Vincent, was awesome and David kicked ass playing him. I liked Anton Yelchin as well, he was a great Charley. As for some of the other younger actors, well, I wasn’t impressed with them. Honestly, I found the leading lady, Charley’s girlfriend, downright terrible. I really wished they would have picked another actress for Amy, one that actually knew how to act. But other than that I think the actors rocked in this movie.
Overall, I really enjoyed Fright Night. This isn’t a movie for the vampire fans that love romances or deep dramas, this one is for the horror fans, the people that love gory scenes and love being scared out of their seat every 10 minutes. It’s a good ol’ horror movie.
Have any of you seen it? If so, what did you think?
– Moonlight
I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but I bet you would love the original Fright Night! And probably the sequel too.
I liked the remake a lot. It’s a fun thrill ride that pays homage to the original while having the confidence to go its own way. Colin Farrell’s performance here is easily my favorite of his. And the lesson it offers about true friends vs. the ‘cool’ clique is a welcome one.
I also liked the film, but I think the original was much better. There were scenes I really wished the director would have expanded on, like the hooker and the vampire. I liked the Vegas connection, being in Sin City.
Oh….you mean you have never seen the original Fright Night? Well, you should. Even though it’s a little bit corny, it’s one of the better 1980’s vampire flicks. And its sort of an homage to the old Hammer films.
Anyway, onto my thoughts on the new one. Very modern. lots of action, lots of gore, great special effects, and very scary.
The only thing I didn’t like is in the beginning, Charlie and Evil made references to Twilight. I mean, even though the characters sort of said they didn’t like it, I wish they hadn’t talked about it. I mean I AM GETTING REALLY REALLY SICK OF HEARING ABOUT THAT DAMNED DUMBASS, FAT, MORMON HOUSE MOM’S SEXUAL FANTASY EVERY TIME THE WORD “VAMPIRE” COMES UP THESE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry. Anyway, getting back to Fright Night. The vamps in this movie were bad ass! They looked so scary with thier vieny faces and thier enlarged jaws full of razor sharp teeth. I mean, they looked so scary that they put the 30 Days of Night vampires to shame. These vampires tore up cars, blew up houses, and ripped people apart. And I liked how they kept them traditional; I mean with crosses, holy water and wooden stakes hurting them and what not.
Oh, and I thought it was really awesome how they had the guy that played Jerry
Dandrige in the original Fright Night show up during the car accident scene, and than get eaten by the new,Collin Farrel Jerry Dandrige. That was pretty cool. I thought all the actors did a good job. Collin Ferral escpecially. He was just such a an Evil vampire! And The movie ended with sex (yes, Twilight, people have sex!). This Fright Night was almost as good as the original, and I’m glad I invested in it.