To say I don't like remakes would be a lie, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, The Crazies, and The Wolfman to name a few were all quite tasty but when they start remaking films less than a few years old or ones totally unnecessary something is up. To a certain degree (and even though he's starred in remakes of his own films) I agree with Michael Caine "they should just remakes the bad ones." It wasn't a huge fan of Fright Night, I'm not a big fan of genre crossovers in general even so was 1985's Fright Night ready to be remade that's for you to decide but here are a few thoughts before you right it off...
After dispelling his friends concerns Charley Brewster finds that his new neighbour Jerry is a vampire and he enlists Peter Vincent a Las Vegas magician and vampire expert to help him.
The 80's original was of its time, Fright Night (2011) successfully takes the offbeat humour of the original and reworks it into a solid piece of entertainment. Five top calibre leads in a mediocre vampire remake somehow make it work. If it were any other actors it may have disappeared into a void. Thankfully the talent of the leads in this eerie cheese-fest is the films strength. It's not the 'why are they doing this' but the 'its cool that they are doing it' factor that's alluring.
Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Toni Collette and the lovely Imogene Poots (28 Weeks Later) are all on form. Although Tennant is good he isn't as involved as he should be and he lacks the dynamics due to the screenplay that Roddy McDowall gave to the character. Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Ed is notable and delivers some funny moments. Yelchin has some memorable scenes including a hilarious one-liner about a vampire hand. Farrell steals the show as the perfect intense vampire.
The effects are well executed, there are great sets, splendidly done is Vincent's apartment and the Vegas setting gives the film a unique atmosphere and distinct look. Craig Gillespie has an eye for detail and the set pieces are slick and exciting.
The script is average and the idea feels worn. That said, Fright Night has its funny creepy moments and is different enough from the original to be entertaining in its own right.
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