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| Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, and Anton Yelchin |
Director: Craig Gillespie
Stars: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, David Tennant
Genre(s): Comedy, Horror
Release Date: August 19, 2011
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74%
Fright Night, which is a remake of the 1985 movies of the same name, succeeds in being a hilarious vampiric horror film that often goes to extremes to garner laughs and amusement, which works perfectly in a film of this nature.
Charley (Anton Yelchin) is an awkward high school senior who has managed to gain the affections of Amy (Imogen Poots), one of the most popular girls in school, and simultaneously alienate his dorky best friend (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Charley begins to suspect that Jerry (Colin Farrell), his new muscled and hunky neighbor, is a vampire, after a series of mysterious disappearances occur in the area. Charley asks Las Vegas vampire expert/magician Peter Vincent (David Tenant) how he can kill this terrifying 400-year-old being.
Despite the fact that they were often on the brink of death, the relationship between Charley and Amy at times strains for credulity as they find themselves in one fantastical situation after another.
The cast obviously had a great deal of fun making this movie, which is evident in their no-holds-barred performances.
Farrell is surprisingly convincing as a vampire who, unlike Twilight's Edward Cullen, merely wants to satisfy his craving for blood and appears much more beast-like than any vampire in Twilight. Yelchin's screechy voice fits his character's geeky personality and social ineptitude, and he makes for a fairly appealing protagonist. Scene stealer Tennant is hilarious and outrageous, and his character is reminiscent of other "real life" Vegas entertainers especially Criss Angel.
To temporize the film, which seems to have retained the overall likability of the original, Noxon added a number of overt pop culture references, such as Charley using his smart phone to research "how to pick a lock." There is even a nifty mention of Twilight, which makes it clear that Fright Night is almost attempting to poke fun at various vampire films that are needlessly dramatic.
Additionally, the movie is quite scary at times, although the tension-filled music often adumbrates a moment that might cause you to jump out of your seat. Although the film seems to often follow a predictable path, it never strays from being entertaining although a bit of editing to tighten up repetitive dialogue would have been beneficial.
Fright Night is an enjoyable, scary, and funny movie.
Charley (Anton Yelchin) is an awkward high school senior who has managed to gain the affections of Amy (Imogen Poots), one of the most popular girls in school, and simultaneously alienate his dorky best friend (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Charley begins to suspect that Jerry (Colin Farrell), his new muscled and hunky neighbor, is a vampire, after a series of mysterious disappearances occur in the area. Charley asks Las Vegas vampire expert/magician Peter Vincent (David Tenant) how he can kill this terrifying 400-year-old being.
Despite the fact that they were often on the brink of death, the relationship between Charley and Amy at times strains for credulity as they find themselves in one fantastical situation after another.
The cast obviously had a great deal of fun making this movie, which is evident in their no-holds-barred performances.
Farrell is surprisingly convincing as a vampire who, unlike Twilight's Edward Cullen, merely wants to satisfy his craving for blood and appears much more beast-like than any vampire in Twilight. Yelchin's screechy voice fits his character's geeky personality and social ineptitude, and he makes for a fairly appealing protagonist. Scene stealer Tennant is hilarious and outrageous, and his character is reminiscent of other "real life" Vegas entertainers especially Criss Angel.
To temporize the film, which seems to have retained the overall likability of the original, Noxon added a number of overt pop culture references, such as Charley using his smart phone to research "how to pick a lock." There is even a nifty mention of Twilight, which makes it clear that Fright Night is almost attempting to poke fun at various vampire films that are needlessly dramatic.
Additionally, the movie is quite scary at times, although the tension-filled music often adumbrates a moment that might cause you to jump out of your seat. Although the film seems to often follow a predictable path, it never strays from being entertaining although a bit of editing to tighten up repetitive dialogue would have been beneficial.
Fright Night is an enjoyable, scary, and funny movie.
Grade: B
(from Forces of Geek)
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