Melanie's Review of Fright Night
Iâm a little torn about the Fright Night remake.
Iâve got a bit of a soft spot for the original, so I went into the remake a little skeptical. There wasnât necessarily anything wrong with the 2011 version, but it just wasnât as good as the 1985 film.
Putting that aside, director Craig Gillespie and cast tried very hard to live up to the original. Unfortunately, I didnât find it as campy as I would have liked, and it lacked some of the back-story that I remember from the first Fright Night. I was also a little worried about the 3-D aspect of the film, but have to admit that I liked the subtlety of it and liked that it wasnât overdone.
Craig Gillespie has only directed a couple of movies, but made a very smart move not straying too far from the original storyline. Itâs the standard formula: teen leaves behind geeky past, scores hot popular chick, tries to deal with dad ditching him and his mom, new neighbour moves in next door whoâs a vampire, then teen has to save mom, girlfriend, and the world from vampire.
Iâll be honest: Colin Farrell (Miami Vice, Horrible Bosses) is hot. He is really, really hot.
Yet can âhotâ carry a movie? Sadly, not really. It worked for a little while, but Farrell didnât really say much during the film and after a time it became really noticeable. I also found that he didnât have as much charisma as Chris Sarandon the first Jerry.
One thing I really appreciated about this film is they cast the two main teenage leads well. I enjoyed Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Alpha Dog) as Charlie Brewster in this version. He was relatable and strong enough to help carry the movie.
Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later, V for Vendetta) was also excellent as the cool popular girlfriend, whoâs different from the other teenagers her age. She gave the movie some of its depth. Yelchin and Poots were far better than their original counterparts in the first film.
I also really enjoyed David Tennant (Harry Potter, TVâs Doctor Who) as Peter Vincent. His interaction with my favourite character, Ginger, played by Sandra Vergara, was definitely the best part of the movie. The two of them together were hilarious! She was dead sexy too!
inally. McLovin. Oh, McLovin. Iâm thinking that Christopher Mintz-Plasseâs time is nearly over in the movie world. Heâs been playing the same role in every film since Superbad, and personally Iâm getting a little tired of him. He definitely had the ânerdâ part of Charlieâs ex-best-friend Ed down, but didnât offer up much beyond that. Personally I found his entire performance flat. The original âEvil Edâ played by Stephen Geoffreys, was such an amazingly played character, that Iâm not sure that anyone could have lived up to it.
I found Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine) who played Charlieâs mom, to be wasted in the film. Sheâs such a strong actress, and didnât have much in the script to latch on to.
The cameo by Chris Sarandon was priceless. Although, I wish heâd been in the film a lot longer. He is a fantastic actor, and his part was too fast. I actually would have loved to have seen him play Peter Vincent. I think that would have been a fun twist.
If I were to sum up my feelings on this movie, I would say that people who haven ât seen the original will totally enjoy the ride. I think anyone who has seen the original will have a more tepid take on it.

