Film Review: Clever, Scary ‘Fright Night’ Remake With Colin Farrell

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CHICAGO – The word remake sends an understandable chill down the spine of most horror fans. We’ve been subjected to so many retreads and reboots and the batting average of quality has been pathetically low. And yet, there are exceptions including Zack Snyder’s “Dawn of the Dead” and David Cronenberg’s “The Fly.” We can add Craig Gillespie’s “Fright Night” to the short list of exceptions to the rule. With so many of the elements missing from the horror genre in the ’10s, this is one of the best scary movies Hollywood has produced in a long time.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

The concept of “Fright Night” is devilishly simple – what if pure evil moved in next door? How do you avoid your neighbor, especially after you know he’s a supernatural killing machine and he’s wiping out your classmates? It’s a question forced upon Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) after his friends start disappearing and the guy who lives 20 feet away starts acting more and more suspicious. His old buddy Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a D&D-loving young man whom Charley has discarded in favor of the cool kids, begs his former L.A.R.P. partner to believe him when he says a vampire has descended on their Las Vegas ‘burb. Of course, Charley doesn’t heed the warnings until it’s too late for dear Ed.

StarRead Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Fright Night” in our reviews section.

Before he knows it, Charley is spying on his neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) and warning his mother Jane (Toni Collette) to never invite the charismatic stranger into their house. Can he protect his gorgeous girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots) from the smooth-talking bloodsucker? And can the Criss Angel-esque Vegas magician Peter Vincent (David Tennant of “Dr. Who”) live up to his stage persona and help Charley save his family and friends?

“Fright Night” is a refreshingly simple vampire tale – good guy in one house, bad guy next door. In fact, it’s so uncluttered with subplots and secondary characters that it’s likely to throw off modern audiences accustomed to twist endings and comic relief. Marti Noxon’s screenplay is a thing of beauty, one that perfectly blends the core foundation of its source with the smart level of dialogue and plot structuring that she brought to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” “Fright Night” is a wonderfully focused film from its opening kill to its clever finale. Unlike so many of its peers, it wastes no time blending fear and comedy, working like the lean, thrill-producing machine it needed to be to succeed.

StarContinue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Fright Night” review.

“Fright Night” stars Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and David Tennant. It was written by Marti Noxon and directed by Craig Gillespie. It is rated R and opens on August 19th, 2011.

Fright Night
Fright Night
Photo credit: DreamWorks

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