10 dic 2011

My Review: Fright Night (6/10)


¨Hey, guy. You've been watching me. I've been watching you.¨

Fright Night is a remake of the 1985 cult classic film of the same name which was written and directed by Tom Holland (known for several 80`s and 90`s horror flicks including Child`s Play and the TV series Tales from the Crypt). Some people don`t like the fact that these classic movies are being remade, but if done well it can work because a new generation that would`ve probably never seen the original can now be familiar with it. Director Craig Gillespie does a great job at adapting the story and bringing it to the big screen once again. He makes a few touches here and there, but the main idea is still there and there is even a cameo from Chris Sarandon (the actor that played the vampire in the first movie). Some of the most memorable lines from the original movie are also included here. Gillespie takes an entirely different approach than he did with his first film, Lars and the Real Girl, but he makes a decent horror/comedy film which stays true to the original so I think fans of that movie won`t be disappointed with this. Fright Night is much better than most horror films we`ve seen lately, although there isn`t as much scares as there are funny moments. The film is lifted by some strong performances from Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Anton Yelchin, and Imogen Poots. The other positive thing about Fright Night is that Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer, Marti Noxon, was involved in the adaptation of the screenplay which is pretty slick and funny.

Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) is probably having the best year of his life. He seems to have been accepted with the cool group of his High School and is dating one of the hottest girls in school, Amy (Imogen Poots). Charley is having a great time with his new friends and tries to ignore his old geek buddy Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) as much as he can, but Ed is worried about some mysterious disappearances in the Las Vegas neighborhood and tells Charley that his new neighbor, Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. Ed has been spying on Jerry and has discovered his secret, but Charley doesn`t believe him at first until he sees things on his own. Charley warns his mother, Jane (Toni Collette), not to trust Jerry and under any circumstance invite him into the house, but Jane thinks he is just being a jealous son and ignores him at first. Jerry realizes that Charley is on to him and threatens him and his girlfriend. Charley decides it`s time to face Jerry and end his 400 year life. In order to do so he enlists the help of Peter Vincent (David Tennant), a Vegas performer who claims to be a Vampire slayer, but of course this is all just a gimmick. Vincent believes Charley is crazy at first, but he soon will find out the truth about Jerry, and discover some things about his own past.

Beside the fact that Colin Farrell delivers a perfect performance as Jerry the vampire, the other thing that Fright Night has going for it is that it has a clever and funny script. There are few scares; the movie knows it works best as a comedy in the same way that Zombieland had success making fun of its zombies. This time the jokes are about vampires and of course all the legends about the crucifixes, the stakes to the heart, and the need to ask for permission to enter a house aren`t ignored here. This last element taken from the very successful vampire Swedish film Let the Right One In (which in my humble opinion is the best vampire film ever). It also manages to make fun of Twilight whenever given the chance claiming that vampires aren`t sentimental and even makes references to that movie. Colin Farrell is the star of the film, but the rest of the actors also did a great job. Anton Yelchin is a good actor and he nails his role with his charming innocence. Toni Collette looks great playing her mother, and Imogen Poots is much more than the typical dumb blonde. Christopher Mintz-Plasse and David Tennant are responsible for most of the laughs of the film and the funny moments. The movie is well made, it`s clever, entertaining, I just wish it would`ve been scarier. The effects are pretty well done and there`s also plenty of blood for gore fans. Despite everything the movie has going for it, I don`t think I would`ve enjoyed it as much if it weren’t for Colin Farrell. He lifts this movie and makes it worth seeing. Fright Night isn`t a great movie, but it`s worth a watch.

1 comentario:

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