Fright Night 2011

Another day, another 80s horror remake. The 90s aren't safe anymore either. I read the other day that they're gonna remake Flatliners too, although it will be written by Source Code scribe Ben Ripley so there is hope. So did Fright Night suck like the A Nightmare on Elm Street remake did or what?

This time round, Fright Night is directed by Craig Gillespie of Lars and the Real Girl fame. The screenplay is by Marti Noxon who is effing awesome and used to write for Buffy so the subject matter is close to her heart (no pun intended) (seriously). The story is based on Tom Holland's 1985 film of the same name.

Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin - Star Trek) and his ex-best friend "Evil" Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Kick Ass) aren't friends anymore, hence the 'ex' bit. While Charlie is now super cool and has got himself a girlfriend, Amy (Imogen Poots - Jane Eyre), Ed is still a geek and very much single. Charlie lives with his mum Jane (Toni Collette - United States of Tara) in the burbs, she sells real estate. Ed is investigating the disappearance of one of his friends until Ed himself disappears...

Charlie's neighbour Jerry (Colin Farrell - Horrible Bosses) is a vampire. No spoilers there. Every now and then he has a few beers, eats a stripper, and locks them away in his custom-made walk in wardrobe. Charlie finds out Jerry is a vampire and stocks up on garlic.

Charlie reaches out to 'vampire slayer' Peter Vincent (David Tennant - my geeky dreams). Vincent is a cross between Criss Angel, mind freak and Russell Brand, regular freak, and has a regular show at one of the flashy hotels in Las Vegas. You know, the one with all the lights...

It turns out that a whole bunch of garlic tied together ain't gonna be enough to defeat Jerry. The slayer-ettes must find another way...

I didn't mind this one. It was entertaining, they had lots of new ideas for the story so it wasn't a carbon copy of the original. A nod here and there to the original were cool including a cameo by someone extra special. Yelchin did a good job, he's gonna be one of those ones to watch; everything he does is solid. Colin Farrel makes a great vampire, even if he does look like blue-vein cheese. David Tennant just frikken rocks, even more so in leather pants! The product placement police might have a few things to say about this film.

I saw it in 2D, no need to add that extra dimension though there were clearly a few effects that would have poked one's eye out should one wish to pop on one's glasses and pay those extra few bucks, but I don't think that's necessary for this film. Do watch the original, I had a rewatch a few weeks ago and it's still a really cool flick.

Things I learnt: never accept deliveries after dark; leather pants don't breathe; fucking ebay!
Not so sucky.
Seven out of ten.