‘Fright’ remake fails to deliver

“Fright Night” (1985) is another in a long line of exceptional horror films that simply did not need to be remade. Movies including “Psycho” (1960), “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (1973) and “Friday the 13th” (1980) are all macabre features that have over recent years found their reputations muddied by frustrating and wearisome theatrical descendants.
I actually did enjoy Walt Disney Studios’, yes I said Disney Studios’, “Fright Night” (2011). This latest entry in ghoulish recreations evokes a much darker and sinister undertone than its predecessor, but pales in comparison to the original film’s proclivity for creating both thought – provoking narrative and spine – tingling terror. Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, David Tennant and Toni Collette star in the Craig Gillespie directed flick.
Charley (Yelchin) has a problem – his neighbor is a vampire. Jerry (Farrell) sleeps by day and feeds on an unsuspecting populace by night. Quick to dismiss the notion that Jerry is a creature of the night, Charley changes his tune when his old friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) mysteriously disappears.
Charley witnesses Jerry’s evil nature first hand after neighbor Doris (Emily Montague) is kidnapped and fed on. Brewster, unable to save her, then does his best to thwart the deadly vampire. After finally convincing his mother (Collette) and girlfriend Amy (Poots) that Jerry is a blood sucker, Charley is relentlessly pursued by an infuriated neighbor from Hell.
Once his mother is hospitalized and Amy is kidnapped, Charley tries to convince magician and occult expert Peter Vincent (Tennant) that Jerry is in fact a vampire. Although reluctant at first, Vincent finally realizes that Charley is right and the pair set out to save Amy and slaughter the undead creature of the night.
Farrell is actually quite good in his portrayal of Jerry, who in this film seems much more reliant on his aggressiveness when it comes to overpowering his victims. Chris Sarandon’s version of Jerry Dandridge, from the ‘85 film, was more suave in seducing his victims to his dark designs. This updated version of Jerry made me feel more dread, as opposed to the all-encompassing romantic and mysterious ambiance I felt in the original movie. Fans of the first “Fright Night” are also sure to get a thrill from Sarandon’s cameo appearance.
I was perplexed at why vampire killer Peter Vincent was recast as a much younger man. I thought part of the charm and camaraderie of Vincent and Charley’s relationship got lost in the latest film, because the father-son/mentor-student rapport was sacrificed.
The 3-D effects throughout were more trivial than enthralling, which is really deflating when you consider the film could have utilized the device more effectively. All-in-all, the new “Fright Night” is worth watching, but I recommend waiting to watch it on the cheaper platform of DVD and BluRay. And if you’re really wanting to enjoy this horrific venture, do yourself a favor and watch the real thing from 1985.