MPAA Rating: R/ Genre: Horror Comedy/Stars: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, Dave Franco, Reid Ewing, Will Denton, Sandra Vergara, Emily Montague, Lisa Loeb, Brian Huskey, Grace Phipps, Chris Sarandon/Runtime: 106 minutes
I think it can be safely said that the most on point manner in which to talk about the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, the 2011 take on Fright Night, if I had to in no more than 6 words would be “Disturbia crossed with a Vampire flick”. Trust me when I say that is by no means just making things way too simple. Indeed this is a slice of cinema that revolves around an extremely wary young suburbanite deciding to snoop on a neighbor who just moved in, and who may or may not be getting “the eye” from said young person’s mom, only to find that the neighbor in question is killing people and keeping them in his home….just like Disturbia. Unlike Disturbia however, this neighbor isn’t killing these people because he is a ruthless serial killer. Rather, it’s because he’s a vicious and extremely bloodthirsty vampire. From there, we see that both parties acquire allies before then facing off in a final battle meant to establish who is superior man or winged creature of the night. Yet if that sounds run of the mill on its own then just wait because it gets worse. I say that because it turns out that this slice of cinema is actually a remake of an 80s movie also called Fright Night. A movie incidentally that is quite the cult favorite amongst fans of horror and one that even I must confess to enjoying immensely. So on top of being a movie with a run of the mill narrative, it also is a movie that has also been done before and immensely well at that. Suffice it to say that you’d be forgiven for not reading my review past this point and just choosing to abandon watching this slice of cinema altogether for fear of witnessing the dreaded “well that sucked” curse in action. Imagine my surprise then to tell you that the 2011 take on Fright Night might not bring anything new to any of its respective tables, but darn it all if isn’t also fairly enjoyable in its own right. Indeed, with style and skill to spare on both sides of the camera, I think it’s safe to say that Fright Night “2011” might not be perfect by any stretch, but don’t be surprised if this movie puts a stake in being a part of your movie viewing line up on a cold and/or rainy day from now on.
The plot is as follows: Fright Night tells the story of a guy by the name of Charley Brewster. Charley, we are rather quickly able to pick up on, is a seemingly ordinary young man with a fairly dependable head on his shoulders and a lovely blonde girlfriend by the name of Amy on his arm. Of course, we also see that Charlie also resides in a fairly run of the mill suburb just outside no less a locale than Las Vegas, but we soon see that where he lives is both a positive and a negative due to how tight knit it is. This is because sure everyone knows everyone to say nothing of their business, but if a mean (or worse) neighbor decides to move near you then you better watch your back. Things soon take an ominous turn when we see that, here lately, a lot of people in the community have been vanishing without a trace and it has gotten so bad that it’s even affecting the amount of people in Charley’s classes at school. It is also around this time where Charley is reluctantly reunited with a former friend from childhood turned dweeby schlub by the name of Ed. Ed, we soon learn with Charlie, has been looking into the mysterious vanishing acts and has come to the conclusion that the culprit behind them has to be no less than a vicious vampire who has decided to claim the community as their own personal blood bank. Of course, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that the more rational minded Charley makes the choice to pretty much brush Ed and his concerns to the side. A choice that proves to be a bit on the problematic side since it isn’t long before Ed too seemingly vanishes into thin air. As a result, we see that a slightly guilt-stricken Charley makes the choice to look into things for himself and it isn’t long before he narrows in on a possible vampiric suspect in the disappearances in the form of his new neighbor, an enigmatic yet seemingly affable enough man by the name of Jerry. Yet when Charley, surprise surprise, finds that no one is willing to believe him, we see him turn to a Criss Angel-style performer/self-proclaimed vampire expert by the name of Peter Vincent for assistance. Thus, can our hero, with Vincent’s reluctant aid, find the strength to protect himself and those he holds dear against this menace or is the stake he holds on his life about to be given up for good?
Now I can’t lie to you dear reader: behind the camera, the 2011 take on Fright Night is one slice of cinema that isn’t too bad, but it also has more than its fair share of problems as well. Perhaps one of the bigger examples in the latter category is the fact that the tempo on display with this slice of cinema is absolutely terrible. Yes the moment that reveals a vital detail about Jerry as well as the final throwdown are orchestrated remarkably well, but sandwiched in between those two bookmarks is a lot of material that can best be described as the film testing your patience to the point that you just want it to get where it is aiming to go. Perhaps what is surprising about this flaw is the fact that it is also a flaw that I had with the original as well and so I can’t understand why this film didn’t make any attempts whatsoever to fix it. With that out of the way, the other big flaw that this slice of cinema is saddled with would be the fact that the visual effects on display here manage to borderline on outright goofy rather than genuinely suspenseful at times. This is especially showcased courtesy of a car chase in this that feels less like something that will keep you riveted to the edge of your seat and more like you expect to see in a Looney Tunes cartoon with how silly it is. Finally, there is one other issue that I definitely feel is worth mentioning and that is the fact that it is incredibly difficult at times to tell what the heck is going on when the action is occurring in the dark and/or at night. Yes, I get that since this IS a vampire movie a lot of action occurring in the sun wouldn’t really make a whole lot of sense, but the fact still remains that there are ways to illuminate and give scenes clarity in such a way that it won’t take away from what is happening in those moments. With those in mind and in all fairness, I will say that there are some positives to be found amongst the work done behind the camera. For starters, there are quite a few pop culture winks and nods to say nothing of digs at the Twilight franchise that for some may be a bit much, but for me I found to be quite delightful. On top of that, this slice of cinema is also the blessed recipient for a terrific screenplay from Marti Nixon that not only enables our trio of young people to actually sound like young people rather than actors playing them, but also proves to be fairly on-point with keeping the horror components on an even-keel with a gallows sense of humor that did, more than once, actually have me chuckling in my seat. Finally, I also really did appreciate the little tweaks this film did in regards to its narrative to try and distinguish it from its predecessor including moving the story to Vegas which, if you know anything about Vegas, feels like an incredibly natural place for a possible vampire to roost and turning Vincent from a schlocky late-night TV host into someone who clearly borrowed one thing too many from Criss Angel in regards to his show. Suffice it to say there may be quite a few issues with this slice of cinema behind the camera, but there are also a few gems to be found there as well.
Of course, as we all know the work behind the camera can make a slice of cinema work to an extent, but ultimately it is up to the performances in front of the camera to take it the rest of the way and determine whether a slice of cinema will either sink or swim. Thankfully, I can say that in that regard the performances from the cast that have been assembled here are (somewhat surprisingly) actually not that bad. This starts with our main character of Charley Brewster, we get a winning performance here from the tragically late yet fantastic actor Anton Yelchin. Indeed Yelchin does a wonderful job of not only making this guy feel like a realistic human being rather than a fictional character, but he also gives him a wide range so he can play off all his co-stars incredibly well be it witty yet snippy with Mintz-Plasse, charming with Poots, exasperated with Tennant, fierce yet also spooked with Farrell, and loving with Collette. Suffice it to say that it is another delightful performance from a young man who was tragically taken from us as movie goers much too soon. As for our pair of main actresses in this and I hate to say it, but truthfully only one of them really stands out in this and that would be Imogen Poots (taking over for Amanda Bearse) in the role of Amy. I mean don’t get me wrong: the always delightful Toni Collette does do dependably good work here in her role of Charley’s loving mom Jane, but if we’re being honest the role is tragically limited in the grand scheme of things. Poots however not only gets the chance to have a steady role pretty much throughout the film, but she also gets both some new qualities to distinguish her portrayal from what Bearse brought to the role as well as chemistry with Yelchin that is A+. Suffice it to say that while I did appreciate what Bearse brought to the part, I definitely felt that Poots was by far a much better fit for the character. Now in the role of Edward “Evil Ed” Lee, this slice of cinema gives us Christopher Mintz-Plasse and honestly it’s not that he’s bad, but I just felt that all we were getting from Plasse here was not a dweeby character turned dark and ominous and instead was simply just an extension of his iconic character McLovin’ from Superbad. With that said, for the next character I must confess that I will always love Roddy McDowall and the level of class and just plain joy that he brought to every single role including the role of Peter Vincent who he played as a goofy low-budget Vincent Price type. Yet even with that in mind, I do really dig the work done here by David Tennant in this film’s updating of Vincent who I feel is very much what you would get if you took Criss Angel and put him in a blender with Russell Brand. Sure, he may come off as a bit cliché at times and yes there is a reveal with him that seems a bit tacked on, but it’s clear that Tennant is having fun in the role. With all of that in mind though, the MVP for the film beyond a doubt is Colin Farrell as Jerry. Indeed it is clear that Farrell is having a blast in the role and he may not play it the way Chris Sarandon did back in the day, but nevertheless Farrell manages to make the character one that is a truly wonderful blend of perversely magnetically charming and affable yet also incredibly sinister and despicable as well. Suffice it to say that there may be issues with this film, but the cast does do what they can to help make up for them.
All in all, it may sadden me to you this, but the 2011 take on Fright Night is by no means on the same level as the original take on the property from all the way back in 1985 (though in all fairness that really shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise). At the same time though, that doesn’t mean this slice of cinema is a total disaster. Far from it actually. Sure, the work in the effects department at times may resemble something out of a Looney Tunes cartoon. Along with that, due to how difficult it can be to tell what is going on in a lot of scenes on account of how they are taking place in the pitch black of night, it is my intense recommendation that if someone tries to show this to you in a dark room with a big smile on their face then I would definitely make amends for whatever you did to anger them really quickly because otherwise Tylenol is about to be your best friend for the next two days. Other than those minor quibbles however, I must confess that there is actually a fair bit of fun to be (dare I say it?) bled out of this slice of cinema. Indeed, the setting change is one that actually is quite insidiously clever, the makeup effects are a lot more refined, there are some pretty sneaky yet delightful pop culture winks and nods, the soundtrack blaring throughout is actually not too bad, and above all the cast led by a gleefully sinister Colin Farrell who is having an absolute blast as the possible vampiric dude next door all manage to give fairly good performances even if some of the characters are a bit more one note than they ought to be. Thus, if you ever find yourself in need of a slice of cinema that will help you kill a couple of hours then I would definitely, contrary to popular advice and lore, invite this slice of cinema in to your home and give it a watch. Sure, you could do a whole lot better with your possible viewing material, but trust me when I say you could also do a whole lot worse as well. Make of that dear reader what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Fright Night “2011” a solid 3.5 out of 5.
