So hopefully you’re reading this entry after you read my review on the classic 1985 vampire flick, Fright Night.  If you are not living under a rock, I’m sure by now you’ve seen the trailers for the ‘new’ Fright Night starring Colin Farrell. 

I previously mentioned that this was a modern reimagining; and that it is.  I was very pleased to notice that while the main gist of the plot and the characters were the same, the movie wasn’t shot as a frame-by-frame replica of the original.  Yay – brownie points!

Colin Farrell plays Jerry, who moves into the house next door to Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin, who you may have seen previously as Chekov in the new Star Trek).  Charlie is a lot different in this version, as he has a beautiful girlfriend and is shedding his nerdy image in hopes to be recognised as someone ‘cool’ by the stereotypical jocks.  Charlie’s childhood best friend, Ed, is suspicious of their other friend Adam’s disappearance and attempts to convince Charlie that Jerry is a vampire – something Charlie doesn’t want to believe.  But as different events occur and Charlie starts observing, he realises the impossible and goes out to kill Jerry once and for all.

I don’t want to give too much away as I know this is a movie a lot of people have seen or will go and see.  I guess we have a certain sparkly wussy boy to thank for this generation’s love of fangs.  I really enjoyed the movie, as did my Dad.  It was entertaining and a bit of junk food; Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Ed is a classic and if you see the movie, you’ll know what I mean.  Special mention goes to David Tennant, whose Criss Angel-esque representation of Peter Vincent is a cracker.  I couldn’t get over the fact that he was supposed to look like a hardcore guy, leather-bound and tattooed and draped in naked girls… yet his drink of choice was Midori.  Yep.

So check it out, if you can afford the $18 then go see it in a cinema (not 3D though – 3D is the antichrist)… otherwise wait until DVD, but either way it’s an enjoyable ride and a bit of fun that quite frankly, not too many flicks these days give us.  

When we hear the term ‘horror movie’, so many of our minds are bombarded with the slew of remakes from past horror masterpieces.  These remakes, however, are quite often sub-par (or worse).  I know I am constantly referring to classics and remakes (and admitting, on occasion, that a remake can succeed the original – BUT THIS IS RARE!!!) but unfortunately at the moment this is almost the definition of a cinema-released scary flick.  It seemed only relevant with its modern reimagining coming out that I write about Tom Holland’s 1985 vamp comedy/horror ‘Fright Night’. 

This is another one that I have to thank my dad for… take that, Twihards who are going to go and see Colin Farrell try to be a sexy vampire with the name ‘Jerry’.  Sorry guys, as much as I like Colin Farrell, there is no replacement for Chris Sarandon as Jerry.  Anyway, I’m once again getting off track…

The film is centered on Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale) who is certain that a vampire has moved into the house next door and is killing off people close to him.  Of course, nobody believes him, so he sets out to find the one person who will believe him – late night TV host of horror show ‘Fright Night’, Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall).  However, much to Charlie’s dismay, Peter Vincent’s show is based on fiction rather than fact, and it takes a lot of convincing (and some cash incentives) to gain his knowledge and help to defeat Jerry. 

Obviously this is about all of the premise I’m going to give you as I don’t want to give away any of the defining moments in the plot (and also because I know some of you will choose to see the remake over the original, and I am unsure how true to the original it will be).  I really enjoyed this movie the first time I watched it (as a teenager??) and continue to enjoy it every time since.  I think because it has that perfect blend of scary moment and laughs, and of course, cheesy 80s vampires (gotta love it).  Roddy McDowall is awesome (his facial expressions are gold); I’m really interested to see how his role is portrayed in the 2011 version.  David Tennant of Doctor Who fame is playing Vincent, albeit in such a fashion that is a cross between Tommy Lee and Criss Angel.  I love this movie and will be going to see the new version as soon as it is released (hopefully with not too high of hopes)… I have faith in it knowing that Marti Noxon is involved; she was heavily involved in my all time favourite TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Watch the original before the 2011 version, if you can help it, and I will blog the latter as soon as I have seen it.  In the meantime, give the 1985 version a fair go – it is definitely worthwhile.  Enjoy!