Going into the remake of “Fright Night”, I was a bit apprehensive. The original is my favorite vampire film of all time and I just felt that deep down they were going to find some way to fuck up the remake. Then the trailers came in (everything looked solid, if a bit underwhelming), then the reviews came in (75% in just about perfect for a horror film), and then the reaction from fans came in—They didn’t fuck it up! I couldn’t wait to watch the remake. I sat down in my seat eager for the movie to start as I put on my 3D glasses and was ready for the wild vampire ride to begin.
The film starts quite promising. We are given a skyline shot of houses in the suburb. The kind of suburb where everyone owns the same car, the same house, and the same two kids. And then BAM, three killings before the opening credits can even hit the screen. I was ready! This is going to be the remake to end all remakes! Sadly, it was not to be. The plot is generally the same as the original with a few small changes. Teenager Charley Brewster guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths. When no one he knows believes him, he enlists Peter Vincent, a self proclaimed vampire killer and Las Vegas magician, to help him take down Jerry.
What doesn’t work about this movie? Well, aside from a few stylish touches…pretty much everything. Gone is the old, charming horror host Peter Vincent and in is a Midori chugging whorish magician. Ugh. Gone is the beautiful shot and exciting club scene in which Jerry seduces Charley’s girlfriend Amy (it’s here, but the less said about the “new” version of this scene the better). Gone is Jerry’s homoerotic relationship with his best “friend”/roommate. Hell, that character isn’t even IN this film. What’s added? Awful CGI (Amy’s vampire scene with Charley is incredibly lame and doesn’t look half as good as it did in the TWENTY FIVE year old original) and a final battle scene that belongs more to “Underworld” than it does to the “Fright Night” legacy. That being said, It’s worth a rental at least. The movie wasn’t so much bad as it was incredibly disappointing. I felt there was so much more they could have done with the premise. What a waste.
