'Fright Night' Rebirths an '80s Horror Classic

It’s pointless to even complain about the unnecessary remakes on the horizon—there are just too many of them. Next week comes a remake of the 1973 TV movie Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, this time starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce. Footloose is due out in October, and according to the latest trailer, there’s a glitter-heavy school dance at the end! (Phew!) And the plot of the Superman reboot reboot has just been announced.

Fright Night, the 2011 take on the 1985 cult horror-comedy classic, opens tonight, and it is good, clean demonic fun.

While generally faithful to the original, this adapted screenplay by Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Marti Noxon features many welcome improvements to the '80s midnight movie. Director Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl, Mr. Woodcock) pits virginal suburban teens against Sin City and the undead in an ode to a genre that never seems to age or die.

Clever casting, stalwart scares and updated sexual politics keep this remake fresh, and Colin Farrell as Jerry the vampire next door keeps it interesting.

A menacing organ declares Fright Night’s campy intentions as eerie clouds hang over a suburban Las Vegas enclave. Stone walls surround tidy homes, but a monster has moved into the neighborhood. Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) and his mom (Toni Collette) have a new neighbor, but Jerry has a no-so-well-kept secret. 

Charley has recently ascended into the cool clique, and he’s on the verge of going all-the-way with his popular lady friend, Amy (Imogen Poots), but his nerdy ex-best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) begs for his help Frog Brothers style when a friend and his entire family vanish. Unlike in the 1985 version, this Charley is the reluctant hero/believer.

Struggling with his need to be popular and the mainstream denial of the supernatural, Charley is thrust into a cat-and-mouse game with Jerry to keep his girlfriend and mom safe. It’s the standard young people against overpowering evil scenario, but it really works in Fright Night.

References to Buffy and True Blood, as well as classic vampire films and, oddly enough, Harry Potter, are amusing nods to the zeitgeist. And while the 3-D is not really necessary, it’s pretty fun in some places.

I’ve seen quite a few vamps die via immolation, and I have to say Fright Night doesn’t skimp on the blaze of glory. This flick retains its '80s horror movie flair while delivering some decidedly impressive effects. The gory and grotesque are never far with broken bones cracking back into place, horrific transformations from normal everyday vampire to fully aroused vampy face, and, of course, plenty of blood.

Farrell works the hyper-sexual angle so common in the vampire oeuvre, but his animalistic, primal core is twitching to get out. Sniffs and spastic glances—the hunter honing in on its prey. Charming one moment, downright terrifying the next, Farrell’s vamp draws from many sources, but his claws scream Nosferatu.

Yelchin and Poot have surprising depth for whiny teens and do terrified well. I’m not really sold on this Yelchin kid as a “leading man,” but his transformation from baby-faced sneaker enthusiast to vampire hunter is respectable. Yelchin also achieves that lost, vacant look that often accompanies a newly-shed teen identity reflecting a selective amnesia for his geek past.

David Tennant as fictional Vegas dark lord of magic Peter Vincent is hilarious. His alcoholic cynical showman with a dark secret and a sassy Latin assistant is a pleasant departure from the Dr. Van Helsing-like Roddy McDowall in the original. Mintz-Plasse steals the show, and little Dave Franco does his brother proud in a bit part. The wonderful Collette was kind enough to grace this film with her presence as the cool single mom and Chris Sarandon even makes a cameo.

Fright Night is nostalgic and new at the same time. It's comforting and a little jarring—a great ride. Even Fright Night’s poster is an ode to the long-gone shelves of Blockbuster—lazy Friday nights, strolling through the nose-high aisle, the smell of the cheap cardboard VHS boxes, the lumbering monitors overhead playing the newest release or just the clerk’s personal favorite. 

At the same time, this remake is playfully slick, though it will probably feel just as dated in 25 years—especially the scene where Charley picks a lock with the aid of a “How to Pick a Lock” website on his smartphone (In the future, we’ll obvious have robots to pick locks for us.)

But at least for the moment, Fright Night is a fast-paced update that embraces the genre while providing some seat-squirming scares and pop-culture candy.

Fright Night is now playing at:

Movie Tavern in Collegeville

• Friday, Aug. 19; Saturday, Aug. 20; and Sunday, Aug. 21: 1:30 p.m., 7:25 p.m., 10:30 p.m.

Regal Marketplace 24 in Oaks

• Friday, Aug. 19; Saturday, Aug. 20; and Sunday, Aug. 21: 2:05 p.m., 4:40 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 9:45 p.m.

For more of Megan Carr’s movie reviews and media musings, visit her website at therestiscreamcheese.com.

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