Fright Night

Craig Gillespie

The story: Charley (Anton Yelchin) discovers that his next-door neighbour Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a murderous vampire. He turns to Las Vegas showman Peter Vincent (David Tennant), a self-styled vampire expert, for help. Jerry later goes on a rampage to take down Charley, his mother (Toni Collette) and his girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots). Look out for a cameo from Chris Sarandon who played Jerry in the original Fright Night from 1985.

The 1985 original was a funny, sexy and thrilling vampire flick. Is there a need for a remake?

By now, vampires have overrun the pop culture landscape. Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) mixed the same elements to great success on the small screen, the Twilight series is a phenomenon in both print and on celluloid while the likes of Alexander Skarsgard are oozing menace and sex from every undead pore on TV’s True Blood.

To the credit of scribe Marti Noxon, who wrote and produced for Buffy, and director Craig Gillespie, who helmed the sensitively quirky Lars And The Real Girl (2007), the remake is justified.

For one thing, the script has been thoughtfully updated. Most notably, the new setting is Las Vegas, where people are always coming and going and disappearing, and the character of Peter Vincent is now a flamboyant magician instead of a two-bit TV host who used to play vampire killers.

Noxon has also fleshed out the role of Charley by delving into the cruel world of high school. He is an ex-nerd dating a hot girl, which means he has to cut off ties with his old mates and hang out with the cool gang now. Poignantly, it is his former buddy Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who discovers the truth about Jerry and pays a price for it.

There are also some sharply written lines scattered throughout the dialogue. When Charley asks Amy why she went out with him, she tells him it is because he is different and also, “your skin cleared up”.

Gillespie handles the material with an assured hand as he ratchets up the tension and then releases it again and again. He displays equal skill switching between the various moods and tones in the movie.

Central to the film’s success is Farrell’s take on the creature of the night. Instead of reprising Chris Sarandon’s more sardonic Jerry, the Irish actor brings out the brutal, animal nature of the beast. And yes, he brings the sexy, too.

Maybe True Blood could do with some new blood for season five next year.

(ST)