Fright Night: Stake Thy Neighbor

1985's Fright Night is one of the greatest vampire films ever made. Why? Well, to be honest, there's really no clear reason, it's just one of those movies that simply got it right. It also happens to be one of my favorite 80's horror films, so when I heard news of the remake back in April, I was extremely skeptical about it. The 2000's have been slowly destroying 70's and 80's horror with shit-fests like Friday the 13th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), and I really didn't want to see a film that I truly loved face that same unfortunate fate.

However, as I heard more and more about the new film and saw promising clips, impressive photos and great casting (especially Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Evil Eddie), I began to become very interested in the film, and after seeing it this afternoon, I'm glad I didn't lose faith in Fright Night.

Adding some new twists to the 1985 classic, 2011's Fright Night takes place in suburban Nevada, only a stone's throw away from the Vegas strip. Teenage Charlie Brewster is trying his best to fit in after an awkward, geeky phase: he has a hot new girlfriend, "cool" friends, and a fashionable wardrobe. Everything is going right for Charlie until his old buddy, Ed, informs him that his new neighbor is a vampire. At first, Charlie doesn't even consider believing the seemingly insane accusations that Ed is making. But soon, Ed disappears, and strange things begin to happen all around the neighborhood. Charlie attempts to enlist the help of Peter Vincent, a magician and self proclaimed vampire expert who turns out to just be one big illusion. Charlie knows that to save his loved ones, he's going to have to confront the beast himself.

The first thing I loved about the film was it's pacing. The story moved along fairly quickly while not being too fast, which is an overlooked quality in any good film. Nobody wants to see a movie that's so long it'll bore your brains out and at the same time no one wants to be sitting in the theater as the lights go back on thinking "That was it?".

Another very impressive quality of the film was the casting and acting. To start, Colin Farrell was incredible as the menacing, very evil creature known as Jerry. His performance was certainly notable and worthy of some praise. Next was Anton Yelchin as troubled teen Charlie Brewster, whose life turns upside down when he discovers the secrets of his new next door neighbor. Yelchin perfectly portrayed Charlie as the troubled teen trying to fit in while at the same time attempting to deal with an unholy menace. Lastly, Christopher Mintz-Plasse was awesome as Evil Eddie, who comes off as more of a bad guy in this film than he did in the original, blackmailing Charlie into following him to one victims house.

Visuals play a huge part in any film, and Fright Night was certainly a good looking film. Everything about the film was visually pleasing, from suburban streets to a vampire's underground lair to the top of the Vegas strip in Peter Vincent's domain. Fright Night had some very impressive, great cinematography that really brought the movie to a new level. And, surprisingly, the 3D managed to actually be pretty good in an age full of crappy 3D films.

One thing that I think could've been done differently with Fright Night was the release date. If the film would've been pushed back just a couple of months and had an opening night closer to good old Hallow's Eve, I think it would've made a lot more money because it's the type of film that just, for some odd reason, forces you to think of Halloween just like the original did.

Overall, Fright Night is my favorite summer film so far and deserves a lot of credit for being a really great remake in a world where remakes usually mean complete defilement of a great movie. I highly recommend seeing Fright Night this weekend, although you should see the original first (but everyone knows that by now).

I'll end this review with the song that plays over the credits at the end of Fright Night because, just like the film, it is an awesome remake of a classic.