Fright Night (2011) Horror Vampire

Fright Night (2011) - My Netflix queue is a long road with many twist and turns. When Fright Night 2 (2013) showed up at my house I felt the only rational thing to do was to revisit the remake Fright Night (2011) which I barely remembered seeing a couple years back. Since so many films are being remade these days it seems inappropriate to go any further without mentioning what started it all. I remember really liking the original when it came out in 1985. Over the years revisiting it and realizing what campy fun it really is. Written by Tom Holland a wonderful actor, writer and director who also wrote Child's Play (1988) and Thinner (1996) it is a genre staple with a unique personality. The original with capture more of my youth with it's Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), a face I knew so well. Not from the first role I saw him in as Galen in Planet of the Apes (1968) and a couple later films in that series but from a film I loved as a kid, The Legend Of Hell House (1973), but you have to understand this guy was showing up on our little black and white screen all through my life. Appearing in probably every popular TV show for fifty years. His appearance in Fright Night (1985) was almost nostalgic. Not only that but he was so good as the washed up horror a host who reluctantly finds the courage to help a kid with a vampire living next door. In recent viewing that film was a bit too tame for my liking, I think my exploration of the Italian Giallo and other more hard core gore filled genres has broken me a bit when it comes to this campy, fun style of horror. Still this film holds a place in my heart. When the remake came out I really had no interest in it. I stuck it on my 300 movie long Netflix queue and forgot about it. It was a re-imagining and intended to scare more than to be heart warming. I was luke warm in my desire to see the film but was surprised at the quality of it.
 . The film changes some of the setting and wisely does not try to reproduce the Peter Vincent character. Instead of a washed up horror host Peter Vincent (David Tennant) is a hot magician doing a vampire themed act in Vegas. An expert on vampires according to his website leading to Charlie (Anton Yelchin) recruiting him when the Vampire Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. Screenwriter Marti Noxon does a good job in transplanting he story to Las Vegas, one a large city with unrestrained growth into the surrounding dessert, capturing a time when the house bubble has exploded leaving neighborhoods mostly empty and easily preyed upon by the vampire. In the early scenes we see Charlie at school and the teachers in his classes doing roll calls each day there are more missing students from the classes.  At home his isolated community has a stretch of desert between it and Las Vegas. Charlie's Mom (Toni Collette) is a real estate agent on hard times, with more people moving away than in. Her husband has abandoned the family and she conveys a woman trying to hold it together she is not a quitter. Charlie is still a former dorky tween and now a senior in high school who is leaving his childhood friends behind as he pursues a different social circle. He is hanging with popular kids group and dating Amy the pretty girl who likes him. Amy was well played with a very attractive confidence by Imogen Poots. What's great about her character is she has real agency, she wants to date  Charlie because he is different. Even when shit hits the fan she is a capable persona ready to take action and make her own decisions. The character development is well thought out and written in a way that makes sense, Noxon is a professional and has lots of references and side comments that fully round out the characters and how they came to be. Charlie's left behind friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) was so hurt being left behind, that he was quite justified as Evil Ed as trying to get some payback. I liked that the character stuff that enveloped  Charlie was realized and resolved including the abandonment issues. I loved Ferrell getting to play alpha male in his interactions with Charlie and challenging Charlie's new found coolness and manhood. The weak parts of this film and there are only a few things that bothered me in a really good script are horror tropes that show up everywhere in the genre. Firsst being the coincidence that Jerry was the same vampire that killed Vincent's parents. Then after Charlie figures out what Jerry is, he has an opportunity to tell both his Mother and Amy while the day is young. Instead he researches in the library before trying to recruit Vincent. I was frustrated at the risk he put the other characters in. It creates a night encounter with Jerry that almost cost them all their lives. In this encounter there is another of those decisions where as they escape instead of heading into the city they head further out into the desert. Both decisions are designed to get to really good set pieces. Not telling the girls creates the fight for survival that night and heading into the desert allows a serious "fight the vampire' scene. They are just a bit obvious in getting there. The special effects are more numerous and enjoyable in this remake and the cameo from Chris Sarandon was great.
  There is a bit of a long action filled third act for this movie that was enjoyable even if you know what ultimately is going to happen. This is a recommend from this blog because although a different beast from the original this is a really fun film with scares, effects, story and character that will leave the viewer very satisfied. So if you have not seen it yet rent it and enjoy.