Fright Night (2011) Movie Review

Article by FisterRoboto of lefthandhorror.com

“You’re so cool, Brewster.”

That was a great line in 1985 and it still is today. Fright Night breaks the rule that a horror remake has to…suck.

Sorry. Last time, I swear.

Sometimes you can just tell in the opening moments if a movie is going to be good or not. Something about the way they filmed the storm clouds massing in the Vegas sky sold me. I loved that it was set in Vegas. My wife is there at the time I write this; call it horror fate maybe.

Just like the original, this new version is a mix of real horror and real fun. All the original characters are here: Charley (Anton Yelchin), Evil Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Jerry (Colin Ferrell),  Peter Vincent (David Tennant), and Amy (Imogen Poots) are all a little tweaked from the original, but it all works very well.

I loved that Vincent is pretty much a Criss Angel type of douchebag Vegas showboat, heading up a Vegas show titled “Fright Night”. It turns out he puts on a big show, is a huge fake, but has some genuine roots since Jerry killed his parents.

Making a great showing was Mintz-Plasse. He’s a great Evil Ed, I just wish he had more screen time. His witty dialogue kept me laughing in every scene. This definitely has a smart ass snarky feel to it that added a sense of contemporary freshness.

Farrell did Jerry the Vampire justice and also made his character much more evil and animalistic. Overall, I couldn’t find anything wrong with Fright Night. It takes itself just seriously enough to be a real horror flick. Great visuals, nice acting; just a very refreshing remake. This is worth the rental and then some.