Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) has just discovered his next door neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. Worse, he knows that the teenager has discovered his secret. On top of that, he’s also got eyes on the kid’s sexy girlfriend, Amy (Imogen Poots), his seductive gaze making it fairly obvious he’d like to do more than just make her his next meal. Charlie’s only hope is to team-up with Las Vegas magician and supposed vampire expert Peter Vincent (David Tennant), but seeing that the guy is nothing more than a washed-up drunk afraid of his own shadow that’s not the kind of hope you can truly count on.

CRITIQUE

Here’s what I wrote back in August:

“I can’t say I was eager to go and watch a remake of Tom Holland’s 1985 minor horror classic Fright Night starring Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin and David Tennant, but considering the new screenplay was by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” staff writer Marti Noxon and was handled by Lars and the Real Girl director Craig Gillespie I can’t say I was completely against the idea, either. As much as I adore the original with Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowall I’m also not above admitting a new version was not without potential, and even in 3D I was happy to give this new version the benefit of the doubt.

For the most part I’m happy I did. Transposing the action to a nameless desert suburb just outside of Las Vegas, the story still revolves around High School senior Charlie Brewster (Yelchin), a kid who quickly comes to believe his charming and sexy next door neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Farrell) is a vampire. But there have been some changes, not the least of which is that the boy’s mother, Jane (Toni Collette), has much more to do this time around and that his best friend ‘Evil’ Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is an estranged outcast who discovers Jerry’s secret first and sets the narratives central plot into motion. Also, Peter Vincent (Tennant) is no longer a B-movie horror star but instead a big name Vegas magician with a taste for the macabre, while girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots) is a proactive hottie as eager to get involved with slaying the undead as her boyfriend Charlie comes to be.

I’m not giving anything away if you’re worried on that front. All of the above is gleamed from the film’s opening act, the majority of the plot a series of revelations, escapes and face-offs that intricately build one upon the other until finally culminating in Charlie and Jerry’s requisite climactic showdown. The fun of this new Fright Night is in the nuances, the quirky character bits and the sly bits of intelligence that sparkle along the way. Noxon and Gillespie breathe new life into this somewhat timeless mid-1980’s horror chestnut, the finished product a winning spectacle that’s far more enjoyable than it probably has any right to be.

At the same time, there’s not a lot in the way of anything special about any of this. The movie does tend to play more like a shorthand version of an early episode of Joss Whedon’s cult favorite television show that Noxon had a big hand in making a success than it does anything else. Additionally, there’s not a lot in the way of character development going on, everything working in some sort of narrative shorthand allowing proceedings to travel from here to there in as direct and as familiar a way as possible. Revelations occur, truths are brought out into the harsh light of day, but nothing seems as inspired or as original as Holland’s original conceit did back in ’85.

Still, Yelchin is an inspired choice to take over as Charlie, and I like that the filmmakers have given him a bit more depth, even going so far as to make him something of a childish egotistical sellout, making his awakening to Jerry’s true nature all the more compelling. I was also quite surprised just how much I liked Tennant in this, the former BBC Timelord honoring what McDowall accomplished as the character the first time around while also making Vincent unquestionably his own.

As for Farrell, while he’s fine as Jerry surprisingly he doesn’t have the same sexy smoldering charm that Sarandon brought to the character in Holland’s version. While the actor has fun playing the villain’s more mischievously monstrous instincts, he’s nowhere near the captivating, heart-palpitating presence I’d initially suspected he’d be when his casting was initially announced. Farrell takes the character in an entirely different direction, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing I can’t say it made me altogether happy, either.

The 3D is a problem, that is without question, and anyone choosing to see the film that way should be prepared to be underwhelmed. Gillespie and cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (The Others) keep things so dark and atmospheric the processing into 3D has a tendency to reduce the onscreen imagine to a coal black pit. While not quite the disaster that say Clash of the Titans was, DreamWorks and Touchstone have still inexcusably mucked this one up some, their desire for the all-mighty 3D dollar sapping the picture of at least some of its power to entertain.

These problems aside, for the most part I was happily surprised with this new Fright Night. While Holland’s version is still superior, this one has plenty of merits worthy of exultation (I haven’t even mention Poots; she’s simply divine as Amy and might just be the film’s breakout star) and issues with 3D or no I still had a great time sitting in the theatre watching it. Gillespie directs with confidence and skill, Noxon’s dialogue crackles and the major set pieces are some of the best of the summer. While far from perfect, the film still managed to slay me some, and considering how much I love the original that’s a bit of bloody Kool-Aid I’d never have anticipated drinking beforehand.”

Freed from its 3D purgatory, this new version of Fright Night is even more enjoyable the second time around I have to admit. I had a blast watching this again at home, and with black levels suddenly consistent and not having to worry about things getting so dark I couldn’t see what was going on I was more than happily entertained from start to finish. Bottom line, this remake deserved to do better at the theatre, and while part of me is okay with audiences staying away from the inflated 3D ticket prices a huge part of me wishes they’d taken a chance on the 2D version instead of completely staying out of the theatre.

Now that it’s available on Blu-ray, here’s hoping audiences fond of this sort of thing give the movie a second chance; it’s fairly terrific and totally deserving of one.

THE VIDEO

Fright Night is presented on a dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video with 1.78:1/1080p transfer.

THE AUDIO

Fright Night takes a bit out of Blu-ray with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 audio track along with French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks as well and includes optional English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

Extras here include:

·         Peter Vincent: Come Swim in My Mind (2:09)

·         The Official "How to Make a Funny Vampire Movie" Guide (8:04)

·         Deleted & Extended Scenes (4:51)

·         Squid Man: Extended & Uncut (2:56)

·         Bloopers (3:23)

·         Music Video - "No One Believes Me" by Kid Cudi (5:21)

The eight minute cast and crew interview piece is probably this disc’s main highlight, but it must be admitted it isn’t near as interesting or as informative as it probably could have been, the whole thing playing like nothing more than an average EPK featurettes than it does anything else. The Come Swim in My Mind short is amusing, Tennant playing his part in this faux commercial rather superbly. Also fun is the full Squid Man (you see bits and pieces of it in the film) short, the darn thing far more hysterical than it probably has any right to be.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Fright Night is a fine remake of the 1985 classic that holds up extremely well the second time around. This Blu-ray release is more than respectable, and my guess is that fans won’t hesitate for a second about adding it to their libraries.