‘Fright Night’ sucks … a lot of blood, that is

The original Fright Night film starring Chris Sarandon is a cult horror classic from the 1980s. I remember the movie, with its impressive makeup effects and sexual undertones, scaring the hell out of me as a child.

The 2011 remake, starring Colin Farrell as the vampire next door, is an admirable modern-day horror film with few scares, but enough suspense to keep the audience’s interest piqued. In this age of constant remakes, Fright Night fares surprisingly well.

Anton Yelchin, from Star Trek, plays Charley Brewster, a teenager living a comfortable life on the outskirts of Las Vegas. He’s given up his nerdy past. He’s scored a hot girlfriend (Imogen Poots). Even his mother, Jane (Toni Collette), is pretty cool.

Then Jerry (Farrell) moves next door, and Charley’s neighbors start to go missing one by one. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, of Superbad and Role Models, plays Charley’s former friend and one the person who tries to raise the red flags over Jerry’s strange ways.

Unconvinced that an actual vampire could be living next door, Charley goes about his business without a care in the world. It’s only when he catches Jerry through the window bringing a good-looking go-go dancer into his house that the teenager begins to think that maybe something is awry.

The original movie became a “boy-who-cried-wolf” story, with no one believing Charley that a vampire could be living next door. The 2011 remake smartly pushes those doubts aside and tells the tale in a fairly straightforward manner. There’s no waiting for Jerry to trip up and make himself known to Charley’s mother or girlfriend.

This remake is more badass. Jerry simply grabs the gas pipes underneath the lawn and proceeds to blow up Charley’s house. Uh-oh! Mother and girlfriend convinced!

Eventually, Charley employs the help of Peter Vincent (David Tennant, in a funny role), a dark magician who works in Las Vegas. Think Criss Angel and you’ll have a good idea of Peter Vincent.

With stakes at the ready and crosses in their hands, the final showdown between Jerry and these unlikely vampire hunters is a well-earned payoff.

The acting in Fright Night is uniformly solid. Farrell has an undeniable charisma, much like Sarandon in the original. Women swoon over him and yet something dark resides behind his eyes. Yelchin is likable as Charley, even if the character feels a little too archetypal.

One of the more evident negatives of the film is an early scene at Charley’s high school. The bullying in the hallways and the jocks walking with their arms linked around the good-looking girls all screams John Hughes, and it just doesn’t fit. Someone needs to employ an actual teenager to get the tricky dialogue of a high school to sound believable.

Another distraction is the inane decision to make Fright Night a 3-D film. There’s nothing special about these special effects, so the viewing format feels like a cheap ploy to gain a few extra bucks at the box office.

Fright Night excels when Jerry and Charley are able to go head to head, toe to toe, fang to tooth. That’s what makes the storyline so appealing, both in the original and the remake. This is not a tale of the undead come to wreak havoc on the world. It’s a much more personal affair. The problem is located in the house next door: one man hellbent on blood.

The Las Vegas setting is a fitting background to the entire plot. It almost makes sense that a vampire would move to the outskirts of Sin City, a place that only comes alive at night.

Director Craig Gillespie, working off the original story by Tom Holland and a screenplay by Marti Noxon, has created a worthy update to a cult classic. That’s not easy to do, especially when the original performances are so iconic for genre fans.

Even though he may bite your neck, Jerry proves to be great company — again.

Note: Look for Chris Sarandon’s cameo in the 2011 remake.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Fright Night

• 2011

• Directed by Craig Gillespie

• Written by Marti Noxon, based on the story and original film by Tom Holland

• Starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots and Christopher Mintz-Plasse

• Running time: 106 minutes

• Rated R

• Rating:

• Click here to purchase Fright Night (2011) on DVD.

• Click here to purchase Fright Night (1985) on DVD.