"Fright Night" -- better than the original, I think

[revdorothyl]

Yes, I went to see the remake of the 1985 cult classic Fright Night after church this afternoon -- mainly because I was dying to see David Tennant's performance in the role of fake vampire expert Peter Vincent (not coincidentally, Roddy McDowell's appearance in that role in the original version was the only reason I went to see it, back in the 1980s; I had such a thing for Roddy McDowell in my youth!).

I wasn't expecting a great deal from the 2011 remake, apart from the pleasure of seeing David Tennant camping it up as a delightfully twisted cross between illusionist David Blaine and the kind of spacy rocker played by Russell Brand in movies like Get Him to the Greek. I had no idea that Marti Noxon had done the script adaptation, and I've never found Colin Farrell remotely attractive, for some reason, so David Tennant really was the only draw. And he was brilliantly funny and oddly touching in the role (and don't even get me started on those oh-so-tight leather pants!).

But there was much more to like in this film, lots of updates and variations and improvements on the original. Anton Yelchin's version of Charlie Brewster was really sympathetic and multi-layered, and his former best friend Evil Ed was far more than just a joke. Toni Collette was feisty and loyal and definitely no pushover as Charlie's mom, and Imogen Poots' version of Charlie's girlfriend had guts and heart and no shortage of brains.

All in all, I highly recommend seeing this film, even if you've seen and loved the original.

Comments

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

In my opinion, they did something essential when remaking a movie. They took the premise and switched the whole thing up. Istead of doing the same film over they changed so much that it became it's own movie and, I agree, a better film than the original which I also watched because I love Roddy McDowell with a deep and abiding passion. I thought the Chris Sarandon cameo was a nice touch though.

The plot made more sense, the characters had more weight and I really enjoyed it.

[revdorothyl.livejournal.com]

Exactly! You said in one paragraph what I was trying to say in this whole review, and you said it better! :)

[avamclean.livejournal.com]

I really liked it too. I adore the original because it's campy fun, but this remake was darkly funny and twisted. Tennant was hilarious and Farrell, who I do find attractive, was delightfully twisted in the best of ways.

[revdorothyl.livejournal.com]

I'm still not ready to call Colin Farrell a heartthrob (though I have strange tastes, sometimes, as witnessed by the fact that I still consider Roddy McDowell a heartthrob, even when he's wearing chimpanzee makeup!), but he certainly made a convincingly sensual and lethal vampire. This was definitely its own movie, well worth watching in its own right.

[femme4jack.livejournal.com]

Sounds great! I'll probably have to wait until Netflix, but I'll definitely be adding it to the queue.