“Fright Night” is a rare example of a remake that surpasses its original; it joins the ranks of recent examples such as Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and Matt Reeves’ “Let Me In,” though of course their superiority to their originals is just my opinion. The original “Fright Night,” which was written and directed by Tom Holland, was released in 1985 and has gained what you might call a cult status; it’s a good vampire horror, armed with that cheesy charm that many ‘80s movies tend to possess.
Of course, Craig Gillespie’s shiny new remake cannot possess an ‘80s charm, instead having to make do with a ‘10s charm; we don’t quite know what that is yet, but I’m sure we will 20 or 30 years from now.
This revamp (ha!) stars Anton Yelchin (“The Beaver”) as Charley Brewster, a high school kid living with his mother (Toni Collette, “Little Miss Sunshine”) in a suburban area that looks just like the suburban area in any other movie. In this suburban area, local schoolkids have been going missing, with the morning attendance check in Charley’s class receiving less and less responses. I wonder if there’s a vampire on the loose… (Continue Reading…)
