Review of Fright Night (2011) by Chipperx — 05 Sep 2011

Whether or not you have seen the original, award winning "Fright Night", written and directed by Tom Holland and screened in 1985, this slick, modernized re-make will leave you wanting a bit more. Well, maybe a LOT more. Let's start with the positive: The cast. Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell and Toni Collette are all dynamic actors who should be able to really whip their scenes into shape. They almost succeed. Unfortunately, the actors' efforts are wasted by poor set pieces, bad pacing, lackluster attempts at humor, and bad directing. Even in a vampire spoof, the laughing should stop when the killing begins. Here, the vampire appearances are far from frightening - they are actually rather boring, and not gruesome at all. Las Vegas should be a great framework for a vampire story - here, we are just shown a small development outside of the strip which is not very spooky at all - it is rather cookie-cutter in its simplicity, which does nothing for the mood of the movie. David Tennant does what he can with the character of Peter Vincent, the great vampire killer - unfortunately, it simply is not enough. The angst he channels does not make its way off the screen, and adds very little to the plot of the movie. The CGI scenes are over-utilized and not at all frightening. Please see Fright Night for yourself - the original and the remake - and draw your own conclusions. Despite the addition of a slick, new atmosphere and popular actors, this movie falls flat - it is literally a pale ghost of the original.

- Chipper F. Xavier, Esq.