Fright Night

Fright Night
It seems '80s’ movies are the flavour of the month at the moment, with homages, remakes and reimaginings filling our cinemas (or not, in the case of Conan), and it seems it is genre movies that are the ones that are the target of this wave of nostalgia. It makes sense because both Spielberg and Lucas were in their element at this time, establishing the summer blockbuster as integral part of our cinema-going habits for the next three decades. Of course, back then, with blockbusters a fairly new phenomenon the studios were still willing to invest in smaller films that they wouldn’t look at today - unless they were remakes or fitted into a perceived marketing structure, such as the current penchant for vampire movies. However, back in the early '80s vampires were still mean and not all glittery and angst ridden.
Fright Night
Apart from the days of Abbott and Costello, the release of John Landis’s An American Werewolf in London in 1981, showed that horror and comedy could work and retain respect for the conventions of both genres; they had to be genuinely scary as well as very funny. The 1985 teen film Fright Night, got the balance right, with Chris Sarandon as a vampire in suburbia, and Roddy McDowall (of Planet of the Apes fame) as a vampire slayer. Now it’s been remade with Colin Farrell as Jerry the charming vampire-next-door, and David Tennant in McDowall’s slayer role. Anton Yelchin plays the geeky Charley, who has abandoned his best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) in favour of the very cute Amy (Imogen Poots). When Ed disappears after warning Charley that the neighbour who is charming his mum (Toni Collette) is a vampire, Charley does his own investigation that confirms Ed’s suspicions, so he contacts famous vampire expert Peter Vincent (Tennant) to help with his problem.
Fright Night
Although the original still works it is very much a product of its era, so this remake brings it right up to date with a screenplay by Marti Noxon, who wrote for Buffy and Angel and knows a thing or two about teens, vampires, slayers and witty dialogue. Farrell is great as a brooding vampire and manages to be both charming and sinister in equal measure. Where Farrell is suitably subdued, Tennant is completely over-the-top, coming on like a hybrid of Russell Brand and Ozzie Osbourne, which sounds scary but is the comic relief and he is definitely the most watchable in the movie.

While it is not a full-on horror film, it does have some scares and moments of suspense, although I’m not sure they are really worthy of the 15 certificate, especially when you consider some of the films that get 12A ratings (The Dark Knight). It’s good fun and perfect for anyone who either remembers the original, or wants a teen movie about vampires that has some real bite to it.

Fright Night is out now in 3D and IMAX

We have a pair of tickets to see Fright Night at the BFI IMAX at Waterloo. Click on the link below to enter the competition.

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