frightnightHollywood loves to ride the wave of fads; and vampires are the hot commodity.

Many horror film fanatics and fans of the original 1985 flick may argue the case that Fright Night should never have been remade. But Hollywood loves to ride the wave of fads; and vampires are the hot commodity. Throw in some pretty faces, keep it tight to the original, toss in some funny moments and you actually have an entertaining fright feature.

Teenaged Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) is on the upswing. He has a pretty girlfriend (Imogen Poots), his face has cleared up, and he finally has broken free of the chains of geekdom. But that all falls apart when he begins to suspect his new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. Now he spends his time trying to stay alive and keep Jerry from sinking his teeth into his family (Toni Collette) and friends. When Charley solicits the help of vampire expert Peter Vincent (David Tennant) things take a comedic turn for the worse.

As far as remakes go this one is certainly at the top of the game. It is fun, creepy, and pays respect to both the original and the genre. Horror fans are hard to please but from the reaction in the theater it is safe to say that this one met with rousing approval. It was comedic without being campy. Plus Farrell makes a truly fantastic vampire. He is sexy with a hint of sarcastic wit. I was a little leery at first but he had me on board quickly. Stealing the show is Tennant as he revives the role made popular by Roddy McDowall in the ‘85 version. Peter Vincent is a Vegas illusionist with a slant for the dark arts. He is quirky and off balanced and brings a healthy dose of humor to the package.

The film is shot in 3D and once again we find ourselves having to sit through a decent film encumbered by those black plastic glasses. It adds very little to the film and apart from a couple of ooo and ahhh moments it does more harm than good. One scene in particular totally loses the wow factor because the 3D imagery looked so blurry. I joked on my twitter update that I was going to start taking off two stars automatically for non-animated films that use 3D. But if it keeps up I just might have to!

Other than the 3D I have to say that this film was surprisingly a blast. But an adult film for sure. It is rated R for intense violence, gore and frightening imagery. Plus the language is very adult in nature. If you are not a fan of this genre then certainly mark it off your list. It is made strictly for a select audience. Those college aged movie goers too young to have seen the original on the big screen will now have their chance at experiencing the zaniness. Those 30 and older will probably find it too sophomoric; again unless they truly love this type of film. Personally, I appreciated the humor, thrills, and the acting. I went in expecting very little but came out actually enjoying it. I give it a solid 3.5 out of 5 invitations. (1.5 if you take off for 3D). It was entertaining to see Farrell in this role.

Matt Mungle

Review copyright 2011 Mungleshow Productions. Used by Permission.