Fortunately, Fright Night has come to save us. Gone are the romantic, tortured souls who live by night and curse their thirst. Director Craig Gillespie and writer Marti Noxon serve up some badass, monstrous, evil-as-Hell vampires and one poor sap by the name of Charlie Brewster left to defend his mother and girlfriend from their fiendish clutches. When Jerry Dandridge (Colin Farrell) moves in next door to the Brewsters, the reconstruction job and the dumpster in front of his house raise some eyebrows, but it's only "Evil" Ed, Charlie's former best geek pal, who pieces together Jerry's arrival and the sudden disappearances of several residents of the Las Vegas suburb. Despite the fact that Charlie has left his former nerd clique for the lovely Amy, Ed clings to Charlie to aid him in ridding Vegas of the undead. It's only when Ed himself goes missing that Charlie realizes that his pal may be on to something.
Once Charlie accepts his neighbor's penchant for lethal hickies, the movie puts the pedal down and never lets up until the credits roll. Along the way, Charlie picks up an ally in the form of a Las Vegas magician, Peter Vincent, a departure from the original character, but a necessary one. Not many late night cable TV horror hosts find a home on the air these days, and more is the pity. The pair of vampire killers must stop Jerry before Amy is lost to an eternity of night, and Jerry is free to savage the Strip and the emptying suburban homes.
There are so many clever moves made by this film that it would be criminal to spoil them for you here, but, rest assured, Fright Night 2011 manages to be respectful of its source material while defying expectations of the original film's fans in the best possible way. Most of the praise goes to Noxon, who worked for years on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and penned many of that show's best episodes. Back in vampire country again, it seems that Ms. Noxon still had some tricks up her sleeve and offers up some surprising moments that bring a smile to the face, once the chills are done. Director Craig Gillespie shows confidence in eschewing hand-held, dizzying camera work, relying instead on a stable of good actors and the fine cinematography of Javier Aguirresarobe.
Seen in 3D, there are plenty of gags to be worth the additional cost, so long as you see it in a theater that brightens the image enough to avoid the disappointing washed-out look from which many 3D films suffer. KNB's effects offer up some ghoulish vampire make-up that is satisfyingly gruesome and another kudo goes to a playful score by Ramin Djawadi, who also provided the music to Game of Thrones. The cast is solid throughout, with Farrell gleefully menacing in his role as Jerry, and Anton Yelchin as Charlie, a young man who has given away his nerdy past for the love of a popular girl, played by the charming Imogen Poots. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is wonderful as Ed, especially in the later scenes. And, of course, Dr. Who himself, David Tennant, looks to be having a ball as the foul-mouthed, hard-drinking illusionist with a penthouse full of vampire-killing accoutrements. My single complaint with the film is a revelation by Vincent in the late-going that felt unnecessary, but not so grievous as to drag the film down.
Fright Night is that rare treat of late - a big-budget, gory, often silly monster movie that aims to spook and elicit laughter, and manages to do both. You know what, Brewster. You're still so cool.
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