Fright NightBy Wilson Morales
For anyone over the age of 30, they are probably getting tired of saying, “Enough Already!” when it comes to Hollywood making remakes of films they have considered cult classics.
Even with 3D technology, from ‘Nightmare of Elm Street,’ ‘Halloween,’ to even ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ studios can’t come up with creative ways to scare audiences anymore with new scripts. While they think that remaking a film has a built-in fanbase to fill theaters, that same audience either want to see something improved on, not worsen.
That being said, the remake of the 1985 film, ‘Fright Night,’ offers nothing new to the genre. Besides being too campy, the film, shown in 3D, lacks any arresting visuals and suspense.
Set in Las Vegas, Charley (played by Anton Yelchin) lives a normal life with his mom (played by Toni Collette) and cute girlfriend (played by Imogen Poots). When his former buddy Ed (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) starts acting weird and stating that vampires exists in the neighborhood because certain people are missing, Charley distances himself from him and his odd behavior.
Eventually Charley notices that his single mom is taking an interest to new neighbor Jerry (played by Colin Farrell), so he begins to do some investigating his own for his mom’s sake. Before you know it, Charley is surprised from what he discovers and not only is he up against someone who can’t be stopped or killed, but someone who threatens his life and his loved ones.
Through the help of his girlfriend and a so-called expert vampire hunter (played by David Tennant), Charley may have a chance of escaping Jerry’s claws, but he will need more than courage and a cross.
While Farrell looks to be having a ball playing the vampire, he’s not at all threatening to the audience. From the moment the film starts, the level of intensity is diminished. Director Craig Gillespie doesn’t determined if we are supposed to be cringing in fear or laughing out loud. Even a new audience can predict the outcome of a scene before it happens.
From the remake of ‘Star Trek’ to this film, Yelchin needs to choose wisely if he’s going to continue doing this genre. With his curly hair, he might referred as the “Weird Al” Yankovic of films.
What is Toni Collette doing in this film? Her role is poorly wasted as if she was in the film simply to grab a check.
If you are looking to see a good “creepy neighbor” film, try Shia LaBeouf’s ‘Disturbia!
