Fright Night is one of the last film of the summer , and it ’s like a masterclass in how to make a gross warm - weather motion picture . It ’s a nice little character - based adventure with veridical panic and action . The people behind some of the other lackluster summertime motion-picture show should be push to view this , Clockwork Orange - stylus , so they can see how it ’s done .
Minor raider ahead , although we wo n’t give away any of the film ’s big surprises . They ’re too dependable to unwrap .
We ’ve in reality been golden enough to have a bit of well - made , substantial pic this summer , including a few decent superhero flick and a few moving picture that revitalized some stagnant franchises like Planet of the Apes . It ’s not like last summer , when almost every movie feel like an physical exertion in wheel - spinning except Inception . This class , there ’s been some canonical care to detail on the part of at least some writer , director and actors , so that we ’ve ensure more compelling man - building and eccentric - building .
And even in the midst of a better - than - norm summertime , Fright Night stands out as a well - done film . It ’s not a huge epic , it ’s just a sturdy little picture show that bind together really well , with really safe tempo and enough surprises to keep you guessing . And it ’s a angelical , weirdly optimistic film that seems to believe that masses are basically in force . Unless they ’re vampires , in which shell you should fire up them on fervor , expose them to sunlight and ram a wooden stake into their hearts as hard as you’re able to .
Fright Night postdate the bare - bones outlines of the 1985 original , but puts some raw meat onto them . Anton Yelchin is Charlie , a supernaturally dependable - face small fry who used to be a spotty mega - nerd . But now his complexion has clear up and he ’s joined the popular tike and started dating a hot doll , Amy ( Imogen Poots ) . ( It ’s sorta risible that I keep an eye on this right after rewatching Sky High , in which a nestling have a similar leaping from sidekick to superhero at a stratified superhuman gamy shoal . ) But Charlie ’s old nerd friend are pissed that he ’s ditched them , specially “ malign ” Ed ( Christopher Mintz - Plasse ) . And then after one of their other friends vanishes , Evil Ed decides that a lamia is at error , and he recall he eff who the lamia is : Charlie ’s new next - door - neighbor , Jerry ( Colin Farrell ) .
The motion picture moves at a pretty breakage - neck pace , with Evil Ed announcing his suspicion that Jerry is a vampire jolly betimes on . And then Evil Ed is proven right reasonably soon after that , and from there on it ’s an all - out dash , with Jerry becoming progressively more and more malign and destructive and basically declare all - out war on Charlie and his friends and category . Situations do not overstay their welcome — we explore them fully and then the plot of land moves forward .
I recall that ’s a major reason why I liked this picture so much — good pacing , that does n’t sacrifice character development or plausibility , is all too rare . ( And by “ good pacing , ” I signify that you do n’t bog down into Michael Bay - style attempts at comedy interludes , but also that you do n’t resort to too many collage or having plot twists literally come out of nowhere . )
And as villains go , Jerry is a pretty good one — he ’s a nice potpourri of slimy and stand for and violent , with a lot of swagger . And the scary bits are somewhat well done , with some decent , non - costless use of CG effects . The picture plays with a lot of the standard horror - movie tension - raising technique , but then undermine them moderately handily to fork up boastful and better shocks . Plus you get bonus point for adopting the British show Ultraviolet ’s vanity that vampires do n’t show up on video . ( apology if this came from somewhere else — Ultraviolet is where I think back envision it . )
As you might expect from this kind of picture show , it ’s a coming - of - age story and a hero ’s journeying . But at no full stop are those attributes rammed down your throat or ham . And we never have any slow - ass scenes of Charlie stand firm the call to valor or whining that he just wants a normal life . Charlie ’s motivating is pretty clear : He was a dick for not believing his friend Evil Ed when he first secern Charlie about the lamia , and now Evil Ed is neglect , presumed goner . Charlie needs to make up for his perceivable but still kinda dickish mistake , and he also need to protect his screw ones from a predatory motherfucker live next door .
plausibly a lot of us are just going to see this film for David Tennant , who plays Charlie ’s loth wise man , a stage wizard named Peter Vincent . And yes , that is an excellent reason to see the pic . As the Obi - Wan to Charlie ’s Luke , Tennant is at the height of his powers . He ’s a profane lout in eyeliner who trades contumely with his girl / assistant and kind of have the fact that he ’s a false magic user who ’s surrounded by real , awful deception . But as great as Tennant ’s carrying into action is , the interplay between him and Yelchin is even better .
And the “ clowning ” part of this repulsion - funniness is pretty stout as well , with some nifty laugh and some awe-inspiring nerd humor .
As I cite before , this is a weirdly affirmative flick , consider that a fair amount of dark , scary stuff happens , and the incident that launches the movie is a crucial betrayal of friendship on Charlie ’s part . In the last , people are a lot more understanding and , yes , heroic than we sometimes expect . Your family does n’t necessarily suck , your hot girlfriend is n’t as superficial as you fear she is , etc . etc .
And in this exceptional version , coming of age and becoming a hero does n’t mean that you become Special or the most important individual in the world or anything — it means that you step up and take the challenge to crusade Evil . With a flamethrower and a crossbow and some ancient gnarly stakes . And a scowl David Tennant by his side . It knead quite well .
David TennantHorrorMoviesVampires
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