In general, I can’t stand remakes. I find them pointless. It’s already been done. Move on. Still, in recent years, I’ve been forced to admit that some remakes have been pretty dang cool. Planet of the Apes and Clash of the Titans are two stellar examples of how to do a remake right: Do NOT reshoot the exact same script used for the original (as 1999’s Psycho did embarrassingly), add some originality in visual and conceptual elements to make it unique, hire an excellent (and better than the original, if you can!) cast, and basically, use the original film as a skeleton for the remake, not as a Xerox.
I cringed a little when I learned that someone was remaking Fright Night, just because the cast was so well done in the first. I tried and failed to imagine a more intimidating/alluring Jerry the neighbor vampire or a more valiant Charley the neighbor nerd. And who would replace the late Roddy McDowall as the Van Helsing-esque fake television vampire stalker?
Have no fear, children. Jerry is actually a much improved character through superstar Colin Farrell, Charley is just as successfully nerdy and brave via Anton (Star Trek’s new Chekov) Yelchin, and vamp hunter Peter Vincent is humorously portrayed by Brit actor David Tennant (SciFi Channel’s former Doctor Who). I only know Christopher Mintz-Plasse from Superbad and can’t really gauge him as an actor yet. I will say that his portrayal of “Evil” Ed in this remake was disappointing, but how can you match, let alone top, Stephen Geoffreys in this role? Honestly.
Enough of the plot is altered so you don’t really know everything that’s going to happen, and of course, special effects have come a long way since 1985, so even if you’ve seen, re-seen, rented, bought, upgraded to DVD, and memorized the original film, there are elements to the remake that should draw you in. In fact, one strong magnet should be the cameo appearance of Chris Sarandon, the original Jerry!
As much as I loathe the hyper-uber-overkill of the vampire genre in the past 10 years, this one I had to see. I didn’t know if I would be watching it simply to trash it in comparison to the original, but I was a big enough fan of the 1985 laugh-and-scream-fest to have to see what had been done to it.
I’m pleased to say that you can love both versions individually. In conclusion, I must say that this remake doesn’t suck. (The pun is so intended!)
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