Fright Night: a movie recommendation

5 out of 5 stars.

My love for Craig Gillespie’s 2011 Fright Night is…well, enormous. I’d never seen it because I (wrongly) thought it was a horror flick. Then, when I was visiting my BFFR  Sarah J. Maas, she corrected me of my very false notions.

A remake of the 1985 original, teenager Charley Brewster guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths. When no one he knows believes him, he enlists Peter Vincent, a self proclaimed vampire killer and Las Vegas magician, to help him take down Jerry.

It’s a comedy. A terrifying yet downright hilarious comedy.

The main character, Charley (played by the utterly adorable Anton Yelchin), is endearing…but also flawed. He’s a former-geek-turned-cool, and the way he treats his old dorky friends lets you know right off the bat that he ain’t a perfect hero.

But it’s Colin Farrell–a.k.a. Jerry the Vampire–who really steals the show. He’s so serious, so…bored. I was 100% convinced of his twisted vampire mischief. Remember what I said about convincing antagonists? Well, he has a real, desperate need–though you don’t actually learn what it is until halfway in.

Oh, and we can’t forget the amazing David Tennant, whose over-the-top character is completely hilarious–but it’s a dark humor instead of a quirky Dr. Who-humor.

One more thing that i loved about this movie: THE PLOT. It manages to meet all the vampire/horror tropes without actually being predictable. I can’t tell you how many times the story seemed to be following one path, only to veer off in a completely different (yet very appropriate) direction. I was literally astounded at the clever plot twists and use of secondary characters.

(And keep in mind, the screenplay was written by Marti Noxon, who produced the Buffy series. Obviously, this lady knows what she’s doing. )

All in all, if you like horror, like dark comedy, or just want to see a plot and character cast done well, be sure to pick up Fright Night.