This is one of those tough ones, in that I’m posting about a remake of one of my favorite horror films ever, but a movie that probably could stand to have a bit of updating.  The original 1985 FRIGHT NIGHT from director Tom Holland was nothing short of a masterpiece, in my mind at least.  Chris Sarandon played a charismatic vampire Jerry Dandrige, who moved in next door to a suspicious young Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale), who enlists the help of over-the-hill TV vampire hunter Peter Vincent (an incredibly likable performance by the great Roddy McDowell).  The cast also included a memorably funny Stephen Geoffreys playing Charley’s kooky best friend “Evil Ed”, and Amanda Bearse (of MARRIED WITH CHILDREN fame) as Charley’s hot girlfriend Amy.  It’s got a great mix of humor and effective creepiness, and was a nice break from the norm for vampire fare.  When I originally heard that in this day of disappointing and uneccessary remakes that FRIGHT NIGHT was getting an update, I was pensive at first, then curious what they might be able to do with it.  Anton Yelchin was cast as Charley, which was great to hear, then Colin Farrell as Jerry – which actually seemed like a good fit.  The film is being directed by Craig Gillespie (LARS AND THE REAL GIRL and UNITED STATES OF TARA) and written by Marti Noxon (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER series writer, also penned I AM NUMBER FOUR), and co-stars Toni Collette as Charley’s mom, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as “Evil Ed Thompson”, DOCTOR WHO‘s David Tennant as “Peter Vincent”, and Imogen Poots (SOLITARY MAN) as Amy.  I love that they’re keeping all the character names the same, and the story looks essentially the same too, though perhaps with considerably less comedy.  That last part worries me a little, as one of the things that made the original FRIGHT NIGHT so good were the humorous moments.  Another big concern, it’s in 3D.  Ugh.  Seriously, Hollywood… enough.  No one wants to see 3D movies.  They’re occasionally fun, but this constant bombardment of 3D films that don’t need to be 3D is getting ridiculous.  Plus just by looking at the trailer, a bulk of this takes place at night.  Did we learn nothing from TRON: LEGACY?  Dark settings and 3D don’t mix well.  I’m also curious why we see so very little of David Tennant here, as Peter Vincent is the standout character from the original film.  He’s said to be more a Criss Angel type in this film, which I’m fine with, but can we see just a little of him?  Oh well.  Check out the poster above (glad they kept the original logo) and the trailer below (courtesy of IGN) and tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Senior Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all—he’s running with the popular crowd and dating the hottest girl in high school. In fact, he’s so cool he’s even dissing his best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). But trouble arrives when an intriguing stranger Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a great guy at first, but there’s something not quite right—and everyone, including Charlie’s mom (Toni Collette), doesn’t notice. After witnessing some very unusual activity, Charlie comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on his neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone that he’s telling the truth, Charlie has to find a way to get rid of the monster himself in this Craig Gillespie-helmed revamp of the comedy-horror classic.

FRIGHT NIGHT opens in August 19, 2011

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