I can vaguely remember the first time I saw the original Fright Night. I know it was on cable television late at night when I was in middle school and it scared the hell out of me. I can remember the scene where William Ragsdale is locked in his room with crosses all over the place and that vampire Jerry looking though his window right at the kid. It scared the hell out of me.

   Growing up in a very similar neighborhood, I myself once had an odd guy that lived next door that we only saw at night. At day he would sleep. Then one day the bomb squad evacuated half the block, because the guy was throwing grenades down his basement stairs. Turns out he was one of those crazy survivalist. After that day and major damage to his home, we never saw him again. Living next to a vampire must be very similar, and to think of all the times my friends and I would look thought his basement window during the day wondering what was in all those cases. Thank God they were not bodies.

   It’s kind of funny that as I look back at my childhood, that now a remake of the film has finally come out. When the Disc arrived on my door step my daughter thought it was a movie for her, only to open it up and see Collin Farrell staring at her. She asked me what the film was about. I told her it’s about a vampire living next to a kid. The fearless four year old asked if she could watch it. As a responsible parent I told her “No way!” remembering the original and the spark of that crazy guy living next store to me as a kid.

   The new version of Fright Night is not as good as the original film which featured William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon and the great Roddy McDowall. However the casting is just as good with Colin Farrell in the role as Jerry the vampire, Anton Yelchin as Charley Brewster and Dr Who’s David Tennant in the McDowall’s old role as Peter Vincent. It also features the beautiful Imogen Poots as Amy, Charley’s girlfriend and Toni Collette as Charley’s mother. There is even a cameo by Chris Sarandon.

   For those of you who have not seen either film or don’t know the story. The movie is about a boy named Charley Brewster that lives in a small town outside Las Vegas, Nevada. His old neighbors have just moved out and a new one has moved in. However, no one really knows much about the new neighbor, but his mother is getting pissed off about the large dumpster that has been sitting in front of his house for months. Charley is a good kid, with a beautiful girlfriend named Amy that many think is to good for him. Charley starts hanging out with new friends in school and as we learn his former friends are what many would classify as nerds. His former friend Ed begs him to help him find one of there friend that has gone missing. He soon finds out that Ed has been stalking his neighbor Jerry and believes he is a vampire. Charley at first thinks Ed is crazy, until Ed goes missing. When Charley finds evidence that there is in fact something weird about his new next door neighbor, he does some research for himself and soon finds out that Jerry is a blood sucking vampire putting together an army right next door. With the help of his girlfriend Amy and an illusionist from Vegas with a rare collection of monster killing artifacts, the team will try their best to exterminate Jerry.

   The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack has many features such as Featurettes like Peter Vincent: Come Swim in my Mind, The official “How to Make A Funny Vampire Movie” Guide, Bloopers, Kid Cudi “No One Believes Me” Uncensored music video, and the short film Squid Man – Extended & Uncut. There are also exclusive deleted and extended scenes on the Blu-ray disc also.

   While I do like the original Fright Night better, I think this is a decent remake. I really enjoyed the updated storyline, the characters and the overall feel of the film. The only thing that really bothered me about the film was the over use of CGI. I felt that if make-up effects were used the film would have been more realistic and appealing. The CGI ruins the whole scare effect for me. However, overall, Fright Night is a fun film and is well worth checking out.
 

  - Horror Bob

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