Movie Review: Fright Night

credit: Fright Night

In the history of reboots, there are some that stay true to the original and manage to retell the story in a useful and entertaining manner, and then there are those that one can’t be too certain of since they tend to stick close to the story, but update it in ways that are kind of less than effective.

Fright Night is the type of movie that a lot of people might not remember that well from the 80s, but it’s one that helped to further the cause of the vampire genre and even make it a little more memorable. But the version that was created back in 2011 with Anton Yelchin and Colin Farrell wasn’t exactly given a great reception when it came out, nor was it really respected as the initial movie was, which is saying something since the original became a cult classic after a while.

The newer version of the movie however was kind of, well, different in ways that made it easy to appreciate in one manner, but also easier to mock in another. After watching the reboot, however, it’s fair to say that apart from a bit of dodgy CGI, it wasn’t absolutely horrible. 

credit: Fright Night

The CGI wasn’t so horrible that it could be likened to the effects of the 90s. 

A lot of people get down on movies for the computer images, but while the effects in this movie aren’t perfect, they’re not horrible either since they convey what Jerry is even if the full story isn’t being told. Plus, since the movie isn’t dominated by CGI it’s very easy to get into it since it’s ridiculous in some areas and downright silly in others, but it’s still kind of fun and doesn’t really require a person to think too much about the actual details that have been placed in the genre over the years.

If anything, this movie plays a little fast and loose with some of the tenets that horror movie buffs might have memorized, but that’s part of the oily charm that this movie has to offer. 

This movie wasn’t spectacular, but it wasn’t horrible either. 

If it could be described as anything, this reboot of Fright Night was something to watch when there was nothing else on, or if one grew curious and wanted to see what it was all about. It was never bound to win any awards, but calling it one of the worst movies ever made is a stretch since it did have a few enjoyable moments that couldn’t easily be called cringe-worthy or inconsistent.

The actors that were a part of this reboot made it enjoyable enough to sit through, but there were moments when it was possible to roll one’s eyes and wonder how and why the writers decided to push forward without making a revision or two. But when all is said and done, the reboot was something that wasn’t hard to sit through and did offer enough entertainment to be worth the time of those watching, at least for a while. Of course, if one doesn’t like Colin Farrell then that might turn a person off. 

credit: Fright Night

Colin Farrell was actually one of the highlights of the movie. 

Speaking of that, Colin was a part of the story that made a little more sense as he wasn’t really trying to be anyone other than a vampire that was trying to do what he did normally, despite the fact that he was a danger to everyone. His charm and the brutal and efficient way in which he dispatches those that have no idea of who he is or his intentions are kind of easy to vibe with since even if he’s evil, he’s simply too good at it.

Plus, in any movie that Colin Farrell is in, no matter if he’s playing a smooth character or someone else, he’s usually fun to watch since he places a great deal of himself into a role and then ramps it up as needed in order to make it work. Some might not like his acting, but this movie allowed him to display a level of talent that wasn’t over the top and yet wasn’t underwhelming either. 

There was a sequel, but it’s easy to guess why it didn’t do that well. 

Seeing that the reboot wasn’t fully accepted by a lot of horror fans, it’s not hard to see why a sequel would be shunned and ignored, or forgotten, as well. Horror sequels aren’t always a great idea since more than a few of them have been ignored or otherwise left on shelves to collect dust. But this reboot is enjoyable enough, even though it’s not exactly great enough to be called a blockbuster. The sequel, however, is something that a lot of people probably don’t know about, and don’t really care to know.