As a subcategory of the horror genre, the exorcism film does not have the best reputation. For every The Exorcist, there are a dozen Posessed’s and Beyond the Door’s. Yet, when done well, there is rarely something as profoundly [...]
The popularity of Vampires of late has given birth to dozens of creative and exciting reinventions of the original lore. The vampire is no longer the accented Dracula of legend; instead he or she is by turns a shimmering statue, a Viking, a distorted inhuman creature, and a child. Sometimes the vampire needs an invitation, sometimes it does not. Sometimes its death leaves it in dust, other times in bloody goop. The one thing that the vampire trend has not revisited in mass amounts is the landscape of campy, gory indulgence: the “Campire” flick. Now, Fright Night poses a remake intended to resurrect the “Campire” film, and instead puts the last nail in its coffin.
Fright Night follows Charley (Anton Yelchin), a newly-popular high school student living in a subdivision just outside of Las Vegas, whose life is turned upside down when a vampire named Jerry (Colin Farrel) moves in next door. Yelchin’s Charley is flanked with a limited cast of do-gooders: his single mother (Toni Collette), his girlfriend (Imogen Poots), and his one-time best friend (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, better known as McLovin of Superbad).
Where the 1985 film was a surprise hit and well received critically, still maintaining a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, the 2011 remake doesn’t take advantage of the inherent camp of the genre to produce something enjoyable. The strength in the “Campire” genre, as with The Lost Boys, is the self-referential acknowledgement of the film’s location in the less than masterpiece. This gives the genre permission to take liberties with things that more discerning films avoid – cheesy one liners, excessive and fake gore, ridiculous turns of plot, and general tongue-in-cheek depravity.
Instead, Fright Night is strangely muted. Farrel, evidently trying to reinvent his image with character roles like the coke fiend boss he played in July’s Horrible Bosses, strains in the role of Jerry. The vampire, written to come off as smooth and somewhat absurd, instead appears vacant and peculiar. Farrel appears to think that he can communicate otherwordliness by refusing to focus his eyes at any moment, and so his pupils roam through every scene, like he is trying to read cue cards worn by moving camera men.
Farrel is not the only one visibly struggling with their role. The character of Charley isn’t a stretch for Yelchin, who has made his name playing earnest yet neurotic teens. However, his performance seems to be a battle against the material. Collette, whose comedic ability cannot be critiqued, also fails to land any of her jokes. Their interaction feels stilted, unnatural, and all of the emotional cues fall flat.
With the exception of David Tennant, who plays a phony performing illusionist in a delightful role that involves makeup, leather pants, and fake facial hair, all of the actors fall prey to the script’s inadequacy. Even Mintz-Plasse, whose role seems deliberately reminiscent of the much-loved McLovin, doesn’t manage to bring life to his character’s allotment of tired jokes.
One would assume that a Campire script penned by Buffy alum Marti Noxon would be on the mark at every turn, but instead, Noxon appears to have lost her touch. Where there are some instances of Buffy wit hovering around, for the most part the script is uninspired and lacks the creative drive to power the story toward any meaningful or interesting conclusion.
In addition to this sense of creative apathy, the 3D effects are both unnecessary and poorly executed. For the most part, the 3D is utilized only to make counters look more prominent, or enhance the effect of explosions. Granted, this complaint is levelled against many of the new 3D releases; however, Fright Night stands out due to its clear low quality. In any of the scenes involving night time or shadows, the resolution is blurry and appears hazy, with no definition. There are times that faces areall but unrecognizable, and action is unclear due to the murky effects.
Fright Night is not the first to fail in a remake, but it is the first with sucha noticeable metaphor for the danger in reviving the dead. In the end, the film communicates an effective message: some things are better left alone. Let sleeping vampires lie.
Fright Night follows Charley (Anton Yelchin), a newly-popular high school student living in a subdivision just outside of Las Vegas, whose life is turned upside down when a vampire named Jerry (Colin Farrel) moves in next door. Yelchin’s Charley is flanked with a limited cast of do-gooders: his single mother (Toni Collette), his girlfriend (Imogen Poots), and his one-time best friend (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, better known as McLovin of Superbad).
Where the 1985 film was a surprise hit and well received critically, still maintaining a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, the 2011 remake doesn’t take advantage of the inherent camp of the genre to produce something enjoyable. The strength in the “Campire” genre, as with The Lost Boys, is the self-referential acknowledgement of the film’s location in the less than masterpiece. This gives the genre permission to take liberties with things that more discerning films avoid – cheesy one liners, excessive and fake gore, ridiculous turns of plot, and general tongue-in-cheek depravity.
Instead, Fright Night is strangely muted. Farrel, evidently trying to reinvent his image with character roles like the coke fiend boss he played in July’s Horrible Bosses, strains in the role of Jerry. The vampire, written to come off as smooth and somewhat absurd, instead appears vacant and peculiar. Farrel appears to think that he can communicate otherwordliness by refusing to focus his eyes at any moment, and so his pupils roam through every scene, like he is trying to read cue cards worn by moving camera men.
With the exception of David Tennant, who plays a phony performing illusionist in a delightful role that involves makeup, leather pants, and fake facial hair, all of the actors fall prey to the script’s inadequacy. Even Mintz-Plasse, whose role seems deliberately reminiscent of the much-loved McLovin, doesn’t manage to bring life to his character’s allotment of tired jokes.
One would assume that a Campire script penned by Buffy alum Marti Noxon would be on the mark at every turn, but instead, Noxon appears to have lost her touch. Where there are some instances of Buffy wit hovering around, for the most part the script is uninspired and lacks the creative drive to power the story toward any meaningful or interesting conclusion.
In addition to this sense of creative apathy, the 3D effects are both unnecessary and poorly executed. For the most part, the 3D is utilized only to make counters look more prominent, or enhance the effect of explosions. Granted, this complaint is levelled against many of the new 3D releases; however, Fright Night stands out due to its clear low quality. In any of the scenes involving night time or shadows, the resolution is blurry and appears hazy, with no definition. There are times that faces areall but unrecognizable, and action is unclear due to the murky effects.
Fright Night is not the first to fail in a remake, but it is the first with sucha noticeable metaphor for the danger in reviving the dead. In the end, the film communicates an effective message: some things are better left alone. Let sleeping vampires lie.
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