Fright Night was frightfully awesome!

Fright Night

Director: Craig Gillespie
Stars: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette,
         David Tennant, Imogen Poots, and McLovin
MPAA Rating: R (for language and violence)

I suspect that audiences are getting a bit vamp weary.  It's too bad because when something good like Fright Night comes out people may be hesitant.

There are so many good things I could say about this movie.  The story and writing were great thanks to one Marti Noxon, formerly of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV show).  The jokes were plenty but not too much.  The dialog was snappy but not obnoxious.  There was even a brief reference to a 'Scooby gang' which I giggled at.

Our high school hero didn't suddenly develop the skills needed to take out vamps or even really protect himself or his loved ones properly.  All too often characters suddenly possess the skills needed to vanquish whatever monster or demon they're up against. This is similar to choreographed group dances in movies where you never see anyone practicing any steps beforehand.  

The acting was solid on all counts. Yelchin, Collette and Poots (if she weren't so pretty her last name would be a problem) all did a fine job.  McLovin will always be McLovin.  His turn as Red Mist will probably be the one time he ventured further from his most notable role.  Sadly in this film he was back to McLovin again which is not necessarily a bad thing, just an expected thing.  These are positive reviews after all.  Which is a good lead in to Mr. Fright Night himself, David Tennant.  Most fans of this movie will point to the sheer awesomeness that is David Tennant and his camped-up aficionado of all things dark.  Don't get me wrong, he was absolutely great. Oh!  The chick that played his girlfriend, Ginger, was superb.  I just looked her up and as it turns out she's Sofia Vergara's sister, Sandra.  So funny and sexy runs deep in that family.  Anyway, Tennant was fantastic and I wish there were more adjectives to use for the guy.  However...

I really think the best thing in the entire movie was Colin Farrell.  I've always liked the guy and rooted for him during his period of bad choices.  Thankfully the guy is making some really good choices lately (see: In Bruges, Ondine, etc.).  Colin knows how to play a vampire.  He's sexy and predatory and his only interest in relationships is based solely on creating more vamps.  Speaking of, he does this thing right before he bites someone, it's hard to explain but it's like he's getting himself amped up for what must be pure pleasure. 

I do want to mention one thing that I spotted and I may be alone on this.  There are three levels of vamp that Farrell's character achieves.  There's teeth baring, a middle-level and full-on vamp (which you see towards the end).  It's the middle-level vamp that cracked me up.  There was something about his face that reminded me of John Travolta.  I'm gonna have to watch it again to see if I was imagining it but it cracked me up at the time.

For a review rooted in more reality, check out Tracy's article.