Fright Night

Get out your stakes and crosses, we're reviewing Fright Night!

Anton Yelchin: Vampire Hunter.

Fright Night is a pretty fun movie with some great uses of 3D, but is it better than the original?

Charlie(Anton Yelchin) is one of the cool kids with a hot girlfriend, though he wasn't always that way(he holds a deep dark nerd secret!). When kids start disappearing, he brushes it off as nothing.  But then when he meets his new neighbor Jerry(Collin Farrel), he starts to suspect something's really up. SPOILER ALERT: Jerry's a vampire.

I can't really say this is better or worse than the original, it's merely a different vehicle. The original seemed more fun, light-hearted, a parody of the vampire idea. This one feels more like a horror action film trying to bring back some old school vampy action. And thank the Vampire Lord for that! No sparkling vampires here, or anything new with different rules, just good ol' fashioned vampires suckin' people and bursting into sunlight.  They give nods here and there to the original, but if you stop trying to compare it and judge it as it's own movie, you'll enjoy the heck out of it.

I wouldn't say it's scary(but really, that depends on your horror palette. I don't consider something scary until I can't sleep for a week.), but it is very suspenseful and tense. And that's good, I like a bit of tension with some twisting and turning. Mostly it's straight up vampire killing action.  You know that motorcycle throwing scene in the trailer? That's not at the end, that's still in the first half. And then it gets better. They have some inventive ways of kicking ass, and they really put the 3D to good use. This is definitely a movie worth paying for that added dimension.

Full disclosure, I'm a huge Anton Yelchin fan. I loved him in Charlie Bartlett, and thought he did admirably in both Terminator and Star Trek. Here he does a great job as a conflicted character with various layers. His character has an interesting story idea about wanting to be the cool kid to keep the girl, but needing his nerd know-how to stay alive.  Colin Farrel has a ton of fun with a decidedly sinister edge. He's that jerk sleazebag that all the girls want and just happens to suck blood instead of...other things.

And did we mention McLovin? McLovin vampire hunter? Because his role is pretty damn awesome. Although I have to say, he'll probably be 45 and still be playing the nerdy kid.  And for the squealing lady Doctor Who fans, there's shirtless David Tennant grabbing his crotch. Also he plays a pretty fun character, y'know, if you're into that acting sort of thing.

The score in this is fun and suspenseful, adding a scary movie atmosphere. It's a fun movie with some killer suspense and a handful of awesome vampire killing scenes. Also I'd like to point out that "lockpicking app" scene is not as ridiculous as it looks. Actually pretty suspenseful.

Why you should see it: great suspenseful and action packed vampire killer film. IN 3D!!!!
Downfalls: Getting constantly compared to the original
Overall: It's a fun vampire movie with some great action. I'd recommend it, especially if you want to see a movie with some good 3D.
One Scene Metaphor: Jerry asks Charlie for some beer because he's brought a lady friend over and he doesn't have any. Jerry is just standing in the kitchen door while Charlie gets the beer, seriously wondering whether or not he's a vamp, and deciding whether he should let him in. It's a great suspenseful scene where Charlie wonders if he should trust his nerd instincts or not.