“The kids today,” complains Roddy McDowall in the 1985 original version of Fright Night, “don’t have the patience for vampires. They want to see some mad slasher running around and chopping off heads.”
Well, 26 years later and it’s a somewhat different market. The slashers need to slice your skin off in a series of increasingly elaborate traps and vampires have never been more in vogue, with seemingly every single channel showing some sporty Scandinavian sucking Sookie’s sanguine assets, while on the silver screen Edward gets busy with the body glitter and pre-marital chastity. It makes director Craig (Lars and the Real Girl) Gillespie’s remake all the more ironic, really, given that the running joke behind the Tom Holland original was that vampires weren’t all that cool anymore, so nobody would believe you when you told them that one was your neighbour. These days, if there were Cullens in the cul de sac, it would presumably increase the market value of your home.
 |
| Shane MacGowan made a surprise cameo |
Las Vegas, Nevada, and Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) is living in a ghost estate with his single-mother, except that the economy is not the only thing leaving the houses empty. Having dumped his geeky ways to get the most popular girl in the diminishing class, Charley ignores the warnings of his former best-friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) that his new next-door-neighbour Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire and responsible for numerous unexplained disappearances around the block. But Charley’s suspicions begin to grow as he observes his neighbour’s nocturnal movements, and it’s not long before he’s enlisting the help of show-biz illusionist Peter Vincent (David Tennant in full on Chris Angel/Russell Brand mode) to help rid Sin City of its most sinful bloodsucker.
And it’s an awful lot of foul-mouthed fun, with fangs and fucks flying in pithy dialogue from Buffy writer Marti Noxon, who gives everyone that isn’t a 14 year-old girl the modern vampire flick we’ve been waiting for. No louche Lestats, no dorky Draculas, here we have a vampire called Jerry and he means business, a midnight menace to the neighbourhood and Colin Farrell pulls him off ably. His Jerry, more of a physical than spoken part, is slyly seductive and wickedly playful with each of his victims. As Charley, Yelchin continues to grow as a screen presence, completely believable as the shrinking violet turned vampire slayer, and with a easy comic touch for Noxon’s nimble wordplay.
 |
| The Jonas Brothers' new album was going in some gothic directions |
Mintz-Plasse, something of a go-to-geek post McLovin, has a blast and neatly brings a touch of his Kick-Ass venom to the role of Ed, the sort of dweebie douchebag you don’t particularly blame Charley for dropping, but who’s wiser and braver than his former friend gives him credit for. British actress Imogen Poots, as Charley’s girlfriend, gets a far more fleshed out role than the original Amy (no longer the long-lost lover in the portrait here), and marks herself as one to watch, her performance showcasing her funny bone and propensity to induce boners. But the star of the show is David Tennant, camping up his performance, swigging booze, scratching his leather-trousers crotch rash and spitting venomous barbs at his wife. It’s the sort of breakout performance that should turn him into an international star, and not just the guy who used to be the Doctor.
While the ending is a little bit contrived and lacking in suspense, the build-up is fresh and funny, sexy and violent, and while the 3D rendering is a tad redundant, the floating flecks of glowing ash are amongst some of the finest 3D effects I have ever seen.
All in all, this Fright Night’s a delight.
4 Likes
Released Nationwide: September 2nd
Runtime: 106 mins
Certificate: 16
No comments:
Post a Comment