Fright Night

Viewer Rating:Tura has rated Fright Night rating: 4 Star

This film balances the suspense, violence and humour in a way that reminds of the great 80's horror films, suitably as it is a remake of the 1985 Fright Night - with updated special effects of course. It has a suitably twisty, edge of the seat plot, the casting is good: David Tennant does a genuinely funny role, still in his trademark intense style, as the self-proclaimed vampire scholar and stage magician Edward Black. The geeky Ed is an excellent work as well from the always brilliant but somewhat typecast Mintz-Plasse; this time he at least has a more varied role even if it is in the same geek seam he has mined before. Colin Farrell is perfect pick for the evil, sexy and non-sparkling kind of vampire, though he is mostly required to smile, pose and waggle his eyebrows. Even the Hero and Heroine, always a weak point as they are always meant to be as normal as possible (=bland) are pretty good.
The colouring of the film serves a purpose, the day scenes a jolly warm yellow and the night scenes an unhealthy underwater blue that underlines the sinister threat lurking in the dark. There are some scenes that stand out, in the way they are composed, shot and edited. The special effects also serve their purpose without taking over. The action is good and bloody. All in all it delivers what it says in the tin: for a piece of throwaway entertainment I predict a longer shelf-life for the DVD than for most others of the genre.

Review published on the 26 February 2012 22:24