"I am at a loss to conceive how a man should permit himself to write anything that would be truly disgraceful to a woman, or why a woman should be censured for writing anything that would be proper and becoming for a man."

19 August 2011

Welcome to Fright Night, Guy...

Let's get this out in the open right away: this is not your dad's (or cousin's or older brother's or your childhood) Fright Night. Yet it is still Fright Night.

It's fun and scary and over-the-top juuuuuuust enough to balance the serious moments. Yes, there are some flaws, sometimes in character logic, but it's a horror movie. Such is the world those people inhabit. Inevitably you make one distracted decision which throws someone you care about into potential danger and you don't realize it. And one over the top scene contains the least subtle acting I've seen in... a long time, and yet it sort of works. Don't want to spoil too much, but my crew deemed it the Hey Guy Can I Get a Few Beers Predator Check scene.

The writing is sharp, smart, sardonic, and even bittersweet when it needs to be. The setting (Vegas and its suburbs) is perfect for what they're trying to accomplish with plot, tone, and style.
The performances and direction cater to the writing and the actors. Yelchin balances former-geek-into-wannabe-popular-dick very well. Mintz-Plasse makes a strong argument for why listening even to your former friends when they tell you someone is a vampire is a good idea (and his post-transformation shtick is equal parts saddening and hilarious). Poots and Collette handle typical chick roles in horror with wit, charm, and grace. Farrell is the Stanley Kowalski of vampires -- a role which is crafted well with his abilities: hot, alpha male, douchebag who knows he's the shit. He's pure predator with an arrogance carried from hundreds of years knowing other men pale in comparison to his prowess and his pecs. Tennant is... magical. Yes, I'm a fan, but there are reasons and several of those are prevalent in this flick. Timing. Chemistry. Ability to switch from drunk wimp to drunk bad-ass in seconds. Multiple creative uses of the word 'fuck.'
It even has a few good surprises... and Chris Sarandon in a great little cameo.

It ain't perfect. It is very different from the original, but it succeeds on its own merits. It's one of the few movies since Scream to hit the balance between comedy and real horror right on target.
Also, it's just freaking FUN.

Now, if you want your horror films all scary and intense, I recommend you wait for The Woman in Black. As several sites have pointed out, the latest trailer manages to combine a myriad of ghost story cliches and yet still be tense and creepy. See for yourself.

3 comments:

  1. Totally agree with your assessment of Fright Night! I was actually really surprised how well Farrell pulled off being a vamp. I also liked that the actual vamps were grossssssss looking. I'm 100% sick of the sexy-vampire-trend.
    I also thought Yelchin in particular did a great job. Tennant definitely got the funny side-kick thing down, he must've had a really great time playing that role haha!

    The Woman in Black looks really cool, but I'm a sucker for movies with gigantic creepy houses just as much as you're a sucker for movies with Daniel Radcliffe :p

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  2. I don't mind sexy-looking vampires as long as they're evil... or at least totally bad ass. I'm happy with how everything came together on the movie: the direction, script and cast. Well balanced... and so.much.fun.

    I thought about it this morning and realized it does have more to do with Radcliffe than I wanted to admit. I mean, if it was the same preview and yet had Ryan Reynolds as the guy in the house, I'd be over it. Liam Neeson? Intrigued but not sold yet. Radcliffe? When can I buy my tickets? Bettany? Take me to that house, NOW. ;)

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  3. Along the similar line of draw for the movie based on male in the movie: that is so not a factor for me and I know that because as much as I adore Tennant, during the movie I said Russell Brand would play that role perfectly. It just seems like the role was made for him. Not that I'm complaining about Tennant's performance or anything. :D

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