By Malice Intended

Despite the whining of geeks and film purists, Hollywood’s insatiable need to remake anything with the slightest hint of name recognition knows no bounds.  The newest offering in this unfortunate trend is Fright Night.  The original was a horror gem from the mid 1980’s that came along when the slasher genre was running on fumes.  Well, pop culture moves in cycles.  The remake of Fright Night appears on the scene just as the public tires of slasher remakes.  Will it resonate with today’s audiences the same way the original did?

Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) is a teenager who enjoys a tranquil suburban existence with his single mom.  That tranquility is interrupted by the arrival of a new neighbor.  Jerry Dandridge (Colin Farrell) would appear to be a woman’s dream.  He’s handsome, charming, and a homeowner.  He’s also single.  And a vampire.  Charley is the only one privy that little tidbit of information, and tries in vain to inform his loved ones.  Jerry realizes that Charley knows his secret, and will deal with the boy accordingly.  Frightened and desperate, Charley enlists the help of a magician and self-proclaimed vampire expert Peter Vincent (David Tennant).

Fright Night keeps the basic plot of the original intact, but changes the setting to a suburb of Las Vegas.  It also updates the style.  The original was a horror/ comedy very much in keeping with the structure of vampire films.  It had a delightful self-awareness that made it timely.  This new version appears to abandon all of that for a much easier approach: action/horror.  Nothing shown in the trailer appears to depend on actual suspense, and the humor looks to be of the obvious variety.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it pretty much assures that the new Fright Night will be an infinitely less interesting and enduring film than it’s predecessor.

The trailer also includes some rather curious choices.  The character of Peter Vincent played a major role in the original.  This trailer makes nary a mention of him.  No doubt the “official” trailer will probably include him.  Also, the sight of Anton Yelchin gearing up for a Rambo-style last stand against Dandridge plays as unintentionally funny.  The whole point of the original was that neither Charley nor Peter was a badass.  They became heroes reluctantly.  This is another sign that the remake has been conceived and executed as something easy for modern audiences to digest.

Fright Night will arrive in theaters during August, the dumping grounds of summer blockbuster season. It will probably deliver on the same level as any number of genre films aimed at teenagers.  Hopefully, this remake is holding something in reserve to shock curmudgeons like myself.

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