Fright Night: "I May Not be Drunk Enough For This"

Director: Craig Gillespie
Writer:     Marti Noxen
                Tom Holland
Starring:  Anton Yelchin
                Colin Farrell
                David Tennant
                Imogen Poots
                Toni Collette
                Christopher Mintz-Plasse
                Dave Franco
Rating:    ****


Another remake which works quite well. This version of the 80's classic is a real hit, and has the perfect balance of scares and laughs.

Charley Brewster (Yelchin) is a teenage boy living in a small town in Vegas. Nothing much goes on and he just spends his days with his friends and his new girlfriend. Little does he know his next door neighbour is a vampire and things are about to heat up. Yelchin's character is fairly likeable and does what he is there to do.  His performance is believeable and you want him to succeed throughout the film, but he is nothing special; which is a bit of a shame considering he is the main character. His girlfriend Amy (Poots) is the girl next door type of girl. She is fun and loves living life to the full, but when it comes down to it, she can hold her own (especially in a fight). Poots makes the character her own and she really starts to grow on you by the end of the film. Her performance is honest, and at times very sweet and she plays the girl next door very well.


Jerry Dandridge (Farrell) is the vampire in this film, and he is one of the highlights. His portrayal of an evil killing machine is scary but also he brings a kind of dark humour to the role. He really makes you believe that he is a blood sucking vampire, and really lets himself go, which means the character is far more genuine. Peter Vincent (Tennant), is the Vegas magician/Vampire killer, and it is his character that brings the most laughs. This role is a far stretch from any of his previous roles (Hamlet, The Doctor, Romeo), but he really gets into it, and shakes of any 'typecasting' that he may have been lumped with before. His cowardly performance allows for many comedic moments, but also at the end he pulls through and he becomes a likeable character. Hopefully this will pave the way for his hollywood career, because lets face it, he's pretty amazing.

Charley's mother, Jane (Collette), is your typical american housewife. She is sweet and kind, but she also has a nice friendly relationship with her son. Collette plays Jane really well, and she was one of my favourite characters in the film. My only bugbear is the fact the director/writers wimped out on her. At the first given opportunity, they stick her in hospital and she is gone for 2/3 of the movie, which is a real shame because Collette is one of the more talented cast members in the film. Ed Lee (Mintz-Plasse) is Charley's old, geeky friend, and he is the first person to introduce Charley to the world of vampires. As usual he plays the funny geek really well, and I really enjoyed him as a character. He was also pretty convincing as a vampire, which was nice because you got to see him in a way you never have before.

The writing and directing was superb, and gave the film the perfect mix of laugh out loud moments and jump out of your skin moments. This allowed the actors to let go, and as you can clearly see, have fun making the film. I highly recommend you go out and see this film on Friday, if you want to be scared and laugh in equal measures.



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