Fright Night Review (SPOILERS)
Aug. 26th, 2011 11:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xlivvielockexBefore I begin my review, there are a few things I need to get off my chest. First off, I LIKE the idea of remakes. (Notice IDEA). They offer additional source material to draw from for fannish activities, they bring new people to fandom, and they rekindle interest in the older source material. Sometimes they are horrible (Starsky and Hutch), sometimes they are decent (Charlie's Angels), sometimes they are awesome (Star Trek. The whole AU idea is genius). So when it comes to remakes, I am not one of these people who screams NO! (Like with the possible Buffy remake). As a HUGE fan of the original Fright Night, I know a few other fans were not happy with the remake or even the suggestion of one.
Second, the elephant in the room. Marti Noxon wrote the screenplay. And while she gets blamed for the attempted rape in Seeing Red, at the end of the day, Joss had to approve that storyline. I'm not absolving blame from Noxon in the slightest but I think several reviews I have read are trying to use their dislike of Noxon from BTVS to color their review of Fright Night. I'm not.
So let's get down to business, shall we. Now with this movie, you have to look at it two ways. First, is it an enjoyable movie (YES!) and it is a good remake (YES!). For those that have never seen the original, it tells the story of Charlie (or Charley), who's next door neighbor, Jerry, just happens to be a bloodsucking fiend. As they say in the remake he is not the brooding, soulful type vampire. He is an evil motherfucker. Charlie is so busy with investigating Jerry, that he forgets all about getting some with this girlfriend, Amy. The original movie used virginity and sexuality as a parallel to vampirism. I think the remake kind of falters here. Along the way we meet Charley's friend, Evil Ed, and a quasi-celebrity, Peter Vincent. Now in the original, Peter Vincent plays a late night horror show (Fright Night) host. In the remake, he is a Criss Angel style douchebag magician who just happens to really love buying relics on Ebay. I think this is a great update because most modern audiences have no idea that hosts like Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and Monstervision with Joe Bob Briggs exist. (Sidenote: How awesome was Monstervision though? I had such a crush on Joe Bob Briggs in HS).
Fright Night is peppered with not only cheeky references to Twilight (Wuthering Heights, apples, cars smushing folks) but also nods to BTVS/ATS. Most notably when Vincent Price is pulling on his leather pants ala Wesley, Rogue Demon Hunter. The dialogue is very Buffy-verse feeling and just when you think that Charley has to save his mom, turns out she can save herself. (With a weapon that was introduced in Act One and was used in Act Three. LOL) But the most important thing is that a lot of the scenes from the original Fright Night are recreated in the remake.
The best part for me was Peter Vincent/Ginger. I'm not a big shipper, if you haven't noticed. I tend to not ship in shows or movies. But something about their dynamic felt very...early Spuffy to me. With the snarking and humor. In my head (BIG SPOILER) Ginger (played so perfectly by Sofia Vergara's sister, Sandra) returned to normal once Charley killed Jerry. She and Peter continued their fantastic love/hate relationship. Even my friend, J, said that Ginger was her favorite character.
So all and all, a great way to spend your hard earned cash. This is one I am definitely getting on Blu-Ray when it comes out!
Second, the elephant in the room. Marti Noxon wrote the screenplay. And while she gets blamed for the attempted rape in Seeing Red, at the end of the day, Joss had to approve that storyline. I'm not absolving blame from Noxon in the slightest but I think several reviews I have read are trying to use their dislike of Noxon from BTVS to color their review of Fright Night. I'm not.
So let's get down to business, shall we. Now with this movie, you have to look at it two ways. First, is it an enjoyable movie (YES!) and it is a good remake (YES!). For those that have never seen the original, it tells the story of Charlie (or Charley), who's next door neighbor, Jerry, just happens to be a bloodsucking fiend. As they say in the remake he is not the brooding, soulful type vampire. He is an evil motherfucker. Charlie is so busy with investigating Jerry, that he forgets all about getting some with this girlfriend, Amy. The original movie used virginity and sexuality as a parallel to vampirism. I think the remake kind of falters here. Along the way we meet Charley's friend, Evil Ed, and a quasi-celebrity, Peter Vincent. Now in the original, Peter Vincent plays a late night horror show (Fright Night) host. In the remake, he is a Criss Angel style douchebag magician who just happens to really love buying relics on Ebay. I think this is a great update because most modern audiences have no idea that hosts like Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and Monstervision with Joe Bob Briggs exist. (Sidenote: How awesome was Monstervision though? I had such a crush on Joe Bob Briggs in HS).
Fright Night is peppered with not only cheeky references to Twilight (Wuthering Heights, apples, cars smushing folks) but also nods to BTVS/ATS. Most notably when Vincent Price is pulling on his leather pants ala Wesley, Rogue Demon Hunter. The dialogue is very Buffy-verse feeling and just when you think that Charley has to save his mom, turns out she can save herself. (With a weapon that was introduced in Act One and was used in Act Three. LOL) But the most important thing is that a lot of the scenes from the original Fright Night are recreated in the remake.
The best part for me was Peter Vincent/Ginger. I'm not a big shipper, if you haven't noticed. I tend to not ship in shows or movies. But something about their dynamic felt very...early Spuffy to me. With the snarking and humor. In my head (BIG SPOILER) Ginger (played so perfectly by Sofia Vergara's sister, Sandra) returned to normal once Charley killed Jerry. She and Peter continued their fantastic love/hate relationship. Even my friend, J, said that Ginger was her favorite character.
So all and all, a great way to spend your hard earned cash. This is one I am definitely getting on Blu-Ray when it comes out!