Looking a Decade Back: Frightfest Review – Fright Night (2011)
Stars: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette | Directed by Craig Gillespie
Based on the 1985 screenplay of the same name, the 2011 adaptation of Fright Night came at an opportune time when the Twilight franchise was still riding on a high. The film was curated as a sort of satirical response to the sudden deluge of fans of the ‘sexually attractive vampire’ with loads of humorous quips. It offers a more vicious and primitive outlook of the dreaded ‘undead of the night’ figure. Going back to the likes of Count Orlok (Nosferatu, 1922) and the creatures of Blade II (2002), Daybreakers (2009), etc., Fright Night offers a twist turning terrifying and terrific simultaneously.
The film opens in a suburban, really, developing community near the Las Vegas strip. Although the community seems pretty straightforward, some folks won’t mind dropping into casinos accepting Zimpler curated for Canadian players. A new neighbour moves in next door to a mother and her teen son, and the duo soon realize all is not what it appears to be. Soon enough, people from the town go missing, including students from the hero, Charley Brewster’s, class. It is up to Charley to figure out what exactly is going on and how to stop a monster from the very annals of hell. Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse put up fantastic performances and successfully create an atmosphere of horrifying as well as humorous.
While the 1985 version was a success in its own right, the 2011 remake brings even more ferociousness and ascorbic comedy laced with mainstream pop-culture references. The film pokes fun at the re-introduction of the figure of the vampire as a lonesome, emo figure, looking for a soulmate in a helplessly beautiful girl who reeks of ‘pick-me’ vibes of Tiktok culture. It is, of course, an obvious prod at the tragic hero of the Twilight franchise. One of the characters (Evil Ed) even goes so far as to make his erstwhile best friend Charley realize that the latter’s neighbour isn’t who he says he is in an expletive-ridden speech. Charley tells Ed he’s reading too much Twilight and Ed responds that the vampire, Jerry, is not “… brooding, … lovesick, … noble,” and compares Jerry to a shark, a predator.
Despite being a comedy, the film adds weight and dimensionality to its secondary characters. Take, for example, David Tennant’s character, Peter Vincent. Vincent is a TV ‘vampire killer’ whose entire persona reeks of AXN ghost hunting programs that take up the morning slots. However, Vincent is given a backstory that not only evokes sympathy but adds dimensions previously unthought of in the 1885 version. The inimitable Toni Collete puts up a subdued yet fantastic appearance as a mother. Her character must deal with her teenage son and later on, the fact that her very attractive neighbour is a real-life vampire.
Perhaps surpassing the campy horror of Tom Holland’s ‘85 version, the 2011 remake adds layers of darkness and sophisticated allure. Never quite breaking off from its vision, the film is enclosed in the claustrophobic and madcap imagination of Holland, who wanted to develop the story of a horror fan living next door to a vampire. Where remakes often drown in criticism, or better yet, vanish straight to DVD, Fright Night holds its head high next to its predecessor. It never loses the sense of campiness and satire, blending it into old-school horrors. The film’s makers do not forget the history of vampire lore in either literature or film and make sure to pass it off in a perfect combination lauding the old and the new.
While the film came out 11 years ago, we thought a look back into one of the more mainstream films celebrating monsters is appropriate. With Hallowe’en around the corner and a bevy of poorly made vampire films that have cropped up this year (hello, Morbius), the timing is just right. It would do us well to remember that the mainstream can also come up with good sometimes.