The film is both wonderfully written and acted. Marti Noxon, who has written for Buffy, Angel, and even Mad Men, handled the screenplay, giving us humor and horror. The actors do an excellent job portraying the characters and making us care. Colin Farrell is just plain fun as Jerry, while Anton Yelchin is believable as the scrawny kid who is trying not to be a dork anymore. Toss in Toni Collette as his mom, and you've got a winning team. When you then realize that David Tennant is in the mix as well....sploosh. If you don't know who David Tennant is, you need to go watch Doctor Who. Don't even finish reading this; get to Netflix now.
Before moving on, more needs to be said about the dialogue in Fright Night, as well as the characters and pacing. The dialogue is realistic. You don't watch the movie scoffing at how the characters speak. It's a small thing, but it can take you out of a movie. Many films, especially in the horror genre, can make the girlfriend and mother characters into annoying throwaway individuals. In Fright Night, that is most definitely not the case. Casting Toni Collette probably helped, but both actresses are given good material to work with. At no time did I want one of them to die, which is what usually happens in modern horror movies. Instead of one dimensional characters, you get an interesting group of people. Because you are interested in what they are doing and saying, the film never seems to drag. The plot actually keeps moving pretty quickly. Instead of spending the first hour trying to figure out if Jerry is a vampire, both the characters and the audience are led pretty quickly to the proper conclusion.
Speaking of Jerry, he is just plain great. Vampires with charisma are nothing new. In general, vampires are usually seen as sexy and sensual. Colin Farrell is definitely easy to look at, but Jerry is not just a pretty, man eating face. He is just plain mean, and I love it. The chemistry with-in the cast helps all the pieces fit together.
The only place where Fright Night stumbles is in the CGI effects. As Jerry releases more of his vampiric nature, there are physical changes. These are a combination of practical make up effects and CGI. These scenes work okay, but at the end of the film, there is a purely CGI effect that just doesn't work. Throughout the film you also see spurts of obviously CGI blood, and you are just pulled out of the movie. On a side note, about the practical effects, when Jerry begins looking more vampire-like, he kinda looks like John Travolta, and it is creepy.
Initially, I saw Fright Night in the theater for free. It was an afternoon showing, and one of the ladies offered to let us see a second film, after we watched Conan*. On a side note, she is awesome. What wasn't awesome was that Fright Night was showing in 3D. Because the film is quite dark already, watching it through the 3D glasses made it nigh impossible to see at times. I was reminded of that while re-watching the film tonight. It is incredibly dark, but you can handle it without those glasses mucking it up.
Additionally, the shots added in for the 3D gimmick are obvious and annoying. I appreciate when they use 3D that way, but when the movie is already a solid flick, but I find the 3D gimmick to be insulting. I know some people love 3D and would have no problem with those shots. It doesn't ruin the movie for me, but they just don't fit.
As the film comes to a close, there is one more gem to be found. If you are not familiar with Hugo and his version off 99 Problems, it plays over the beginning of the end credits. I was so impressed by it, that I looked it up on iTunes upon arriving home and purchased the entire album. Hugo is very talented.**
In summary, be sure to watch Fright Night if you haven't already. It's a good horror movie that doesn't rely on jump out scares to garner a reaction from the audience. Instead, they utilize good writing and a superb cast. Reward a film that deserves it.
* Conan sucked. I love Jason Momoa due to Game of Thrones, but that movie just didn't work for me.
**Also sploosh.
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